As Carnival comes to an end in Brazil, I would like to share a little African-Latin culture: Afro-Brazilian dance and Capoeira "live" from Salvador, Bahia Brazil!
I'm watching the trailer, I'm seeing stunning shades of brown, different shapes, different sizes. I'm noticing faces of anguish, faces of pain, faces of courage, faces of freedom. I'm seeing history, I'm seeing, culture, I'm seeing community, I'm seeing family, I'm seeing war, I'm seeing danger, I'm seeing rupture, I'm seeing escape, I'm seeing freedom, I'm seeing fantasy, I'm seeing art, I'm seeing life....
Mysticism, Hero, Capoeira, Condemble, Hope, Life are the best words to describe this new Brazilian made film entitled
"Besouro" -- "Beetle" in English
“Beetle” tells the “true story” of Besouro, a Capoeira master living in 1920s Brazil. The film’s title comes from the name Besouro Manganga, which is a large and dark species of maybug.
According to legends surrounding the historical figure, Besouro was known to vanish whenever he was faced with an uneven fight. This grew into the myth that Besouro had supernatural powers and could dodge bullets and even turn himself into a beetle to scare his opponents.
More grounded details on Besouro suggest he was a rebellious migrant worker who frequently used his Capoeira skills to get into physical conflicts with landowners and police. He died in 1924 at the age of 27 after suffering stab wounds from a knife.
Ku Huan-chiu serves as action director. His credits include stunt doubling for Jet Li in “The Tai-Chi Master” and “Once upon a time in China and America”, as well as recent AD work on CJ7 and “THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR”, and also “Kill Bill”.
Take a look at the clip. I hope it brings much joy and excitement to you as it did for me.
a dignified member, Sister, of the Festa da Boa Morte in Brazil.
In Bahia, Africa abounds! Salvador is the "most" African of all of the Brazilian cities. 90% of the population of over two million people has African ancestry. The local cuisine, musical traditions, dance forms and Bahia's vibrant visual arts are all testaments to this permeating African influence. Cachoeira Bahia Festivals
Festa de Nossa Senhora da Boa Morte Festival falls on the Friday closest to 15 August and lasts three days. This is one of the most fascinating Candomblé festivals and it's worth a special trip to see it. Organized by the Irmandade da Boa Morte (Sisterhood of the Good Death)—a secret, black, religious society—the festival is celebrated by the descendants of slaves, who praise their liberation with dance and prayer and a mix of themes from Candomblé and Catholicism Sisterhood of the Boa Morte Festival (Good Death) is the oldest organization for women of African descent in the New World. The Boa Morte Sisterhood is a secret society of African-Brazilian women, all descendants of African slaves, who sponsor a procession each August that parades through the streets of the historical city of Cachoeira on the banks of the Paraguacu River. It is perhaps the most important festival in the African Heritage calendar in Bahia and is a living tribute of African culture and Diaspora to the New World.
Join me as I travel and YouTube through a day at the Boa Morte Festival, concluding in a night out in the city of Salvador:
