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  CAPOEIRA DEMONSTRATION
  15th April, 1959
  Correio da Manhã, RJ

  - A capoeira exhibition was provided yesterday at the Rio de Janeiro press (office), by the Department of Tourism of Salvador and by Lóide Aéreo. Six capoeiristas from the Capoeira Angola Sport Centre led by mestre Pastinha, showed themselves in the terrace of Hotel Glória, showing all the "games" of traditional capoeira angola. This group, which is on a trip through Rio, was some days ago in Porto Alegre, where it exhibited itself. The presentation which is used as a means of advertising tourism to Bahia, was organized by Vasconcellos Maia, the director of the Department of Tourism in Salvador.

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  In Capoeira the Secret of Attach is in the "Dance"
  15th April, 1959
  Diário de Notícias, RJ

  "LOTS of people are saying that capoeira is not a fight, it's only a dance. But it's in this "dance", where the real secret of the attack and defense is, not yet equalled in other types of fight". Who says this to us is Vicente Pastinha, the most respected capoeirista of Bahia, in spite of his 70 years.

  Together with capoeiristas „Canjiquinha“, „João Mais Alto“, „Bigodinho“, „João Segundo“, Almiro and „Vivaldo“, mestre Pastinha gave, yesterday, an exhibition of his "art" to the press, on the terrace of Hotel Glória. The group ends up returning from Porto Alegre, on an excursion promoted by Lóide Aéreo Brasileiro, together with the Department of Tourism of Salvador. Besides this folkloric part, six beautiful brown-skinned girls undertake the reaffirmation in other regions of the prestige of the beauty of bahian women.

  During the capoeira exhibiton, mestre Pastinha, from outside (the roda), lended the reporter some explanations:

  - "There are so many different steps that a lone man couldn't present them. Moreover, every player has his different "craftiness". The main kick is improvising".

  In a certain moment, the players shake hands, and the reporter wanted to know if this was greeting. "It is - he answered us - but this all is pretence..." Mestre Pastinha "plays" capoeira since 10 years, and is the founder of the "Sport Centre of Capoeira Angola", from Salvador, of which make part the members of the group. When someone askedif he didn't "play", he didn't let himself be asked: pulled off his coat and jumped in the middle of the roda.

  The capoeiristas "played" in the middle of the roda, which is formed by rhythm-makers and singers. The main instruments are berimbau and pandeiro, also known as "gunga" and "borgue"[?]. To reverberate the berimbau, which is more similar to an indigenous bow, are reco-reco, viola, the castanets and "agogô". The letters of the songs are also picturesque:

  - "Iê, they told my wife/ that capoeira won me/ she stompted her foot strong/ swore: this is not happen". When I enter you exit/ when I exit you enter/ I never saw a damned woman/ who wasn't jealous". At this point, the singer turned himself and said: - "This is true".

  The "praise" is sung in chorus: "Ê long live my God/ and long live my Mestre/ he is my Mestre/ he is a strong man". Following this, the rhythm speeds up: "Shut up, scoundrel/ you are the scoundrel/ give it to the guy/ You can't get the guy/ this guy is damned/ this guy is brave/ this guy is a dog".“

  And it is at this point that the two "players", that until now were studying each-other, crouching, put their hands on the ground and give the proper beginning to capoeira. The main rule: they can only strike the adversary with their feet.

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  15th April, 1959
  Jornal do Brasil, RJ

  The north-american Nat "King" Cole and the bahian capoeiras led by Mestre Pastinha were yesterday the main figures, respectively, of a reception in the house of Mr Harry Stone, the representative of Motion Pictures, in Brazil, and of a capoeira de Angola show on the terrace of Hotel Glória. Nat Cole was presented to the national artists and, twice, took the Great Othello to his lap. The bahian capoeiras - who were accompanied by four representatives of Bahian beauty - distributed rabos-de-arraia between themselves while Mestre Pastinha declared: In capoeira everything is pretence. Because of this capoeira is unsociable. (Report on page 8)

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  Bahian capoeiristas gave a show at Glória under the direction of old Mestre Pastinha
  15th April, 1959
  Jornal do Brasil, RJ

  To the beat of pandeiro, berimbau, reco-reco and other typical instruments, six bahian capoeiristas from the group of famous mestre Pastinha (seventy years of age and more than half a century of kicks) offered yesterday on a balcony of Hotel Glória an authentic show of rabo-de-arraias, at a real coreographic representation of the fight technique created by the african negroes.

