Tensions Around the Definition of Capoeira as Black Cultural expression: rebuilding the Bridges Between Brazil and Africa

Abstract

In this article I highlight that capoeira has been considered a form of resistance in many interpretations that assert it as a “Black” cultural expression -- not just a “Brazilian” one -- and refuse the limitation of capoeira within the field of “sport” or “fight”. Be it associated with riots and fights for the liberation of enslaved African descent enshrined in maroon communities (quilombos), or associated with the most recent manifestations of African descent organized into groups, capoeira became a symbol of black resistance in Brazil, and from there, inside the African Diaspora. Despite the fact that such understanding has become more influential from the 1980s onwards, there remain disagreements and tensions around the definition of capoeira, to which contributes the increasing number of practitioners who are situated in varied national, social and cultural contexts.