Capoeira prá estrangeiro, meu irmão
É mato
Capoeira brasileira, meu compadre
É de matar
Capoeira prá estrangeiro, meu irmão
É mato
Capoeira brasileira, meu compadre
É de matar
Berimbau tá chamando
olha a roda formando
vá se benzendo para entrar
o toque é de Angola
São Bento pequeno, Cavalaria, Iúna
a mandinga do jogo
o molejo da esquiva
é prá não cochilar
Capoeira é ligeira, ela é brasileira, ela é de matar
Capoeira é ligeira, ela é brasileira, ela é de matar
Capoeira prá estrangeiro, meu irmão
É mato
Capoeira brasileira, meu compadre
É de matar
Capoeira prá estrangeiro, meu irmão
É mato
Capoeira brasileira, meu compadre
É de matar
Olha o Rabo de Arraia
olha aí a Ponteira
e a Meia-lua prá matar
o Mortal e o aú
o Macaco e a rasteira
e o Arrastão prá derrubar
Galopante façeiro
vai se preparando para voar
Capoeira é ligeira, ela é brasileira, ela é de matar
Capoeira é ligeira, ela é brasileira, ela é de matar
Capoeira for strangers, my brother?
Is madness
Brazilian Capoeira, my comrade
Is deadly
Capoeira for strangers, my brother?
Is madness
Brazilian Capoeira, my comrade
Is deadly
The berimbau is calling
Look at the roda being formed
Get a blessing before entering
The rhythm is Angola
São Bento pequeno, Cavalaria, Iúna
The magic of the game
the swiftness of the dodge
Is to not lull
Capoeira is swift, she is Brazilian, she is deadly
Capoeira is swift, she is Brazilian, she is deadly
Capoeira for strangers, my brother?
Is madness
Brazilian Capoeira, my comrade
Is deadly
Capoeira for strangers, my brother?
Is madness
Brazilian Capoeira, my comrade
Is deadly
Look, a Rabo de Arraia
Look there a Ponteira
And a deadly Meia-lua
a salto and a cartwheel
A Macaco and a sweep
and an Arrastão to bring down
Galopante to the face
Getting ready to fly
Capoeira is swift, she is Brazilian, she is deadly
Capoeira is swift, she is Brazilian, she is deadly
Did you know?
Angola
- Angola is the West-Central African nation that serves as the primary ancestral and cultural birthplace of the rhythms, movements, and spiritual roots of capoeira.
- During the transatlantic slave trade, millions of people were forcibly taken from this region to Brazil, bringing with them rich martial traditions like the combat dance N'golo.
- The country's deep historical connection is permanently embedded in the art through Capoeira Angola, the traditional style dedicated to preserving these original roots.
- The name is universally celebrated in the roda through countless traditional songs that invoke Angola as a sacred land of ancestors, memory, and profound longing.
- The primary instrument of the art, the berimbau, is directly tied to Angolan musical heritage, evolving from traditional bow instruments like the mbulumbumba.
- Today, capoeiristas view the nation as a ultimate cultural touchstone, representing the unbreakable bond between African resistance and Brazilian identity.
Berimbau
- The berimbau is a single-string musical bow of African origin that functions as the absolute leader and commander of the roda.
- The instrument dictates the exact speed, stylistic tone, and combat intensity of the capoeiristas through specific rhythms known as toques.
- A traditional berimbau is constructed from a wooden staff, a steel wire, a hollowed gourd resonator, a small stone or coin, a bamboo shaker, and a wooden thin stick.
- In a traditional orchestra, three distinct pitches are used: the deep-toned gunga to lead the group, the medium médio to hold the rhythm, and the high-pitched viola to improvise.
- Enslaved Africans historically used the live music of the bow to camouflage their outlawed martial art, making the training look like an innocent dance to colonial authorities.
- Today, the instrument holds a sacred status within the art, and capoeiristas show immense reverence toward it, celebrating its spiritual voice in countless traditional songs.
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