It’s been one year since I pondered over this question. It recently resurfaced in my mind while thinking of how I would write this article. And so I have been turning it over and over (and over, and sideways, and then over some more) in my mind. That’s partly because I didn’t attend batizado last year, but I digress.

This year’s batizado was exceptionally memorable for me, for many reasons.

Not only did I get my verde belt (to shouts of “Finally!” from some of my fellow capoeiristas - thanks guys, you know who you are), I also got to see my juniors get their verde and coral belts. It’s somewhat exaggerated to say so, but I felt a tinge of (almost parental) pride, especially at seeing our year 2s get their verdes. Seeing for ourselves how we’ve “brought up” an entire batch thus far, who are very much capable of (and who already are) taking over from us, is a sort of affirmation to me that the work Curio, Boteco and I put in has come to something.

At the same time, it reminds me of the times back when I could count the number of seniors I had on one hand. I can’t imagine what would happen to me, and all of us, if Claudinho had gone ahead and shut down Bantus in SP.

Having everyone in Bantus involved in Ritmo do Brasil was definitely a new experience. With the main class involved in samba batucada, and RP performing samba de roda, we too had to deliver on our end with our maculele. With a basic outline that Claudinho left for us just before he left, we had just under 2 months to flesh it out into a full 10-minute performance. It wasn’t so much that Claudinho wasn’t clear in his instruction, but that we had to refine our movements and make ourselves more expressive.

All of us had some experience with maculele, so we’d already left bruised knuckles from accidentally hitting one another behind (for the most part at least). So there lay just one challenge ahead of us: to be more tribal and fierce in our movements.

And what a challenge it was! If you saw Mira and Liyana on the night of the performance, you’d never guess that when we first started, one of them made her entrance prancing, a la the Little Red Riding Hood picking a bouquet of flowers for her grandma. Claudinho even had to offer help from the sidelines, saying, “Like orang utan! Orang utan!”

On a side note, I have, only just this moment, realised that there will be many pictures of my topless self all over Facebook. The good thing is, most of them will be on strangers’ profiles.

As always, it was great to see all the instructors. But I was especially glad to see Rafael, who showed us he was not in the least bit affected by his motorbike mishap, which took place just weeks before Batizado. And seeing Grao conduct his workshop while nursing an injured knee definitely motivated me to try harder to do the movements. Looking around, I think everyone noticed and tried harder to do their raiz-es so as not to disappoint Grao.

I won’t go on too much about Batizado day itself, I’m sure we all have our own experiences and memories of the day. And if you can’t remember anything, there’s quite enough video footage of the day on Youtube that you can watch to jog your memory.

After all the preparation and rehearsals to make sure everything came together, the night of Ritmo do Brasil finally came around. This was it, the culmination of all our hours of hard work, what all our blood, sweat and tears would show for.

And give a good show we did! Haji Lane turned out in full force to watch us bring life to the night. Kickstarting the night was the fire dancers, who set the tone for the rest of the night by turning the temperature way up. (sorry for the bad pun, but I couldn’t resist) Maculele was up next, and I think the crowd enjoyed our performance, if the table of ladies celebrating a hen night coming up and asking to take pictures with us was any indication. After we had gone back up to clean all the paint off ourselves, we tried to watch the capoeira and samba batucada performances from the upstairs windows, but try as we might, it was hard to catch a glimpse. They drew such a huge crowd, we hardly caught more than an occasional floreio or the shimmer of a costume. So we had to content ourselves with just hearing the sounds from the street below, till the party moved indoors.

If I may backtrack a little: Parabens to all my camaradas who have gone on to green/yellow! As Claudinho said, they have done much to contribute to Bantus in their own ways, and they are in every way deserving of the recognition and belt. I can’t mention any one person in particular, because I want to congratulate every one of you guys. But I will say, I almost teared up too at seeing how Gigante reacted to hearing his name, with his entire family present.

And so this batizado has left me with many things by which to remember it: a new belt, new responsibilities, and photos of the paint on my face and body. But that’s not the point is it?

