In March, members of ABADÁ-Capoeira East Vancouver had the opportunity to attend the first ever Jogos Norteamericanos (North American games), hosted in Mexico City. It was an exciting event with students and teachers from Canada, the USA, Puerto Rico, Aruba, and Mexico representing.
The event started with a great roda on Wednesday evening, followed by workshops with special guests from Brazil Mestre Morcego, Mestrando Pretinho, and Professor Arpoador, from Thursday to Sunday. Competitions were held on Friday and Saturday, with categories for alunos (students), graduados, and instrutores. Graduado Astronauta and aluna Rio represented ABADÁ-Capoeira East Vancouver in the competitions.
Mestre Morcego, Mestrando Pretinho and Professor Arpoador also judged the competitions. In capoeira competitions within ABADÁ-Capoeira, both players are given equal scores for creating a good game, which should be their main focus. Players can lose points for bad technique, but will not gain points for executing a fancy move or doing a takedown. So in order to win, one has to develop a good game with their partner by working together while also maintaining good technique.
We are very grateful that we were able to attend this event. Not only was it the first such event in North America, but events like these also bring our community together, and during these times one cannot help but cheer for all the competitors! We would like to congratulate Instrutora Brinquinho and team for organizing a successful event, as well as all participants who took part in the workshops and competitions and brought amazing energy! We would also like to thank Mestre Morcego, Mestrando Pretinho, and Professor Arpoador from Rio de Janeiro for traveling to this event to impart their wisdom and inspire the next generation of capoeiristas in North America.
Capoeira in Vancouver with ABADÁ Capoeira East Vancouver 