Capoeira, capoeira, and more capoeira!

Hey Everybody,

We still haven´t done much for exploring around here, but we have been so busy with capoeira over the last couple of days we haven´t had the chance. It is day 5 now...I think...(I have already lost track of time) and we have done capoeira at least twice a day everyday. Besides practicing on the beach every morning, we have gone to a couple of classes with different instructors and taken part in 3 rodas. For those of my friends who are not familiar with capoeira, the roda is when everyone stands in a circle and we actually play capoeira.

Our first capoeira class was with a guy named Professor Pitbull (for non-capoeira people, it probably seems pretty funny to call someone "Professor" Pitbull...at least I used to think so, but that is a title in capoeira that refers to someone with a very high level of capoeira). He suits the name Pitbull. Besides the large tattoos of a Pitbull and a Rottweiler on either shoulder, he is about the toughest, scariest looking guy I have ever seen. Despite the fact that he is shorter than me (Leanna), he is super strong and has major cauliflower ears. Never mess with a guy with cauliflower ears! Class is similar to the way it is at home, but it is so nice to see new moves and to get caught up in all the energy here. And beyond the scary exterior, Pitbull is actually very nice, and very funny...and made us feel perfectly safe walking down a dark alley on the way to the metro station after class since there was no possible way we could run in to anyone scarier.


Me and Pitbull

The next day we went to a capoeira competition. One thing we have to get used to is the concept of "Brazilian time". This competition was supposed to start at 9, about the time when we arrived. It actually started at 12:30. We got to see some sweet capoeira and then got to take part in the roda afterwards. It was so exciting because it is hectic, with so many people and so much energy. Luckily, people give Mike and I a break, and give us a bit of space to get in there without having to be too pushy. I think we suprise people a little when we pull out our best tricks and maybe just because we are new and stand out because of our blindingly white skin, we get a lot of attention. I basically had a hoarde of little kids surrounding me, trying to communicate with me whenever I wasn´t playing in the roda ("trying" is the accurate word...my Portuguese is horrid...actually that is an overstatement...it is basically non-existent) and I only made the hoarde bigger by giving them all Canada pins.



We are being very well taken care of here. After the competition, my absolute favorite person in the world of capoeira, Contra-Mestre Gordo (whose rather unfortunate name means "Chubby"), and our new friend, instructor Soldado (whose name means Soldier) took us to see to the old parts of Recife and Olinda which were booming on Sunday evening. Because it was dark, I couldn´t get a real sense of where we were, but it was loud and crowded, with people playing capoeira in a street roda and playing and dancing to samba music. So much good food and new smells.


Contra-Mestre Gordo and his son.


Instructor Soldado

I have so much more to say, about the crazy mini-bus ride we had the other night on our way to Rio Doce for another capoeira class, about my observations about Brazilian culture and my role in it as a female (very suprising...there are very few women doing capeoeira here and so far I have been the only girl in any of the classes we have taken)...but those stories are for another day. My time on the computer is almost up.

Hope everyone is well.

Mike and Leanna