Singing for Survival: Capoeira History
This podcast is dedicated to educating people on the history of the Afro-Brazilian martial art of Capoeira. Each episode will focus on either an important historical figure or Capoeira song, and will examine what we can learn about the past and future of Capoeira from those stories.
Singing for Survival: Capoeira History
O Que E Berimbau?
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Mike Pinto
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Episode 17
In this episode I want to talk about arguably the most important instrument in the Capoeira bateria, the berimbau. The berimbau is an instantly recognizable symbol of Capoeira in the modern day, and in most circles is what leads the roda itself. At some point we all learn how to play this instrument and expect to see it in every roda we attend, but in some ways, there are questions about the instrument itself that we take for granted due to its ubiquitousness. Things like: where did this instrument originate from? When and how did it get to Brazil? Has it always been in Capoeira? If not, when and why did it make its way in? In this episode we are going to dig into some of these questions!