History of
Grupo Axé Capoeira
Grupo Axé Capoeira began in Recife, Brazil
in 1982. Today, with academies through out Canada, the United States,
Europe, Asia and South America, the Grupo
continues to rise as one of the world's leading Capoeira organizations.
Backed by worldwide releases of five albums of music on CD, the
video release of the 2000 International Encounter and two Performance
videos from the Axé Capoeira Volume IV and V CD releases,
enrollment continues to steadily increase.
The Grupo also continues to travel around
the world promoting Brazilian culture, music and dance,
and participating in Capoeira and open martial art exhibitions and
competitions.
Objectives
Axé Capoeira is working hard to
ensure that Capoeira has a strong future . Through research,
travel
and participating in events, we hope to increase our knowledge
in the art and contribute to the evolution of Capoeira. Our
goal
is for Capoeira to be placed among the most widely practiced
and respected martial art forms in the world.
Philosophy & Methodology
The philosophy of Grupo Axé Capoeira
is to respect all the mestres, preserve the roots and traditions
of Capoeira, and train Capoeira in all its aspects: as a fight,
art, and culture. We endeavor to teach and educate so that capoeira
will grow in a positive healthy way. We attempt to pass on to
the students physical and mental methods of training so that they
learn to create situations and maintain a dialogue within the
game. By playing both with friends and enemies, students learn
to deal with any situation in or out of the roda. In North America,
we not only teach movements, but the Brazilian language and customs
as well so that the students may become true capoeiristas.
Mestre Barrão
Marcos da Silva, Mestre Barrão,
was born in the port city of Recife, on the Northeast coast
of
Brazil. In 1974,
Marcos began studying Capoeira with Mestre Pirajá. After three years of training with Mestre Pirajá,
whom
had eventually left on sabbatical, Marcos went on in 1977 to
continue his training with Mestre Teté. Here, Mestre Teté shared
with
him
the ways of the Street Capoeirista: to be shrewd and clever when playing,
how to read opponents, and how to judge situations that one invariably
finds oneself in, both inside and outside of the Roda of Capoeira.
In 1979, he began to enter Capoeira competitions
throughout Northeast Brazil and in 1980, Marcos began to teach.
In 1982, he entered the prestigious
National Championship in Rio de Janeiro. Such was his skill and
fortune that in the end, he left as Brazilian Champion. Upon
his
return, many opportunities came his way to teach in schools,
community centers, and universities throughout Brazil and eventually
formed
Grupo Axé Capoeira. In 1988, he was graduated to First
Degree Master by Mestre Pirajá.
In 1990, Mestre Barrão was invited to demonstrate
his art at the International Children's Festivals throughout North
America and eventually found himself in Canada at the Vancouver
International Children's Festival. He decided to immigrate
to Canada, begin teaching, and launched
The Annual International Capoeira Encounter during which renowned and
respected Mestres from all over the world visit and share their
skills. By 1996, he opened Canada's first Academy of Capoeira.
Today, Mestre Barrão, having now received
his Second Degree Master after twelve years, is continuously
invited
to conduct and teach Capoeira workshops all over the world. Places
like the U.S.A., Australia, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Portugal,
France, Russia, and more, have embraced him as one of today's
great Mestres.
Professor Coquinho
Axé Capoeira of Seattle is privileged to have Coquinho as its head
instructor. He is extremely dedicated to his
teaching and the art of Capoeira, and is indisputably the driving force behind the group's fantastic development.
His hope is to train strong capoeiristas and contribute to the advancement of Capoeira in the Pacific Northwest.
Marcos "Coquinho" Nascimento was born in a disadvantaged neighborhood of Recife, on the northeast coast
of Brazil. Before he began training Capoeira, Coquinho had a very challenging childhood and teenage years.
During his late teenage years, Coquinho was introduced to Capoeira and Mestre Barrão. Mestre
Barrão, who was also raised in the streets of Recife, showed Coquinho how Capoeira could be used to
build strength and reject the life imposed by poverty. Coquinho became captivated and passionate about the
art form. Capoeira gave him strength and energy to rise above the social ills he was surrounded by.
With much hard work, opportunities began to emerge. In 1998 Coquinho was invited by Mestre Barrão to participate in the Annual
International Capoeira Encounter in Vancouver, British Columbia.
In Vancouver, Coquinho was re-united with Mestre
Barrão (who had immigrated to Canada) and began helping him in his academy in Vancouver, BC. Knowledgeable
in an art form that was fairly new to North America, he was then invited to travel, perform, and teach about his
culture and Capoeira. He spent 3 years touring Canada and the United States. In 2002, Coquinho realized a lifelong
dream by opening the Axé Capoeira Academy in Seattle, WA.
Today Coquinho continues his personal training by attending as many Capoeira workshops and events as possible.
He is constantly learning so that he may pass on the most current Capoeira knowledge and technique to his own students.
He encourages his students to become strong capoeiristas and hopes to spread the positive energy of Capoeira
throughout this community.
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