  Mestre Pastinha, who is the Director and Teacher of the Sport Centre of Capoeira de Angola, in Salvador, and comes from getting success in Rio Grande do Sul, affirms to JORNAL DO BRASIL, that "in capoeira everythign is pretence: when a comrade less expects he is on the ground For this reason every single capoeira is distrustful".

  PRETTY GIRLS

  The capoeiristas travel accompanied by four young represnetative of the bahian beauty, among which are Ms Lígia Sá, grand-daughter of "Miss" Bahia 1929, the candidate for the same title in 1959 by Yacht Club Bahia.

  The pretty bahianas are Ms Lígia Sá, Ms Lirinha Fraga, Ms Agneda Fraga and Mrs Antonieta Nunes.

  The other capoeiras are Mestre Pastinha, Canjiquinha, João I, João II, Bigodinho and Almiro.

  THE JAGUAR'S LEAP, NO

  Mestre Pastinha doesn't drink alcohol and fights capoeira since he was small. He says that nobody wanted to teach capoeira (his students told that he never teaches the jaguar's leap), but in the end he managed to found his school, which now has many students and collects 150 cruzeiros by month (three classes per week). He knows more than 100 kicks and affirms categorically that all these are as dangerous (or even more) than the rabo-de-arraia or the headbutt.

  SEVENTY YEARS OF GINGA

  Yesterday's demonstration in Hotel Glória lasted more than two hours. It starts with music: four capoeiristas, holding the typical instruments, are marking the rhythm of the batucada that goes to a crescendo until it infects the two other capoeiristas that, crouching close to the group, prepare themselves for the fight. When the music hits its climax, they are already up in amazing movements, in which only the hands touch the ground, while the whole body dances rhythmically in the air.

  [continues]

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  page 5

  Then developed the most unsociable steps of capoeira, in slow motion so that everybody could see well. The demonstrations always were in pairs. When one capoeirista considers himself beaten, he assumes a place of another in the "orchestra" who comes to arena. This orchestra, besides not stopping with batuque, sounds folk-songs or improvises others. This is one of these:

  „Brazil told yes
  Japan told no
  two powerful fleets
  will fight with the germans
  Brazil has two thousand men
  to get the hollow sticks
  I am not a cane stick
  to die of suffocation.“

  „Give it to the guy
  You can't get the guy
  (repeat three times)

  This guy is brave
  this guy is damned
  this guy is a dog“.

  In given moment Mestre Pastinha (who was not dressed in character) desides to enter in the dance and fight with all six capoeiristas, defeating them one-by-one. All of them respect the Mestre, besides his 70 years, according to what they told to the reporter, none of them is imprudent to really fight with him.

  TO FOOL THE SUGARMILL OWNER

  Mr Vasconcelos Maia, the Director of Tourism of the City of Salvador and the promoter of the excursion of capoeiristas, composed a little history for JORNAL DO BRASIL about capoeira.

  According to him, capoeira was an invention of the african negroes that came to Bahia in the times of the colonization. In principal, the capoeiristas, terrible individuals, quarrelled without any object at hand and the fights didn't have any decoration. As it was going to become very dangerous, the sugarmill owners decided to prohibit it:

  - But on the contrary what many people think, the negro is a smart and sharp animal. To cheat the overseers, the decided to transform capoeira into dance. The invented batuques, music and lyrics, and went to give show to please the masters. It was in this way that capoeira was born, which in Bahia is called "Capoeira de Angola", and which is a mixture of music, folklore, sports and a means of defense (or attack).

  Mr Vasconcellos said that with the success the group is obtaining, it will exhibit next in other capitals of Brazil, "to show in all its purity, the traditions and richness of Bahia".

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  Capoeira: the Secret is in the «Dance»

  While on the terrace of Hotel Glória, capoeiristas "Canjiquinha", "João Mais Alto", "Bigodinho" and others exhibited their "art", master "Pastinha" (the most respected capoeirista in Bahia, despite his 70 years) explained to the reporter: in capoeira, the secret of the attack is in the "dance". The group has just returned from Porto Alegre. The "game" takes place in the center of a circle, formed by percussionists and singers. The main instruments are the berimbau and the tambourine, also known as "gunga" and "borgue". The journalists who attended the exhibition (photo) applauded the capoeiristas. (News on the first page of the second section).