2013 has gotten off to a
busy start for The Abolicao Trust! What have we been doing…?
Brazilian Beats
Our springtime
fundraising drive was kicked off with a BRAZILIAN PARTY on 9th
March. Hosted by our good friend Fernando’s Café in the centre of Oxford the
party drew in people from far and wide to enjoy an evening of Brazilian music
DJ’d by Contra Mestre Luis Negao and with a special guest appearance from Mestre
Biscuim for samba. A fun evening was had by all and over £250 was raised for
the South Africa Batizado. Big thanks to Esquiva from Abolicao Oxford for the
help in organising.
Abolicao South Africa V
Batizado, Troca de Cordas
Easter this year was all
about Capoeira! Contra Mestre Luis Negao visited Hamburg for 10 days with a
select group of 5 UK Capoieristras, 3 returning to visit their capoeira
brothers and sisters and 2 just starting their capoeira journey.
As always the visiting
group were warmly welcomed by the people of Hamburg. Throughout our trip this
year the growing maturity of the group was shining through, with a welcoming
braii, an awards ceremony and for the first time guests from Cape Town making
Hamburg the place to be in capoeira in South Africa!
As last year, CM Negao
visited Lovers Twist with 2 UK capoeiritras to see the good work Tigre has been
doing at the after school project run by The Keiskamma Trust, half an hour from
Hamburg. The kids there showed immense concentration, with kicks flying high.
Capoeira just keeps expanding in Hamburg, with hopes this year to establish
another class in Mgababa, another after school project nearly an hour from
Hamburg.
10 days was not enough to
fit in everything, we had a very busy time, enjoying rodas on the beach, daily
workshops developing strength, flexibility and of course, new moves. With a
smaller group we were able to spend lots of time getting to know each other and
sharing capoeira skills.
The highlight of the trip
was of course, the Batizado, held over a very rainy weekend, this did not deter
the group! Children were picked up from their homes which are mostly a half
hour muddy walk away. We were very pleased for the Lovers Twist group to join
us on Batizado day for a second year, even though the bus got stuck in the mud.
And a first for this year, 2 students of Zumbi’s from the Cape Town group came
to join in and were welcomed into the group with their green belts.
The Batizado was followed
by an awards ceremony, entirely organized by the group. At the beginning of the
day we wondered how this would go with no PA equipment, but as if by magic,
through all the rain after a very busy Batizado day we arrived in the evening
to find a sound system and microphone. Awards were handed out for the most
motivated, best at music, best newcomer... Awards were interspersed with music
and dancing from the community and Kieskamma music academy. It was an evening
showing the true spirit of Hamburg.
All in all the visit was
very successful, if only a little short. We are very pleased to see the group
developing their organization and spreading further. The quote of the trip for
this year has to be, from Tigre, the Hamburg instructor,
“We must be pioneers of
our future, not prisoners of our past”
I think, that says it
all, and can apply to us all. Boa!
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