It is now the 3rd day after the insanely inspiring Bantus Capoeira Festival. Time seems to have settled on the slow boat to China, compared to how it zipped by us as we went through our programme for the weekend. Here’s a recap on what transpired:
The workshops on Thursday and Friday were well-attended to say the least—a lot of mental effort went into keeping from treading on others’ fingers and toes, apart from concentrating on what Mestre Pintor was teaching us. He also shared with us the finer points of playing the instruments in a bataria and some of the simpler forro moves. Some of our guests from overseas demonstrated absolutely captivating angola games which most of us had never witnessed before.
Then on Friday night Bantus Perth rocked the foundations of the building as they thundered their infectious samba batucada beats that had practically everyone unable to keep still. Not only that, Sarah and Chloe put down their hip moves (pun intended) which we all tried hard to imitate but ended up looking like awkwardly gyrating monkeys. That didn’t seem to stop anyone from enjoying themselves completely though!
Early Saturday evening saw us preparing for the Noite Brasileira party at the Westin’s latin american joint, Qba. The line-up for the night began with a theatrical Maculelê show where the performers slipped through the crowd to take to the open floor area outdoors which served as our stage.
Legend has it that a group of villains plundered Maculelê’s village and killed his people, sending him into a rage that lead him to seek out the evildoers who ended up taking his life as well. However a sorceror raised him from the dead and he once again pursued his revenge by engaging each of his foes in a vicious fight to the finish.
The roda that followed was nothing short of spectacular—our guests and Rafael pulled out all the stops to give us explosively energetic jogas. There was even a Gringo vs Rafael period where the two set out to outdo each other’s floreios in their typically flamboyant style. The younger capoeiristas also did us proud when they showed off their potential to the cheering crowd.
Out came the samba instruments immediately after the roda was done. We were only allowed a few heartbeats before the pounding of the huge drums took over and the samba girls, decked out in their glittering costumes took to the floor and mesmerised us with a choreographed number. The Aseana drummers also joined in the music-making seamlessly, carrying the bewitched crowd of revellers from one crest of rhythm to the next.
Eventually the samba instruments made way for Qba’s resident band and DJ who continued to supply the music for the rest of the night.
The party stretched into the wee hours of the morning, but that didn’t sap the enthusiasm from anyone who was waiting in anticipation for the Batizado ceremony later in the afternoon. We all gathered at 1 Utama for more rodas, maculelê, singing, playing in the bataria, and cheering on our friends who played for their cords, most of whom for the first time.
The senior students were just as excited despite their having had their experience in the previous year. Our Ligeirim and Cafune of Japan played for their green cords. Surprise graduations were in store for Cacapa from Japan, Queka and Coelho who received their green-yellow cords in recognition of their progress in, passion for and contribution to capoeira. The batizado closed with a final rendition from the samba batucada band.
All too soon, we were saying our goodbyes to all our new-found friends who had to catch their flights home. E-mail addresses and phone numbers were exchanged, promises to keep in touch made.
It was an amazing weekend. Bantus Capoeira Malaysia would like to thank every one of you who made this year’s festival to be the incredible success it was. Our gratitude goes out to all our guests who flew in from Brazil, China, Japan, Thailand, Singapore and Australia to lend us their axé from their home countries.
To all who helped behind the scenes, thank you for keeping mayhem at bay. Students, you demonstrated and shared your love for capoeira, and that is helping it take strong root in Malaysia. Congratulations to all who received their cords this year.
As the dust settles we are left with the memories of this year’s festival, inspired and energised to take capoeira to a higher level. For this writer, the most striking thing would be the fact that we are all part of the bigger Bantus family that is scattered across the world. None of this would have been possible were it not for the camaraderie based upon the mutual love for all things capoeira.
I can’t wait to find out what it will be like at next year’s festival, to be held where it all began—Brazil!
