National Capoeira Festival set in Cebu

CEBU, Philippines - The grandest Capoeira Festival in Asia is happening in Cebu City this May 30 to June 1 at Ayala Center Cebu. The big event will be graced by Grandmaster Mestre Cabeca, who will be coming over all the way from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 

Sinha Bahia de Capoeira, the only Capoeira academy in Cebu City, will hold its 6th Batizado, Troca de Cordas & Formatura. The event signifies the graduation of the 1st ever Asian Capoeirista to receive the Capoeira rank of “Professor”, Instructor Jensen Chow, who will receive his next corda (belt). This will be participated in by more than 500 Capoeira enthusiasts and beginners.

The event serves as a magnificent exhibit of the beauty and excitement that is uniquely Capoeira. Guests include Capoeira master, Mestre Torpedo, a native of Rio de Janeiro, Manila coaches and students, and guests from other academies around Asia.

Instructor Jensen, together with Cabeca, will also be holding training programs to Capoeira enthusiasts and beginners. It would be an exciting opportunity to learn this wonderful art from two of the world-class Capoeira experts. All shows will be at Ayala Center Cebu while workshops for Capoeira beginners will be held at Metrosports in Lahug.

At the Batizado, new students are welcomed to the family of Capoeira, who will earn their first corda, a symbol of the start of the journey. The workshops will serve as important preparations for the Batizado and an opportunity to meet and train with the other coaches and students from the group. Students who already had a graduation will also be graded for their next rank, the Troca de Cordas. The formatura is an official capoeira rank which equals a 3rd or 4th dan black belt in other martial arts.

Sinha Bahia, the only Capoeira academy in the Visayas and Mindanao, is a member of a worldwide Capoeira association which has branches in Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, Thailand, Spain, and Manila. Here in Cebu, the Capoeira community is led by Instructor Jensen Go Chow, the Asia Pacific Capoeira Champion by the Superliga Brasileira de Capoeira (Brazilian Capoeira Superleague) held in Sydney, Australia last 2002. He has built an academy in the city to spread his passion and encourage the Cebuanos to learn this art.

Capoeira is a unique Brazilian art form, and a blend of self-defense, acrobatics, dance, music and song into a game. The word Capoeira comes from the Tupi-guarani language, referring to the low vegetation areas in the intern part of Brazil. It is a creative tool to embrace the highest aspirations of the human spirit: joy, freedom, and wisdom!

Enroll now and learn the art of self-defense with a combination of exercise, music, and play. For more information, one may contact 032-412076, 0942-8227674 or log on to www.capoeira.ph (PR) (FREEMAN)