I said this last year, and I think it’s still apt. So what does Batizado mean to me? It means that we are not just a group of people scattered across the globe, but a family, separated not by distance, but connected by the blood that (as Claudinho likes to say) doesn’t just flow, but ginga-s in our veins.

So here’s to everyone who made Batizado, Ritmo do Brasil 2011 AND the barbeque great - não, awesome - Muito Obrigado e Muito Axe, galera! And I know everyone, myself included, will be going through Batizado withdrawal syndrome after the crazy packed week of fun.

P.S. Which is why I would be soothing the axé-hangover with more axé - by going up to KL the following week for Bantus Malaysia’s batizado.

Editor’s note:

I took the liberty of pinching more pix from the utterly brilliant photographer Fang Yuan to illustrate this essay.

Nearly everyone succumbed to a viral bug after the weekend celebrations. Which is why the write-ups were delayed… and then I caught it (and just recovered)…

Actually life as a Capoierista isn’t much different from that of a University student. We all know that school before University was about having fun and not doing homework, then cramming all you have failed to learn through the year in the final month or week before exams and miraculously still doing well. Well… in University you just can’t do that, it’s all about consistently keeping up with your readings, submitting weekly assignments and acing quizzes and at the end of the term submit your thesis /term paper and then hoping for the best.

In Capoeira, it’s very much the same. After getting your first belt at your first Batizado, it’s all up to you to train hard, attend classes regularly and show your teacher, in my case, Claudinho, that you have learnt well consistently through the entire year. Then nearing the next Batizado and Troca de corda, you submit your essay or thesis on Capoeira and hope for the very best that you get promoted. Furthermore, we also get visiting Professors; sometimes during the year but mostly at the during the pre- Batizado/ Troca de corda workshops from all over the world. It is awesome to learn from Capoeira instructors from all over the world. Many thanks to Professor Margo, Professor Bimba, Professor Rafael, Formado Grao and not forgetting the founder of Bantus Capoeira, Mestre Pintor. ‘Interesting how the ranks/ titles even reflects the academic ones i.e. Professor and Graduate. Perhaps I will research to see if they are cognates (a linguistic phenomenon) or aroused due to cultural and historical influences which I suspect and present them in my essay next year.

As Contra Mestre Claudinho once explained that although some may say that a belt is just something that holds your pants but to him it is much more as it symbolises one’s commitment, attitude and maturity in and towards Capoeira. I must say I’m really fortunate and happy that I’ve got my verde (green), which is my first promotion and I will strive to train harder and set a good example for my juniors.

Like University, we also have after parties. But I must say that the Noite Brasileira (Brazilian Night) we had at Piedra Negra was one of the best I ever attended. A fire dance performance warmed up the crowd packed into Haji Lane and from then on it was non-stop action and PARTY with a capital letter P! An exotic showcase of Maculele (traditional Brazilian dance and stick-fighting) was followed by an exhilarating display of Capoeira performed with immense skills and precision due to the craziest crowd and insane spatial constraints. the party was in full swing when the sizzling girls of the Samba Batucada drove the crowd wild. And everyone got to dance the night away during the Samba de roda and Forro sessions! All these events were made possible by non-other than my fellow students as well as our esteemed instructors of Bantus Capoeira!

All in all, it was an awesome Batizado and Troca de corda and our Brazilian Night Party was a roaring success! And this is where I see the difference in Capoeira and University. University life will eventually end for me but I don’t see my time in Capoeira ever coming to a stop. For I’m a full-time Capoeirista for life!

BANTUS CAPOEIRA AXE!

Editor’s note: Thank you’s to Justine Leong & Fang Yuan for allowing us to steal your photos for this post.

We apologise for the very late announcement of our 6th Batizado & Troca de Corda. Up to a few days ago, several of us were still scrabbling to find a venue.

