I'd only ever heard a little about Capoeira before 2008, but it was only in that year that my eyes truly opened as to what it had to offer. Back when I was a professional actress on my very first acting job straight out of drama school, I met someone that would change the trajectory of my life forever. My fellow actor on that job, Seun Shote, aside from being a phenomenal thespian, was a Capoeira instructor. In the Capoeira world he was known as Instrutor Sacrificio. He sadly passed a couple of years ago. After our acting tour ended, he introduced me to his school, Capoeira Ceará. The school is helmed by Mestre Caboclin, the master. With the guidance of both of these men and the teachings of other masters and capoeiristas, both alive and dead, I came to know Capoeira on an intimate level.
Fast forward to 2022 and I was a newly self-published author with my first romance novel, More Than Friends. Then, I started to pen the first of what would become a three part series of romance novels set in and around the Capoeira world.
What is Capoeira?
To answer that, the first thing I would say is that Capoeira is no one thing. It is in fact a multidisciplinary martial art, a dance, a game and a sport that encompasses music and songs sung in Portuguese. Some even think of Capoeira as something akin to a religion. There is a strong spiritual element to this craft and in my time, I have seen many tap into this. Capoeira teaches self discipline, focus, calm and perseverance.
* (feat. Instrutor Sacrificio (a.k.a. Shy)
Nestor Capoeira, an acclaimed capoeirista and author wrote this about Capoeira in his 1995 book, The Little Capoeira Book, "It is something that we have experienced before, as children, when we played and were completely absorbed by the games that we created with our friends. The key words here are creativity, improvisation, fantasy, beauty and imagination."
Where is it from?
There have been many debates as to the specifics about the origin of Capoeira. It is thought to be from Angola. It crossed the seas on some fateful journeys aboard slave ships destined for the South America. Capoeira then found a new home in Brazil. Through the fullness of time, Capoeira became Brazil's version of America's Underground Railroad, i.e. it became a tool used by the enslaved to find and keep their freedom.
The slaves taught themselves to fight in secret. They would disguise their sparring and training by making it look like they were simply dancing and having fun on their down time. What appeared to the slavers to be dances, was in fact highly skilled, deadly and combative moves.
My Books and Capoeira
My romantic martial arts series is called Era Capoeira. Book one and two are entitled, Let's Play and Playing With Fire, respectively. I am in the middle of writing part three at the moment. The entire series has and will focus on different aspects of the game, the comradery, the moves, the music, the instruments and folklore. As well as journeying into the lives of my characters as they navigate love, you also get an incite into a discipline that has blessed and enriched my life more than I have words to explain. I hope you will enjoy reading these titles and my others below.
(Capoeira song)
Jogo de dentro, Jogo de fora
Jogo de dentro, jogo de fora
(Play inside, play outside) Valha-me deus, minha nossa senhora
(Oh, my god, oh my lady) Jogo de dentro, jogo de fora
(Play inside, play outside) Jogo bonito esse jogo de angola
(Play this beautiful game of Angola) Jogo de dentro, jogo de fora
(Play inside, play outside) Jogo manhaso esse jogo de angola
(It’s crafty this game to Angola) Jogo de dentro, jogo de fora
(Play inside, play outside) Jogo bonito quero ver agora
(Play beautiful I want to see now) Jogo de dentro, jogo de fora
(Play inside, play outside)
Check out my other titles
