The Afro-Brazilian martial art capoeira, distinctive for its rhythmic dancing motions, gained popularity at Loyola this fall, as the style and atmosphere the fighting technique made a good impression on those who have begun training under Cocada, the instructor for Loyola capoeira.

Cocada and his younger brother run their own school for capoeira back in their homeland of Brazil Cocada has been training in capoeira for 16 years. The school currently has over 400 students training the art of capoeira, and when not spending time training Loyola students, Cocada is back in Brazil training students native to capoeira.

The art of capoeira is growing worldwide, and some have drawn comparisons between the blues and capoeira. Black slaves practiced and developed both art forms, which the larger societies in which they were developed look down upon, though both fostered a deep sense of Afrocentric pride. Mestre capoeiristas (capoeira instructors) began to emigrate from Brazil to the U.S. to teach capoeira in the mid-1970s.

“I came to New Orleans and saw all the music and culture, and that works with capoeira,” Cocada said.

Charles McCatherin, music industry studies senior, said sthe family-like atmosphere capoeira provides is a unique experience that he has been unable to find in any of his other martial arts endeavors. Each trainee is assigned a nickname, which in effect becomes their real name. For instance, McCatherin’s capoeira name is Lingerino, which means “quick” in Portuguese, the most widely spoken language in Brazil. McCatherin says that Cocada assigned the nickname to him as a sarcastic gesture because Charles frequently jumps ahead of the music while performing a roda, a capoeira match in which
all the members gather un a circle around the two combatants.

The trainees do not know Cocada’s real name, and Cocada does not know their real names, just their nicknames are used. “He doesn’t know my name,” McCatherin said,”and I don’t know his. But that’s the way we want it.”

Music is an integral aspect to capoeira, which is what sets it apart from other art forms. A capoeira bateria, a row of musicians, offers very slow to very fast tempos using exotic instruments such as berimbaus and pandeiros. During a roda, the capoeiristas sing and dance in a melodic tune that follows the tempo of the music. Many of the songs are sung in a call and response format, while others are sung in narrative form. “It’s a mixture between martial arts and dance,” Cocada said.

Dan Pitta can be reached at [email protected]