I know everyone’s waiting to see the rodas. Here’s the first one that I video-ed on the first night of our workshop. I just wanna thank whoever for keeping the camera rolling when I passed it on to you…
This is the re-edited version (1st nite) because I mixed up the two rodas…my bad.
I’ve checked the vid below and it’s missing just one game which I will post as a separate video on Youtube.
Here’s the missing bit…
This is probably going to be the trickiest post to write. How can I even be objective when I’ve been married to this person for a decade?
So…(big pause) I told Tempeiro that he’s definitely going to graduate to the next level. Call it a gut feel. Whatever.
Well, for starters, he works hard at his craft (during the early years of our marriage, he was practising his berimbau more than his electric guitar, learning all the capoeira songs and ironically, he sounds better singing in Portuguese than in English).
Nowadays, while waiting for his wife to get ready, he practises the samba rhythms on the pandeiro (although I personally think it’s an unconscious ploy on his part to get me to hurry up! 
).
When he is asked to take over the classes in Claudinho’s absence, he ponders over how to articulate his clues to help his classmates to work out the movements that seem most challenging to them. And he isn’t the most gifted when it comes to moves so he keeps working on them while encouraging others earnestly to not give up.
But this is strictly me speaking as a fellow capoeirista.
So…(big pause) did Tempeiro listen to his wife? Nah. Typical male. So I gleefully watch him get into the roda to play with several instructors. And I hold my breath and hope he paces himself.
So congrats, darling. You do deserve it (even when you thought otherwise). No apologies to anyone who thinks I am biased!
AWESOME! AWESOME! AWESOME!
43 newbies got batizado-ed into the fellowship of the roda this year and showed us some great form during the roda. If you all keep training the way you do, we can’t wait to see you guys at the next batizado!
Personally, I’m proudest of my homies who got their corda verde and verde-amarelo. I mean, seriously, they’ve been around since (to quote Kerosene) Graduado Claudinho and they very much form the heartbeat of our grupo - they add great axé to the group, their playful enthusiasm is infectious and their sense of comic timing is uncanny. Honestly, I love them to bits. 
And then there are those who have outdone themselves (without realising it):
Golias, who (to quote Claudinho) transforms a roda into a GREAT roda by his presence with his clapping, singing and just being himself, showing up at the batizado to support all of us even when he couldn’t participate due to a longstanding injury.
Ila, who has been recovering from her knee surgery. Despite that, she has been turning up to observe nearly every training session since the beginning and had learnt to play the pandeiro in the meantime. Not to mention that she is also a great addition to our samba batucada band. She’s missed the batizado twice since she’s been with us and we hope she’ll be in form for our next batizado.
Guru, who is serving his National Service, came down for the batizado with his axé but had to opt out of his abada at the last minute so that Linda could borrow his (which meant he couldn’t play in the roda). And Linda had taken her abadas off to lend it to someone else who couldn’t find hers at home.
Da Lua, who has been MIA for a while due to his IB exams, showed up just to support everyone else. And Andorinha (Jo) and Loic (who has just joined us barely a week ago) offered to accommodate our overseas batizado guests. THANK Q.
And it was so good to see Mestre again and to have Rafael and Grao with us, David (his 1st Batizado in Singapore), Perereca (in great form and looking more buff), Margo who is the unofficial fun-meister at every event we invite him to and Zangada for adding female capoeirista power. For me, this year’s Batizado was AWESOME because I am with the people I love and these people whom I love are part of my capoeira family. EU SOU BANTUS!
“It reminds us all that regardless of where we are, who we are, we are not just a bunch of people, we are a family.” Mutante (on what he liked most about the batizado)