ATTENTION

In Igarassu, PE-Brasil, on March 14th, a Saturday morning at 2 a.m., Contra Mestre Relampago (Ricardo Vieira do Nascimento) was taken by 3 armed persons in a dark car. He was 100 meters from his home and the capoeira academy. He was returning from a festival in Itamaraca with a friend who was not harmed. CM Relampago has not been seen since.

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Grupo Capoeira
Canoa Grande
                
“Liberdade de Expressao”

      Resisting the oppressive forces of poverty and violence in creative ways.

Grupo Capoeira Canoa Grande is a grass roots organization aiding children through capoeira instruction in Igarasssu**, Brazil.

Grupo Capoeira Canoa Grande was formally founded in 2001 under the direction of Contra Mestre Relampago (Ricardo Vieira do Nascimento).

Since its inception the group has been an important resource for youth in Igarassu where young men and women living in Brazil’s poorest and most violent region are in need of a supportive and safe environment that can offer a way out of the drugs and violence. While the crime rate in the Northeast of Brazil has drastically increased, the arts programming in the schools has been reduced.

In 2003 Sharon Göpfert began collaborating with Grupo Capoeira Canoa Grande and founded the Alma Boa Project to support the work of Contra Mestre Relampago in Igarassu through self-sustaining arts programming and exchange.

*Capoeira

Is Brazilian art form that weaves fighting, music, and dance into an urgent strategy by which people live, struggle, celebrate, and survive together. Capoeira's roots are embedded in the African slave history of Brazil. While the physical conversation has certain rules, it is an improvisation between the players. Today, Capoeira holds onto the African roots and philosophies as an art form that has come to symbolize the struggle against oppression all over the world. For some it is a sport, for some it is a fight, and for some it is an art. Capoeira is practiced with music and holds a special place among the cultural dances and rituals of Brazil.

**Igarassu
is a historic town located north of Recife (capital of the state of Pernambuco) with a population of 5,000 Igarassu (Tupi: igara=canoe and Assu=big) is a small coastal town with its own industry and a rich history. Founded in 1535 Igarassu is the home of Igreja Sao Cosme e Sao Damioa, Brazil’s oldest standing church and quite possibly the oldest slave port.