Capoeira me chama

"Capoeira me chama, e eu vou atender, entra na roda sem medo, com malicia e segredo, pra mi defender..."
"Capoeira calls me, I'm going to respond, to enter the roda without fear, with trickery and mystery, to defend myself..."

I have been training capoeira for about 4 years and feel like I want to learn more and more. I am just beginning to understand the basics and complexity of this beautiful Afro-Brazilian art-form. For me, capoeira is so many things, it is a dance, a fight, a rhythm, a song, a philosophy, a spiritual union, a cultural expression, a long history that is constantly evolving. Capoeira has had a powerful impact on my life in many ways. Through it I've met life-long friends, including my love, and I've learned many things about myself and lessons on how to move myself with grace and confidence in all aspects of life.

At this point in my growth in capoeira I am beginning to move past imitating whatever is demonstrated by the person leading the class and am beginning to search and develop my own style. In this search for my own identity I have come across the question that all capoeiristas face at some point, do I want to play regional, angola, or 'contemporaneo.' The first group I trained with in New York, Guerreiros, played 'contemporaneo' which incorporates movements from both angola and regioinal. I learned the 'chamadas' of angola, as well as the armadas and other fast round kicks developed by Mestre Bimba, the creator of regional.

When I moved to DC and joined Capoeira Males, I soaked up a more regional style of the game, playing mainly to faster rhythms. However, one of my housemates is part of an angola group, Fica. When I have gone to visit this angola group I have been told that I must make a choice between capoeira angola and regional, it is not possible to be proficient in both. This does not make sense to me. Before Mestre Bimba created "regional" in 1932, there was only one capoeira. I want to learn everything I can about capoeira, from the roots that go back to before Mestre Bimba set standards to the art form and formed the first schools, to what capoeira is evolving to today as it is practiced by many groups around the world. Then I want to draw on all of the tools and methods of the universe of capoeira to develop a style that works for me.

I think that I follow the philosopy of Carybe, who trained both with Mestre Pastinha and Mestre Bimba: "Each mestre is a style. Capoeira is just one and he who commands the game is the berimbau with its own rhythms and songs."

Japanese Music: Yoshida Brothers

I just discovered these amazingly talented musical brothers from Noboribetsu, Hokkaido in Northern Japan. Masters on the shamisen, a traditional Japanese 3-stringed instrument, they fuse Japanese folk music with techno, rock, and other genres from around the world to make extremely powerful and inspiring music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RERXiliJfdI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJk8mB7DIS4&feature=related

While the earthquake,tsunami, and destruction of the nuclear plants have led to expressions of deep sympathy for Japan over the past week, the way the Japanese people have reacted to the situation with calm and dignity has also earned international admiration. I hope that one day I can travel to the Japan and get to know more about their incredible culture. The impacts of the recent disaster will no doubt have long-term effects, but I also have no doubt that the Japanese will overcome the many challenges they are faced with to pull their country back together.

Yummy Chinese Stir Fry

Last night I made the best stir-fry I've ever made in my life. It was inspired by a trip to a friend of mine's house where her Chinese parents had the most amazing food ever that was nothing like what you get in a Chinese restaurant and made me want to go to China right now.

Here is the recipe I came up with in my attempt to make something half as good as what I had the joy of eating at an authentic Chinese home.

Shrimp, Mushroom, and Bok Choy stir fry:

• 1 pound peeled, deveined shrimp, medium to large
• 3 to 4 teaspoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 teaspoons light Soy sauce or mirin
• 4 teaspoons water mushroom broth
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons crushed ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon chili paste
• 1 leek
• A bunch of shitake mushrooms (remove stems and chop caps)
• 1 pound bok choy, ends trimmed, stalks and leaves chopped
• One bunch of mint chopped
• White rice

1. Add 1 cup water and one cup white rice to a pot and bring to a boil until the rice is cooked (about 20minutes) Meanwhile:
2. Mix 1 teaspoon rice wine, one teaspoon of light soy sauce or mirin, and some ground ginger with the raw shrimp and marinade in the refrigerator for 15 minutes or more
3. Mix remaining rice wine, red wine vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, and mushroom broth in a small bowl and set aside
4. Add sesame oil, crushed ginger, chili paste and chopped leeks to a wok on medium heat and let cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the leeks are a little soft
5. Add the mushrooms and bok choy stalks (not the leaves) and the liquid you set aside. Cook covered for about 5-10 minutes ( I like the veggies still crunchy so I cook for less time).
6. Take the shrimp out of the fridge and sautee them quickly in a separate pan with a little sesame oil (3-4 minutes).
7. Add the bok choy leaves, chopped mint, cooked shrimp, and cooked rice to the wok with everything else. Mix well and cook another 1-2 minutes. Serve!

