What is Capoeira? Capoeira Angola

Capoeira Angola

It survived, thanks mostly to the efforts of Bahia’s most famous master, Mestre Pastinha. Pastinha was born on April 4, 1889. His father was a Spaniard while his mother was a black Brazilian, and his full name was Vicente Joaquim Ferreira. As a boy, Pastinha (pronounced Paz-teen-ya) learned capoeira from a black man called Mestre Benidido, and by the time he was twelve he was such a good fighter that he was able to obtain employment as a bouncer in a brothel. (Nice job for a twelve-year old, eh?) He got enough fighting in his day job so when he opened a capoeira school in 1941, he taught it in the old way, by observation, without a formal method, and in this way he kept the traditions alive.


Mestre Pastinha

Pastinha and his students were soon giving demonstrations to groups of tourists in the hotels of Salvador, Bahia’s capital city, and recording capoeira’s music. This made them lots of friends among intellectuals who saw Pastinha as a treasure of black culture and this helped him stay with his pursuit.

Bimba liked Pastinha, and respected what he was trying to do. Personally he thought many of the old moves were technically useless, so he did not allow beginners to do them, but he encouraged advanced students to learn them. So today it is common (not the rule, but common) for capoeira players to practice both "families," as Regional and Angola are termed in Portuguese.

Bimba died on February 5, 1974, with many students, many friends, and little money. Pastinha met the same fate in a public asylum on November 13, 1981. About the same time, capoeira began going abroad, especially to the United States. Two of the pioneers were Bira Almeida in California and Jelon Vieira in New York. Some people have said that Vieira's methods influenced the break-dancing craze of the 1980s, but that was really owed to the New York City dance troupe called High Times Crew.


Mestre Pastinha

So having gone through some history, what is the difference between Angola and Regional? Technically, not much. Both use music and teach traditions, and both are ludic as well as combative in nature. There is, however, a difference in spirit and approach. In Regional, the Brazilian roots are stressed and the game is usually played from an erect stance. And, while the speed of the acrobatic movements varies from player to player, Regional is generally fast. On the other hand, in Angola the so-called "African roots" are stressed and the game is generally played very slowly from low stances. The reason, say the Angolans, is that this allows them to do a better job of hiding their true intentions, plus serves to lure the unwary into traps.