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Thoughts After My Second Batizado
Growth
A lot can happen in a year.
I’m coming off of my second Batizado weekend (well…almost two weeks later). This year, it was a little different. The event organizers in my capoeira group decided to jazz it up by making it a Brazilian Cultural Camp in addition to the Batizado ceremony. The event was located at a campsite in the Northeastern region of Taiwan called Yilan.
Wait…What Is A Batizado?
Batizado: Portuguese for the English word “Baptism”
In the context of capoeira and Batizado is an annual graduation ceremony within one’s capoeira group, where select capoeiristas receive a new cord (belt). They are officially “baptized” into their new level after dueling against a Mestre (master) of the art or a high-leveled capoeirista (contramestre, professor, or instructor).
What made this different from a normal Batizado?
This event consisted of lots of capoeira of course (the regional and Angola styles), Afro-Brazilian dances and the theory and significance behind them (orishas/orixas, samba, maculelê, etc.) and batucada…