The reason being that this time of the year sucks for us because it is the busiest - what with the varsity exams (so our undergrads won’t make it for this year’s troca de corda), our high school grads have flown the coop (so we’ll be missing them as well while they’re overseas enjoying their freshmen year), our Poly grads are either waiting to enter National Service or are already enlisted (so we’ll be missing some fine young men from our troca de corda this year), the Cambridge O and A levels are in full swing, all the polytechnics are gearing up to impress and woo the new batch of O level students fresh out of their paper chase from next week onwards with their various performing showcases. So it’s no wonder that all their available facilities are fully booked.

Still, little miracles DO happen and everyone - yes, I do mean, everyone in the entire cohort - was most relieved when we announced that we finally found a venue for our workshops. Just two days ago!

I need to say this ‘coz I’m so damn proud of our cohort - this is the tightest we have been as a group and we have many (many!) hands who have pulled this year’s festival together. If we were a ship, this is the best crew I’ve ever been part of! So a BIG thank you to everyone who has added your weight to get our festival going. And so let the fun begin…

Now for the details everyone is waiting for:

Batizado workshops: Wed 16 Nov - Fri 18 Nov 2011
Time: 8pm - 10pm
Venue: Multi-Purpose Hall @ Sports Complex (Republic Polytechnic)
Campus landmarks to look out for would be the swimming pool and rockclimbing wall.

Here’s a suggestion for all who are coming by train.
1. Try to arrive at the Woodlands MRT station by 7.15pm so that will give you plenty of time to take a leisurely walk through the park connector (about 10-15 min) and end up at the front of the campus by 7.30pm.

(Just to let you know there’s a POSB ATM to your right - if you need to draw money to buy stuff later during the workshop. Believe me, there will be stuff to buy if they are in your size or match your taste).

Walk ahead along the wide corridor til you see the 7-ELEVEN or Subway. We’ll get a couple of our RP cohort to meet you between 7.30pm - 7.45pm so they can take you to the workshop venue which is another 5-7 mins walk to the back of the campus. You want to have enough time to change (you’ll be quite warmed up if you had walked all the way from the train station) and do the usual meet-and-greet with your fellow cohort mates and our guests before the workshop begins.

If you have wheels, you might want to check the map below. Maybe Anne can give some directions under comments for this post later.

Please see map for directions. http://www.rp.edu.sg/campus_tour/

6th Batizado & Troca de corda
Sat 19 Nov 2011
Time: 3pm - 5.30pm
Venue: Istana Park (across from the Istana - nearest MRT station is Dhoby Ghaut)

Noite Brasileira
Sat 19 Nov 2011
Time: 9pm til late
Venue: Piedra Negra (Haji Lane @ Arab Street area)
Showcase of Maculele, Capoeira, Samba Batucada, Samba de roda & Forro throughout the evening. More information and a separate poster will be put up later.

Post-Batizado BBQ Sun 20 Nov 2011
Time: 2pm onwards
Venue: East Coast Park
Food will be catered (halal-certified) BYOB and let’s party again! Can our party animal committee post the details under comments here?

So that’s it, folks. Have fun. Enjoy. You’ve trained all year just for this.

Number 1: never order more than ten pizzas. Even when there are 50 people at your party. In the end, we had to sweet-talk some folks to bring a pizza home. Er, a handful had declined as they didn’t want to be mistaken for pizza delivery boys or gals on the train back.

Number 2: never believe anyone who tell you they eat veggies. They probably eat like three lettuce leaves and just a cherry tomato or two. That’s about it. So one salad will suffice even if there are vegetarians lurking amongst your guests. Just direct them to the bar where they can get their fill of liquid grain (or fruit juice).

Number 3: always involve the Foreign Legion. In our case, the French dudes in our capoeira group, Bambu, Besouro and Galego, shared their love for all things alcoholic with us as they zealously served up caipirinhas in their makeshift bar and drank as much as their guests. Great job, Legionnaires! For the record, Sol, our bartender for the evening, tried to apologise for getting everyone drunk with his volka shots and volka watermelon. Also for the record, we thought he outdid himself in leading by example.

