Capoeira, public space, and identities

The other day one of my closest friends posted a video of her playing capoeira on the Paris metro. For those of you who are not familiar with this practice, capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian art form that combines body movement, martial arts, and music. The oral history of capoeira tells us that this was a practice developed by enslaved people in Brazil to defend themselves against the enslavers and resist oppression. Like many other practices of African and Black ancestry, capoeira was marginalized and even penalized for many years. Nonetheless, through social and political processes, capoeira became a symbol of Brazil, and years later it was spread throughout the world. Through globalization and transnational practice, capoeira has also suffered a commodification process, which, for some capoeira masters and practitioners, has implied a detachment from the roots and meanings of the practice. However, this translocal process has also implied that capoeira is being experienced and perceived as a practice of resistance, empowerment, and identity.

Even though my friend’s capoeira performance on the Paris metro is not the first that I have seen -or done- in ‘unusual places’, I think this is a very good example of how capoeira, and other marginalized practices, are useful to think about how we experience places and our bodies. When we are using public transport or when we are in a public place, we might feel sometimes constricted. We are supposed to seat on the bus or the metro and exercise or move in a studio or a gym. However, even in places where we are supposed to move, we find restrictions. For instance, it is difficult for me to find a place in Ping Recreation Center to train or move. Many open spaces are restricted for group use, so I have had to use the hallway innumerous times to practice. Sometimes I do practice in outdoor spaces. However, the weather does not always allow this. Thus, I have had to constantly look for new places to train and move. I am constantly negotiating with the use of these spaces to overcome limitations and movement restrictions.

I need to move, to practice capoeira. I do not do this just because I love it. I do this because I am working on capoeira. I am a graduate student at the Latin American Studies program. I have a Political Science background, but I am also a capoeirista. Actually, capoeira has now become the focus of my research. This once marginalized practice has opened many doors for me in terms of education, funding, and work. Likewise, it has opened physical doors for me. I taught a capoeira workshop with the OU Movement student organization, and after that, I have been able to use the dance studios at Putnam Hall to train. I was also invited to teach and perform in dance conferences and festivals next spring. In short, my body experience has allowed me to overcome spatial restrictions and has opened new opportunities for me in terms of social mobility.

Nicola de Martini Ugolotti and Eileen Moyer’s article ‘If I climb a wall of ten meters’: capoeira, parkour and the politics of public space among (post) migrant youth in Turin, Italy also addresses these experiences. They conducted ethnographic research in Turin, Italy, about the experiences of migrant youth who face the incertitude to abandon the country because of their migratory status. In short, they argue that this marginalized community uses their bodies and practices to reappropriate public spaces and challenge “dominant visions about what constitutes the public, how it should be used and by whom.” (2016, p. 188).

Finally, the video I posted here of myself practicing capoeira in front of the Alumni Gateway at College Green is a performance of empowerment and identity. I am wearing one of my OU t-shirts and moving with capoeira in an iconic OU place. This can relate to the ideas we discussed on how our bodies are places where we create identity and a sense of belonging, and, at the same time, I am reframing my understanding of the use of public space. I hope you find this post useful to think about these concepts related to personal experiences.

Work Cited: De Martini Ugolotti, N., & Moyer, E. (2016). ‘If I climb a wall of ten meters’: capoeira, parkour and the politics of public space among (post) migrant youth in Turin, Italy. Patterns of Prejudice. 50(2), 188-206, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0031322X.2016.1164435.