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.
Episodes
20 episodes
Revisiting Hard Topics: Abuse in Capoeira and What We Can Do
Today’s episode is a departure from the standard format of this podcast to revisit a topic we explored back in 2021, which is sexual abuse in capoeira. This remains an ongoing issue, and with this episode, where I am joined by Natasha Távora...
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Episode 20
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1:34:27
Dragão do Mar and Brazil's First Free City
In this episode, I collaborate with Natasha Távora Baker (Pequena) from the podcast Natasha Explains it All to talk about how organized labor actions led to the abolition of slavery in Fortaleza, 5 whole years before the passing of the G...
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Episode 19
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1:26:15
Paranaue and the War of the Triple Alliance
Paranaue is arguably the most popular and well known song in Capoeira, and it's probably the most well known Capoeira song to people outside of the art. It’s the song people sing as a joke when they can tell the people around them don't know...
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Episode 18
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53:46
O Que E Berimbau?
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...
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Episode 17
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37:42
Apelidos: What's in a Name?
In this episode, we take a look at apelidos: what are they, where do they come from, and how should we use them going forward? This is inspired by and informed from a survey of 75 Capoeiristas polled through the Capoeira sub-reddit on their exp...
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Episode 16
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34:18
Saci Pererê: Uma Perna Só
Today’s episode is not about a person or even a legend within Capoeira. Instead I want to talk about a Brazilian cultural folklore, Saci Perere. Saci is a figure that I have been vaguely aware of for some time. I’ve known several people who wer...
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Episode 15
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22:37
Bonus Episode: You're History! - OTS x Singing for Survival Ultimate Mashup
A very special episode where I collaborate with the folks from the Only the Strongest podcast to talk about Capoeira history! If you like this episode, please check them out here: https://open.spotify.com/show/3jw3OGIPDqc2jL8isOFHVD?si=d69e3054...
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Episode 14
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49:46
Bonus Episode: Our Living History
Super brief bonus episode while I work on the next main one. Here I share my thoughts on the importance of learning our "present histories" and how many figures we may consider historical are still dynamic, active, and changing.Feel fre...
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Episode 13
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15:13
Maculele: Origins and Modern Interpretation
Today’s episode we will not be talking directly about Capoeira, but instead about a related Afro-Brazilian art that has become inextricably tied to Capoiera: Maculele. Most people who’ve been in Capoeira for some significant amount of time, hav...
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Episode 12
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30:08
Sexual Abuse in Capoeira: What We Know and What We Can Do
Today’s episode is going to be a complete departure from the previous format of this podcast. There will be no music, and we will not be talking about a specific person or a specific time period. Instead, we will be talking about the pervasive ...
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Episode 11
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52:07
Manduca da Praia and Rio's Maltas
In today’s episode, I want to look at a few different related topics. When we discuss Capoeira history, particularly more modern history, we often focus on the events and people in Bahia, namely in Salvador. This is because many of the importan...
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Episode 10
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39:50
Njinga: Queen of Angola
In today’s episode, we are going farther back in time than any of our previous episodes, back to the foundations of the Transatlantic Slave Trade in Western Africa. We are not talking about a Capoeirista, we aren’t even talking about a Brazilia...
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Episode 9
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46:52
Besouro Manganga
The subject of today’s episode is Manuel Pereira, better known as Besouro Manganga. Besouro is one of if not the most famous figure in Capoeira history, and for many good reasons. Besouro was so legendary in his fighting prowess, that it was sa...
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Episode 8
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38:45
Madame Satã: What it Means to be a Malandro
Today's episode is about an extremely interesting legend in recent Capoeira history. We will be traveling to Rio de Janeiro in the early 1900's, only a few decades after slavery was abolished, and while Capoeira was still explicitly illegal. We...
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Episode 7
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25:23
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Dandara & Luisa Mahin: How Racism and Sexism Affects our Histories
In this episode we take a look at the histories of Dandara and Luisa Mahin, and discuss how institutional racism and sexism has affected how they are remembered and viewed today.Dandara is commonly known as the wife of Zumbi, and was a ...
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Episode 6
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39:55
Lampiao: Follow-up and Questions
In this episode, I go over some questions that were sent in about Lampiao and go over a song describing life in the sertao. It's nice to have another opportunity to look more into Lampiao and this unique region of Brazil!Send questions ...
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Episode 5
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20:07
Lampião: King of the Sertão
In this episode, we look into the history of Virgulino Ferreira da Silva, also known as Lampião! Lampião is a very important folkloric hero of the Brazilian sertão, who is often seen as a Robin-Hood like figure. The full history of Lampião is s...
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Episode 4
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52:29
Zumbi: Follow-up and Questions
In this episode, I go through a handful of questions that were sent in relating to our last episode on Zumbi and the Quilombos dos Palmares. These questions lead us to a lot of interesting places, such as African rooted arts in the Caribbean an...
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Episode 3
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23:55
Zumbi and the Quilombos dos Palmares
In this episode, we dive into the history of the Quilombos dos Palmares, as well as the most famous person to come from there, Zumbi! Here we will talk about how the Quilombos came to exist, and why the Palmares were so important to Brazilian a...
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Episode 2
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36:09