Number 4: making your guests wait in suspense while your set-up crew cleans and puts up decor in record time is part of the stress before the fun. Why we were all late was probably due to traffic and other unforeseen circumstances. But let me thank Boneco do Posto for actually showing up punctually and also everyone else who swept, mopped and flipped the mats as part of their mini-circuit training to spruce up the academy. BIG THANK U’s to Mutante, Curio, Careca, Lampiao, Boteco, Boneco do Posto (again), Joevenn, Evelyn, Rufus, Sombra and if I left out your name here by mistake, it’s due to my poor memory. Please accept my apologies and feel free to acknowledge yourself under comments!

Number 5: it’s a good idea to tag people with colored ribbon and stamp their wrists (like the clubs do). Makes them wonder why they are being tagged for one thing (it’s for party games later) and I like how folks ooh and aah when they realise they’re being stamped with a Decepticon (Shockwave) chop.

Number 6: dudes dig poles. And pole dancing. Yup, they can even show you how it’s done.

My favorite poledancers for the evening were Boteco (‘coz he actually did a pole move!), Goma (who enjoyed molesting his ticklish human pole) and Cicak-man (who eyed the pole the way dogs would when they attempt to shag a human leg). Galego, one thousand brownie points goes to you for your brilliant idea of a penalty imposed on the losing team! And a million brownie points to our human poles and sporting pole humpers!

Number 7: our gals can sing. Of course they can. So apart from singing during the capoeira roda, Amee and Mastura did a kickass job of wowing everyone with their renditions of Someone Like You (Adele) and Man Down (Rihanna). Seriously, at the way Mas was going, her chair was gonna be rocked to pieces and I thought she might as well get up and dance.

Number 8: our boyz can dance. It’s official. Only two rehearsals and they got the choreography down to a pat. Claudinho has christened our male revue the Bantus Chippendales. Hahaha. He will probably lead the troupe in future gigs.;-)

Another surprise treat for everyone was having Bambu, Careca and Claudinho swishing their hips, shaking their booties and sashaying around with feather boas. (Sorry, I got no pix of this marvellous act. Did anyone take any pix? Hehe)

Number 9: So you think you can dance? Well, like all couple dances, forró only works if the guys lead and the gals follow. Too bad for the guys who can’t lead and the gals who can’t follow…

So you think you can’t dance? You should have stayed on to watch Besouro’s steamy lambada with Cindy. And pick up a tip or two. The remaining handful of staunch drinkers were still holding out pretty well on the dance floor. Thanks to Galego’s clubbing playlist and Sol’s volka watermelon.

Number 10: Inebriated folks should not try to do math puzzles (like fitting the rubber mats back on the floor) or attempt housekeeping feats. Claudinho will head the set-up crew before the next class when everyone’s sober again to fit the mats back. Enjoy your workout before the class.;-)

Postscript: And you know you are the last man standing if you’re completely smashed and can still have a little game of angola while waiting for a cab.

Thanks everyone, for the memories of another good party! You were all great fun to be with. Hope you all had fun too!

Click here for more info

Here’s proof.

Just for the record, we love weddings! It’s really one of those occasions where we capoeiristas get to see one another outside our sweaty abadas and smelly t-shirts or casual togs. (And this wedding won’t be the last in our group either. ) So here’s a rare glimpse of our own contra-mestre looking very dapper in his formal getup.

On 2 February 2011, Grupo Bantus Capoeira turned 20. Parabéns para o Mestre Pintor for keeping Bantus Capoeira going strong for two decades! Muito axé to everyone in the Bantus worldwide family!

To commemorate 20 years of GBC, Mestre Pintor has invited all active students of the group to participate in a t-shirt designing competition. The winning design will be used for the Bantus Brazil Festival in August along with 100 pairs of special edition abadas which will be on sale. The winner will receive a t-shirt with his/her design as well as a pair of the special edition abada and a commemorative berimbau!

