Gente de NAHJ: A Brazilian journalist uses capoeira to connect with her ancestors
When Journalist Ana Clara Otoni hears the Afro-Brazilian drum beats foundational to “capoeira,” she’s left speechless.
This dance-infused martial art has long been frowned upon in her home country yet its her community.
“It’s like you are transported, a portal opens,” Otoni said. “It kind of takes you to another dimension. I don’t know how to explain, but capoeira is that strong to me.”
Originated by Black enslaved people in 16th century Brazil, capoeira blends musical elements and self-defense fighting. It’s full of intensive kicks, graceful twirls and dynamic takedowns.
Otoni briefly discovered capoeira in her physical education class in middle school. Back then the acrobatic moves impressed. Today, she can’t live without it. To her, this community is survival. At one point, she was practicing six times a week.
“It’s seen as a marginalized art to this day. If you say that you are a capoeirista, people look at you with bad eyes,” said Otoni. In her rural hometown, Capelinha, prejudice against capoeira remains “because of the Black history — people just tend to put shame on that.” She said that even people in her town are still debating if it should be taught in schools.
Now living in Florida, Otoni wants to make her ancestors proud and pave the way for more women to learn capoeira since they have long been an overlooked group of capoeiristas.
“We are coordinating to create a cultural agenda,” Otoni said, “To practice the art, but also to have other ways of engaging in the history of capoeira.”
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misspelled Ana Clara Otoni ‘s hometown. She is from Capelinha. The article also incorrectly stated that she was a capoeira teacher. She did not teach.
Viviana Garcia is a recent journalism graduate from California State University in Fullerton. She’s headed to New York University for a graduate degree in multimedia journalism and aspires to a career as a television news producer. Reach her at 06vivianagarcia [at] gmail [dot] com or on LinkedIn at @vivianagarcia.
Boa noite!
Fico muito orgulhoso de minha filha praticar esse maravilhoso esporte e fico mais feliz de ver este sorriso estampado no seu rosto .
Parabéns minha filha
Te amo
Parabéns minha filha
Te amo