Esse ano eu vou
para Bahia de qualquer maneira
Esse ano eu vou para
Bahia de qualquer maneira
Vou tocar berimbau
Vou dar salto mortal
Vou jogar Capoeira
Vou tocar berimbau
Vou dar salto mortal
Vou jogar Capoeira
This year I will
go to Bahia no matter what
This year I will go to
Bahia no matter what
I will play berimbau
I will do a somersault
I will play Capoeira
I will play berimbau
I will do a somersault
I will play Capoeira
Did you know?
Bahia
Bahia, particularly its capital Salvador and the surrounding Recôncavo region, is the historical and cultural birthplace of capoeira in Brazil.
Salvador was founded in 1549 and served as a major port for the transatlantic slave trade, bringing millions of West and Central Africans to the region.
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.