FESTIVAIS BANTUS 2010

Começando pelo evento do Brasil, que neste ano foi realizado pelos alunos graduados, não deixou nada a desejar as qualidades dos eventos anteriores, e foi muito bem elaborado e desenvolvido. Parabéns aos bantulinos Marmota e Tyson, Titie e Guinho, Lobão e Chapoca. Se esqueci algum nome foi defeito do teclado do meu computa.
Starting for the event of Brazil, that in this year was carried through by the graduated pupils, nothing did not leave to desire the qualities of the previous events, and was very well elaborated and developed. Congratulations to the bantulinos Marmota and Tyson, Titie and Guinho, Lobão and Chapoca. If I forgot some name was defect of the keyboard of mine computes.

Já no evento do Japão, tenho muito a elogiar o trabalho desenvolvido pelo Caçapa e Kafuné. Depois de tudo que aconteceu em 2008, Caçapa e Kafuné demonstraram grande dedicação ao Grupo Bantus e voltaram a ser exemplos, pois o evento 2010 foi de muita alegria e boas energias. No dia do Batizado, estava na cara de todos os alunos a satisfação pelo evento. Parabéns Caçapa e Kafuné, vocês estão realizando um grande trabalho e eu estou muito feliz por vocês fazerem parte na família Bantus.
No longer event of Japan, I have much to praise the work developed for the Caçapa and Kafuné. After that it happened in 2008, Caçapa and Kafuné had demonstrated great devotion to the Bantus Group and had come back to be examples, therefore event 2010 was of much joy and good energies. In the day of the Batizado, the satisfaction for the event was in the face of all the pupils. Congratulations Caçapa and Kafuné, you are carrying through a great work and I am very happy for vocês to be part in the family Bantus.

Australia…ai vai o Grão com sua “malandragem” recriando o GBC em Perth. O cabra quando tem o “braço forte de maré” na deixa o berço do GBC-Asia morre!!! Parabéns pelos dias alegres que aconteceram durante o Festival 2010 na Australia. Nem preciso falar do noite da festa em Fremantle e do maravilhoso e ensolarado dia da Roda de Batizado e troca de cordas. O churrasco na casa da Beth veio selar o sucesso do evento em Perth. Parabéns Grão e Beth!!!!
Australia… goes the Grão with its there ” malandragem” creating the GBC in Perth. The cabra when it has ” braço forte de maré” the cradle of GBC-Asia does not leave dies! Congratulations per the glad days that had happened during Festival 2010 in Australia. No is necessary to say of the party in Fremantle and the wonderful and sunny day of the Roda de Batizado and Troca de Cordas. The barbecue in the house of the Beth came to stamp the success of the event in Perth. Congratulations Grão and Beth!

Agora é Contra-mestre Claudinho!!! E foi merecido a graduação, pois o trabalho vem crescendo a cada ano, e os eventos são sempre de muita alegria e determinação. Singapore hoje tem Capoeira de valor!!! Pois os alunos estão cada vez melhores e buscando sempre mais
qualidade. Agora com um local para desenvolver o trabalho e ter identidade, sei que os alunos se tornarão melhores e ainda mais ativos por que conta com um grande professor e agora Contra-mestre. Também fico muito feliz e tranquilo com a dedicação e carinho que Flora e Tempero tem com o GBC e o Claudinho. Sem esquecer da força e participação do Professor Magu na Australia e em Singapore. Parabéns Contra-Mestre Claudinho.
Now he is Contra-mestre Claudinho!!! Was deserved the graduation, therefore the work comes growing to each year, and the events are always of much joy and determination. Singapore today has Capoeira of value! Therefore the better pupils are each time and searching always more quality. Now with a place to develop the work and to have identity, I know that the pupils will become better and still more active why counts on a great professor and now Contra-mestre. Also I am very happy and peaceful with the devotion and affection that Flora and Tempero has with the GBC and the Claudinho. Without forgetting the force and participation it Professor Magu in Australia and Singapore. Congratulations Contra-mestre Claudinho.

