| The Roots of Capoeira Angola Brazil is well known as the home of the dance-like martial art capoeira, but its roots in fact lie across the Atlantic. In Angola, one man is trying to resurrect an older style to help people reconnect with their heritage. Capoeira Angola has a ritualistic feel and the movements are predominantly low to the ground, with the focus on precision. This is why the music is slower than in the dominant version, known as Regional. The difference between Capoeira Angola and Capoeira Regional is subtle, but Capoeira Angola includes more instruments and its practitioners feel it is more spiritual. Lucio Ngungi’s mission is to make this version more popular again. Nearly two decades ago, he started training in Capoeira Regional, but after seven years, he heard about Capoeira Angola and instantly knew Regional was no longer for him. “I constantly asked myself, why would I keep training Regional when I can go to the roots of my country?” the 36-year-old said. Ngungi became a social worker, and also opened the country’s first Capoeira Angola school, the Escola de Capoeira Angola Okupandula, which means “thank you to you and your ancestors”. |