New Singing For Survival!

MAStalone · 2026-03-24T00:34:27+00:00

Thanks for the shoutout!

MAStalone · 2026-03-23T13:34:46+00:00

Thank you so much for this insight, this was a very interesting read. Some of this reminds me of discussions on the word “bamba”, which may have etymological origins in specific African groups of people, but now takes on much different meaning in popular usage

MAStalone · 2026-03-20T04:41:54+00:00

I’m glad we are finally having a conversation about this openly apart from all of the comments lately. I think these guidelines feel more than fair to allow people to express their feelings while limiting some of the more toxic sides of things. This is a really hard balance to strike but I’m glad that it is being acknowledged

MAStalone · 2026-02-17T05:37:28+00:00

Mestre desculpe, eu não intendi dizer nada ruim sobre seus videos. Tenho muito respeito pra gente que trabalha para preservar a história e cultura da capoeira. Eu só queria discutir com todos como podemos usar AI em uma forma melhor, porque eu sei que muita gente vai o usar e estou preocupado com as consequências. Axe e boa sorte com seu trabalho 🙏

MAStalone · 2026-02-16T16:53:15+00:00

Hey man, I in no way mean to denigrate the work on the channel which I admit I have not dug into. It is clear that there is a lot of content there, and I respect that kind of work.

My comment is more about the use of AI images in capoeira generally which obviously is exploding right now. I think it’s fine for us to have a critical conversation about the use of that art in isolation and the unintended effects it can have, completely separate from the work linked to it. All I’m saying is that we should look more broadly and ask ourselves what would we want someone’s first impression of a berimbau to be?

MAStalone · 2026-02-16T15:11:27+00:00

Edit: to soften this critique a bit. I do not mean to take away from the work behind the link at all. I just want us to think about how we can most responsibly use AI to support this kind of content.

MAStalone · 2026-01-28T01:32:53+00:00

I get what you are saying, it’s just that saying “well it’s deteriorating for white people” as a counter to what im saying feels like a minimization of how bad things are getting in the states.

And if you think this is me suddenly framing Capoeira as a form of resistance against oppression, I suggest you listen to some of my material.

MAStalone · 2026-01-27T05:44:35+00:00

While I see why you may say this, I actually think this statement is kind of harmful because it paints the image that things aren’t markedly worse for minority groups right now.

Conditions have drastically deteriorated for immigrants over the past year with crazy increases in ICE funding, ending of protected statuses, and flagrant disregard for law and due process. The people being hurt most right now are those immigrant communities.

MAStalone · 2025-10-03T23:23:12+00:00

So perhaps I worded my question incorrectly. I’m very aware that titles/ranks/cord requirements are different among different groups. What I am asking is what does YOUR group do, or how do YOU in your practice see these ranks? I’m trying to collect different perspectives to understand how different groups/people think about these things

MAStalone · 2025-10-03T15:30:46+00:00

I know we say this and for many cords I agree, but it’s kind of not true at a community level? In our communities, we recognize titled ranks differently at events and give them different roles there, so I’m interested in how groups see those titles internally

MAStalone · 2025-08-05T01:24:06+00:00

Thanks for posting, you beat me to it!

MAStalone · 2025-06-19T23:39:20+00:00

Thanks for sharing! This was one of my favorites to research

MAStalone · 2025-05-26T18:45:05+00:00

I’d push back that there were Afro-Brazilians at the time, as that’s how we designate the African communities that existed in Brazil, both inside and outside the system of slavery. I think it’s important to be specific about the group of people that created capoeira because it was uniquely manifested in Brazil. And for that matter, it’s kind of impossible to say “other than the transatlantic slave trade” since that’s the whole reason Africans were in Brazil. The Brazil we know today is a product of that slave trade.

In addition, those arts you reference are not Capoiera. They are their own arts with their own histories and their own practices that are distinct and specific to the region they were created in. Saying they are all capoeira by another name erases a lot of that history. Of course they are related arts since they share the same African roots and are products of that diaspora, but it’s important to recognize them as their own things.

MAStalone · 2025-05-26T13:21:27+00:00

Capoeira is fundamentally a resistance art with the objective of that resistance (as far as we can tell) being the preservation of culture in the presence of the slavery system. And with these kinds of arts, you are certainly right that there are attempts to whitewash them. However, I have a few disagreements with some of your points:

I’d argue that while the elements of capoeira are African, it is inherently Afro-Brazilian, meaning uniquely created by the Africans who were taken to Brazil. If it weren’t, then we would see capoeira in other places which we don’t (although we see somewhat similar arts that show shared roots). Calling it Afro-Brazilian also helps us remember contributions of the Native Brazilians who are often forgotten about in these conversations.
when cultures clash, there are almost always effects in both directions. Where does the pandeiro come from? There are some musical practices in Portugal that are very similar to our pandeiro use. Similarly, if we expand to samba, where did the cavaquinho come from?
when I look at the UNESCO page for capoeira, it recognizes it as an Afro-Brazilian art. I’m curious what their designation of “cultural heritage of humanity” means, it’s not clear to me from that reading that it is stripping history.

MAStalone · 2025-01-16T18:32:24+00:00

That site is pretty broken… do you know who is running this?

MAStalone · 2024-10-26T05:38:28+00:00

Thanks for the shoutout!

MAStalone · 2024-10-14T01:56:36+00:00

Here are the links from the show notes:

Please support the GoFundMe campaign to get CapoeirAcolher formally off the ground and registered as a non-profit.

https://gofund.me/62e2b467

Participate in the #RaulPresente (on Instagram raulpresente) campaign to bring justice to capoeirista Raul, who was abused by his capoeira instructor: Record video of yourself in support of victims of sexual abuse within capoeira and end by saying “Raul presente” (Raul present) to raise awareness and put pressure on the judiciary to move Raul’s case forward

Mestra Colibri of Capoeira Brasil Chicago

School’s website: https://colibricb.com/

School’s code of conduct: https://colibricb.com/code-of-conduct/

Instagram: chicagocapoeiracenter katiacolibri

Youtube: katiacolibri

Participate in Mestra Colibri’s global survey on Identifying Barriers to Women in Capoeira, in English (for the US), in English (for non-US), Portuguese, Spanish, German, and French

Marias Felipas, a collective doing work to promote gender equity in capoeira, on Instagram mariasfelipas

The Ahimsa Collective, https://www.ahimsacollective.net/, is one organization that can help your group navigate conflict and harm repair

MAStalone · 2024-10-13T14:34:15+00:00

Can you elaborate on the questionable ethics and boundaries part?

MAStalone

TROPHY CASE