(Re)imagining capoeira: a study of Carybé's illustrated book Jogo da Capoeira (1951)

Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian fight-game with live music, historically practiced in Brazil since colonial times. Over the years, capoeira activities have been archived in a variety of art forms, from ethnographic drawings to documentary photography and motion pictures, many of which carry racist con...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sport in society 2023-09, Vol.26 (9), p.1567-1584
Main Authors: Pasqua, Lívia de Paula Machado, Rosa, Cristina Fernandes, Bortoleto, Marco Antonio Coelho
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
African heritage
black martial art
bodily practice
Brazilianess
Capoeira
capoeira drawings
Carybé
Colonialism
Cultural heritage
fight-game
intangible cultural heritage
Mass media images
Racism
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Summary:Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian fight-game with live music, historically practiced in Brazil since colonial times. Over the years, capoeira activities have been archived in a variety of art forms, from ethnographic drawings to documentary photography and motion pictures, many of which carry racist connotations. Contrary to this trend, in this article, we take a closer look at a series of modern capoeira drawings by Carybé, published in the 1951's book Jogo da Capoeira. Widely reproduced and appropriated, these drawings continue to inform how we imagine capoeira today and, in 2014, was included in the recognition of capoeira as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. Our examination pays close attention to few overlapping game tactics or attitudes related to fight, play, dance, sports and drama. In short, we argue that Carybé's artistic depictions of capoeira post have been instrumental to the recognition of this Afro-centric practice.
ISSN:1743-0437
1743-0445
DOI:10.1080/17430437.2023.2170785