MUJERES y SALSA

March 8th was International Women's Day. Some people argue that, at least in the US, women are considered equal to men. I agree to a certain degree. I've never felt discriminated against personally in any of my ambitions for being a woman. On the other hand, if I think, what if I'd been born a boy, I think my life would've been very different. Partly for obvious physical differences and partly because I would've been socialized differently to be 'manly', which can mean things as basic as how I walk and talk to what kind of sports or even jobs I consider good for me. In the past the socialized differences would have been even greater. So I think it is important to appreciate women who broke social barriers and have made it easier to imagine women being accepted in all sorts of different roles.
I went to a talk about women in salsa this week. Salsa music is mainly dominated by male musicians and singers and the dance is led by the man. However, below are some links to youtube videos of some pioneering women who decided to make their careers making great salsa music despite pressures from their families and societies that the music scene, especially touring, was not for women.

Anacaona - one of the first all women son/jazz bands, comprised of 11 Cuban sisters and other women: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvjdJw1Aj10

Myrta Silva - Puertorican singer who became known as the queen of salsa before Celia Cruz: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0E2N2zPfX0

Celia Cruz - even if you aren't a huge salsa fan, you probably have been infected at some point by the power of her energy and voice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mH47G8UNxIg&feature=related

La Lupe - one of the most dynamic and controversial salsa singers, she was kicked out of Castro's Cuba, met up and worked with Tito Puentes for a little while in New York, but no one could control her, she had her own style
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjmcUg3GsF0


There are of course many many more amazing women in salsa but these are some of the first who helped change the façade of the man's world of salsa to embrace the power of the feminine spirit.

También la Lluvia / Even the Rain

Una película increíble! It's not in English, it's not produced by Hollywood, it IS insanely well done and extremely powerful. It shows the irony of how much things have stayed the same since the colonizers first arrived to the Americas in regards to discrimination against indigenous people. I think EVERYONE should watch this movie. For people in the DC area, it is playing at the Landmark Cinema on E street and 11th near Chinatown.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbdOnGNBMAo

Berlusconi , no longer Gaddafi's friend?

Reading the news, I've noticed many odd ties between Berlusconi and Gaddafi. They seem to have a complicated relationship and some unsettling similarities. They both make efforts to portray a stylish, fashionable image, they both like to surround themselves by women, they both have a lot of money, and neither has a great commitment to democratic values, although Berlusconi is nowhere near as ruthless of a dictator as Gaddafi is continuously proving to be. Berlusconi may not have been the first to condemn Gaddafi's violent reaction to protests in Libya but he has taken strong measures reflecting his rejection of his former friend. Like the ties between the two leaders, the ties between their countries go way back, since Italy's occupation of Libya in 1911. In 2008, Italy and Libya made a treaty in which Berlusconi agreed to pay Libya $5 billion over 20 years as compensation for Italy's colonial rule as well as promised not to allow bases in Italy to be used to attack Libya in return for favorable privileges for Italian companies in Libya's energy, infrastructure and defense industries. Now the longest underwater Mediterranean pipeline pumps oil from the coast of Libya to Sicily, Libya's largest bank is headquartered in Rome, and Italy is the top arms supplier and trading partner for Libya.  The tight relationship between the two countries was infamously displayed by Berlusconi's action of kissing Gaddafi's hand at an Arab League summit a year ago -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se79NO4ODP0

A week ago, Berlusconi announced that the "Treaty of Friendship" with Libya was effectively suspended. Does this mean their relationship is over for good? Will Italy stop supplying arms to Gaddafi to use against his own people and open its bases for a possible international intervention? I hope so.