Malaysia…o “filho mais velho” do GBC na Asia!!! E o professor Rafael vem fazendo “bonito” todo ano. Sempre com o suporte de sua esposa Marissa e seus alunos: Cueca, Perereca, Jabuticaba, Coelho e ainda tem outros que não me lembro os nomes. Me desculpe!!! E nesse ano ele fez uma grande homenagem ao padrinho do GBC e meu Mestre João Pequeno. Me emociono muito quando vejo dedicações ao nosso Mestre João Pequeno e emociono ainda mais quando é cantado o hino do GBC nas rodas da Malaysia e Singapore. A energia é muito forte. Tenho que confessar que sou tremandamente egoísta por conter minhas emoções nessas rodas, pois me contagiam profundamente. A festa ” Noite Brasileira” me faz ser “jovem” novamente e contagia a todos. E como contagia!!! A roda de rua, no centro de Kuala Lumpur foi coisa para causar inveja até em rodas no Brasil. Agradeço ao Fantasma e o Pega-ninguém ( Pimball ) ( Escola Brasileira de Capoeira) pela participação. Eles trousseram muitas alegrias aos eventos. Temos que agradecer ao Rafael pelo suporte quando estou na Asia. Parabéns Rafael!!!
Malaysia… ” son more old” of the GBC in Asia! And the professor Rafael comes making ” beautiful” all year. Always with the support of its Marissa wife and its pupils: Cueca, Perereca, Jabuticaba, Coelho and still have others that I do not remember the names. It forgives me!!! And in this year it made a great homage to the godfather of GBC and my Mestre João Pequeno. I am touched myself very when I see dedications to our Mestre João Peuqeno and I move still more when the hymn of the GBC in the Rodas of the Malaysia and Singapore is sung. The energy is very strong. I have that to confess that I am tremendous egoistic for containing my emotions in these wheels, infect therefore me deeply. The party ” Noite Brasileira” it makes me to be ” young” again and it infects to all. And as it infects! The Roda de Rua, in the center deKuala Lumpur was thing to even cause envy in Rodas in Brazil. I thank the Fantasma and Pega-ninguém (Pimball) (Escola Brasileira de Capoeira) for the participation. They are bring many joys to the events. We have that to be thankful Rafael for the support when I am in Asia. Congratulations Rafael!!!

Parabéns Charuto e Mimi por estarem levantando o GBC na Indonésia. O evento foi mais modesto mas foi grande pela dedicação e determinação de vocês. O dia do Batizado e Troca de cordas foi muito legal. Os eventos demonstraram que podemos ser ainda maiores e melhores em Jakarta, pois o trabalho vem sendo bem desenvolvido.
Congratulations Charuto and Mimi for being raising the GBC in Indonesia. The event was more modest but it was great for the devotion and determination of you and Perna Longa. The day of the Batizado e Troca de Cordas was very nice. The bigger and better events had demonstrated that we still can be in Jakarta, therefore the work come being developed well.

Olha ai o ” Trem do Alegrão”!!! Nem preciso falar da alegria no evento da Tailândia, pois apesar das dificuldades políticas locais, Tong, Pam, Baiana, Xuxa, etc, vem fazendo bom trabalho em Bangkok com o suporte do Professor Rafael. E ainda tivemos as dificuldades com a chuva que não deixou realizar a roda de rua e o Batizado e Troca de Cordas na praça. Mas mesmo assim os eventos aconteceram com boa energia e dedicação de todos.
It looks at there “Trem do Alegrão”!!! Nor necessary to speak of the joy in the event of Thailand, therefore although the difficulties local politics, Tong, Pam, Bahiana, Xuxa, etc, comes making good work in Bangkok with the support of the Professor Rafael. And still we had the difficulties with the rain that did not leave to carry through the Roda de Rua and the Baptism and the Batizadoe Troca de Cordas in the square. But thus the events had exactly happened with good energy and devotion of all.

PARABÉNS FAMILIA GBC!!! VOCÊS FAZEM O GRUPO SER O MELHOR!!! MESTRE PINTOR.

CONGRATULATIONS FAMILY GBC! YOU ARE MAKE THE GROUP TO BE BETTER!!! MESTRE PINTOR.