May
18
Submitted by webmaster on Tue, 05/18/2010 - 18:06
Posted by PemBe55
July 11, 2008
"Capoeira is a combination of dance, ritual and martial arts that developed out of the Portugese trade of African slaves to Brazil the 16th century."
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This is an audio file with a slide show of capoeira photographs.
http://www.capsprings.com/Music/Lyrics.aspx indicates that "Parana is the name of a state in Brazil. It has come to represent freedom and is used symbolically in many capoeira songs. Aruande and Luanda (the capital of Angola) are often used similarly representing freedom, or even heaven, and often carry a feeling of nostalgia. Of course this would be a common theme among slaves singing of desired freedoms. What types of freedom might modern capoeiristas be seeking?"
end of quote
That website also has the Portuguese words of this song and their English translation.
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Here's some information about the popular Capoeira song from http://www.capoeira-connection.com/main/content/view/195/73/
"Parana ê. It refers to the War of Paraguay, but what was this war?
It began in 1865 and lasted five years… The spark that initiated the war occurred on November 24, 1864, when Paraguayan president Solano López cut ties with Brazil, captured the Brazilian ship Marques de Olinda, and invaded the state of Mato Grosso (which, together with Paraná, are the only states that border Paraguay).
At the end of all the battles, the Paraguayans took the worst casualties. 75% of the country’s population was killed; of 800,000 inhabitants, only 194,000 were left. With this victory, England once again returned to economic domination of the region, and Brazil and Argentina managed to take 140,000 kilometers of the land they wanted.
The whites “logically” didn’t want to be on the front line of battle, so they created a law saying that blacks who entered the war and returned alive would win their liberty. What the whites didn’t anticipate was that the majority of the blacks who went... actually returned!!
The slaves had an advantage thanks to capoeira, because at the time, battles depended more on hand-to-hand fighting than on weapons. So, on their way back, on the margins of the Paraná River, the now ex-slaves sang:
Vou dizer à minha mulher, Paraná
Capoeira que venceu, Paraná... [Venceu a guerra]
Paraná ê, Paraná ê, Paraná.
Ela quis bater pé firme, Paraná [Ela = a guerra]
Isso não aconteceu, Paraná...
I will tell my wife, Paraná
That capoeira won [the war], Paraná
Paraná ê, Paraná ê, Paraná.
It [the war] wanted to stamp its foot hard, Paraná
This did not happen, Paraná
-end of song-
Despite the tragedy for Paraguay, the war was an important milestone in the life of slaves in Brazil. Because of this, it is commemorated to this day in ladainhas and corridos throughout the country.