Axé Capoeira, one of the most famous contemporary capoeira groups outside of Brazil, held their annual Batizado (baptism) in Toronto, Canada last weekend.
Axé Capoeira Students
A batizado in contemporary capoeira terminology is when a young capoeirista or capoeira player is initiated into the greater “capoeira family” by a take down in a capoeira game. This take-down is administered by a senior student, professor or master of the art. After the take-down, the student is given a cord (similar to a belt) and is officially an initiate of the group. If you are a student who has been practicing for a longer time, instead of a batizado, this ritual is called a troca de corda or a “cord change.”
The Toronto nucleus of Axé Capoeira is led by a young professor named Paraiba. He has been in Toronto since at least 2000 (when I first remember him) and has finely developed game in a pure capoeira Axé style. He teaches at the group’s academy at 1068 St. Clair West. Check out the video of him playing in Brazil below. Another great Axé Capoeira teacher in Toronto is Chaveco, who teaches at a downtown location, 668 Queen Street West.
Axé capoeira is the biggest Capoeira group in Canada due to the work of one Mestre Barrão. Mestre Barrão is a capoeira master from Recife in the North East of Brazil. Growing up in an underprivileged situation, he himself credits capoeira with saving his life. Fate would bring him to live in Vancouver, and the rest, as they say, is history.
A tough and unyielding teacher, he is responsible for the growth and development of a whole generation of young capoeiristas in Canada. He has many students from Brazil who have come to Canada under his tutelage and sponsorship. He has many Canadian capoeira students who can hold their own in any location. Beyond being a world famous capoeira master as a technician of the art, he is also a savvy businessman with a large degree of vision coupled with ambition. There are branches of Axé Capoeira all over the world and a quick Youtube search can reveal their many nucleuses. Most impressive (in my opinion) is Mestre Barrão’s music. He has an incredibly powerful voice and has many compositions in capoeira music and beyond. Needless to say he was at the batizado, and hearing him sing during the event was indeed something.
a young student in their batizado
Photos below (and this one above) by Yasemin Degirmenci.
Ok truth be told, a Batizado in itself may not be the most entertaining thing for non-capoeira people because there are a lot of beginners playing. However, what Axé Capoeira does is put on a show for friends and family to see before the actual ritual begins. This is great because you see a whole range of Afro-Brazilian cultural manifestations linked to capoeira, and you get a sense of the wide range of music and dance talents the more experienced students posses. It is also a nice show and a crowd pleaser. Again, Mestre Barrão singing was the highlight for me, as I had heard him sing in many recordings over the years. Equally impressive was the acrobatic talents of the more advanced students. Among the types of performance the show included: maculêlê (stick dance), cocô de roda, capoeira acrobatics, samba dancers and the Escola de Samba playing some fast paced samba with some original cutting edge arrangements.
Chaveco in a signature move with samba dancers in back
Special guests invited for the Batizado included: Mestre Barrão, Mestre Piraja (Mestre Barrão’s master), Mestre Duvale, Mestre Boi, Mestre Eddy Murphy, Professor Tigrao, Professor Testa, Professor Coruja, Estagiario Kerker, and many more. Congratulations to Axé Capoeira in Toronto.
