from the roda to the renda

Colleen and I, just call us capoeiristas. That's right, alas we have taken up one of Brazil's famed pastimes and we are, of course, loving every second of it. This past Monday we tagged along with Gisa and Waleska (with whom we carnavaled) to class... really quite unaware as to what was ahead. Everyone (ages 6-26) was super-welcoming and the farthest thing from intimidating. And this, this is a must for me...because when you throw me in new situations where I am expected to perform or be in front of complete strangers, all eyes on me...yeah, no good. As some of you may already know, the big showdown in capoeira goes down in the roda- a circle of "fighters" and melody makers...all clapping and singing, creating quite the ambiance for the two who are "battling" in the center- fluid, rhythmic and circular in movement. I was transported back to the capoeira class that I was in while living in Mexico...that same rush of excitement slash nervous nelly-ment set in immediately. With a rusty knowledge of even the most basic of moves, I was thrown into the lions den and expected to battle it out. Oh you should have seen Col and I...probably the farthest thing from fluid, rhythmic and circular! All smiles though, all smiles. Where as this class definitely lacks in teaching the basics, we joined another group last night that delivered all of this and then some. It's structure was much more newcomer friendly and the teacher helped Col and I out one-on-one, with heaps of patience and kindness to boot. And this particular class takes place only 10 feet from our front door...right at the heart of Terra Prom- it really doesn't get much better! This giving us the opportunity to get to know the often times hard-to-get-to-know teenage rascals...so we're talkin' a win-win situation right here. Social outlets for these kids, especially for the boys, they're hard to come by...so watching them come together, really stoked on something, it's pretty special.

Our work with the ladies is groovin'. We gave a presentation last week which focused on planting within them an inspiration, and a desire to go out on a limb and design and create. With the exception of a few, the designing efforts of the women are lacking- and trying new things out? It's just not sought after. It seems to me that a primary focus of the Brazilian culture is the here and the now...which I think is wonderful (and which many of us strive to grasp all of our lives)...but when dealing with the business side of things, the future (and often times innovation) must be taken into account...but this is a hard one to handle for these ladies and so naturally cultural blockades are built and misunderstandings arise. Oh but the possibilities that lie within their lace-making! Endless. We have introduced quite the array of ideas in collaborating fabric and renda...and we are currently working on the creation of a few new items including bikinis and pillows (below is our first pillow! The renda is inside the bird, the rest is crochet). We've also been experimenting a lot with color, creating new color-palettes for their pieces, etc...something I was looking forward to before I even arrived. So yeah...things are really moving- and aside from the minor glitches here and there, these ladies are pumping out new pieces like you wouldn't believe, and they seem to be enthused about it. I feel as if there is a new energy moving amidst the ladies and their work...a new buzz that gives me hope that perhaps we are indeed assisting in a rejuvination of their bobbined craft.