HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL
Paulo Antônio De Souza (Mestre Paulinho) was born in Rio de Janeiro the 18th of may 1964.
FIRST CONTACT
For Mestre Paulinho the first contact with Capoeira is in his childhood, when
at the age of eight assists with his father to the Roda de Rua, called Roda da Penha, a traditional Roda realised every year in the Penha district during the celebrations of Nossa Senhora da Penha.
Mestre Paulinho didn't know what was all about, but he was struck, in that
occasion, by Mestre Touro in action with his characteristic floreio called relógio. Later on this movement became one of main characteristics
of Mestre Paulinho's jogo.
Until the age of 18 anni Mestre Paulinho lives in Olaria district,
where he has the oportunity to see in some of the Rodas in the favela Morro
do Alemão, realised in Largo da Caixa d'agua, Mestre
Teté and Mestre Martins.
WHY CAPOEIRA?
In
the year 1982 Mestre Paulinho moves with his family to Vila do João
in Manguinhos district in Rio de Janeiro. There with with an old
friend of his childhood (George) founds an amateur theatre. To introduce
the theatre group he partecipate to a meeting with the young of the Comunity
that where acting as assistants of the Rondonistas. The Rondonistas
were young university students leading a project with social and cultural
finalities, called Marechal Rondon, funded by the government with
the purpose of to bring information and culture in poor areas. There he
meets with Ronaldo Messias Lacerda (Mestre Jimmy) that was leading
the Marechal Rondon project as manager of the sports of the philantropic
institution Ação Comunitária do Brasil in Vila
do João. Paulinho join the group and becomes one of the assistants.
Later he starts training Karate shotokan under the guide of a friend (yellow
belt). When he tells about his training, Jimmy (purple belt), offers to
teach him if Paulinho manages to find other persons interested to open a
course. In the Comunity Jimmy was responsible even for the music and Capoeira
workshops. In one of the Rodas at the end of the training sessions
of Capoeira Paulinho sees a capoeirista assaulting violently his
friend, age 12. Seeing his impossibility in intervening in the Roda
he decides to begin training Capoeira for revenge, naturally in the years
this feeling gradually disappeared leaving in its place a profound identification
with this art.
MESTRE JIMMY
Ronaldo Messias Lacerda (Mestre Jimmy), started training capoeira at the age
of 12 anni with Mestre Aluizio until receiving the yellow and blue
belt. When Mestre Aloisio moves, Mestre Jimmy decides to join the Grupo
Irmãos of Mestre Gilberto da Barra, in Barra da Tijuca district, in which he remains fro three years. Later Mestre Jimmy moves in
the Suburbio of Rio de Janeiro and there he meets Mestre Gilberto
Oscaranha, at that time member of the Special Department Capoeira of the
Brasilian Confederation of Boxing. Jimmy became Mestre Oscaranha's student,
receiving in 1987 the Master belt.
GRUPO DE CAPOEIRA CARCARÁ
Four years before, in
the year 1983, Mestre Jimmy at that time Instructor (blue belt) and student
of Mestre Gilberto Oscaranha, gave up his charge as sports manager of Ação
Comunitaria do Brasil in Vila do João and starts teaching
in the sports academy TP108 in Meyer district. In this same period
he decides to found the GRUPO DE CAPOEIRA CARCARÁ. Paulinho,
meanwhile, considering Jimmy's abandon is chosen from his Capoeira training
as a substitute for Jimmy: that was how Paulinho by chance starts his way
into teaching .
In 1985 Paulinho finally succedes in finding Jimmy, that in that period
was teaching in Lagoa district in the southern part of Rio de Janeiro,
giving in this way continuity to his apprenticeship and at the same time
mantaining alive the bond Vila do João students and his Master.
In the Grupo Carcará he meets with Sidney Martins Pereira that, besides
practising Capoeira, is actor. Mestre Paulinho partecipates in two theatre
workshops one given by Sidney and the other by Tina Águas, both members
of Grupo Pessoal do Tom.
Amongst the many student that Paulinho had from that period until 1992,
when he moved to Rome, we can quote: Wallace Jorge Vieira (Guerrinha),
Alex Vieira Da Silva (Chuvisco), the actor André Gonçalves
(Curumim), Antônio Carlos Barbosa (Abelha), Eduardo
Antônio Duque (Miro) and Anderson Prates Carrara (Besouro).
ITALY
Sidney
in contact with the Italian Consulate suggests to the Consul to establish
a group of Capoeira and Pagode in Italy; the Consul find the idea interesting.
Sidney along with Mestre Paulinho and others students members of the Group,
build up this group. The political and economical situation in Brazil persuades
Sidney to leave Brasil alone and travel Italy: it's the year 1990. In 1991
he realise the I° Batizado of Capoeira and the following year, on the
24th of june, he manages to bring to Rome Mestre Jimmy and Mestre Paulinho
(at that time Contra-Mestre), along with other two students of the Group
of Rio de Janeiro. During the Batizado Mestre Jimmy promotes to the grade
of Master, Paulinho (09 luglio 1992).
GRUPO LAÇOS
In
December 1995 Mestre Paulinho, lacking of the necessary permit to stay in
Italy, is forced to return in Brazil. He decides to leave in charge of the
italian group his older students Alessandra Palmieri (Raio) and Patrizio
Nanni (Papagaio). Mestre Jimmy, forbids Mestre Paulinho's solution. After
a month Mestre Paulinho leaves for Buenos Aires (Argentina) where he remains
for one and a half years.
In June 1996 he travel back to Italy for a period of 20 days decided in maintaining
alive his work and, trying to avoid his Master prohibition, decides with an
escamotage to found with his Italian students the GRUPO LAÇOS DE
CAPOEIRA.
In 1997 he stays for six months in Italy going back to Brazil in 1998 in
an educational tour with his Italian students.
Some of this students, feeling the need of the Mestre Paulinho's presence,
return with the aim of bringing back Mestre Paulinho in Italy and with this
intent they found the Associazione Capoeirando. Mestre Paulinho comes
definitively in Italy on the 20th of March of 2000. With Mestre Paulinho's
presence in Rome the Grupo Laços is dissolved and all the Italian students
are reintegrated in the Grupo Carcará of Rio de Janeiro.
20th of NOVEMBER 2004
Mestre Paulinho feeling the need in his work of more decisional freedom and
autonomy on 20th of November 2004 he leaves the Grupo Carcará founding, with his students, the ESCOLA DE CAPOEIRA GINGA CARIOCA.
ESCOLA DE CAPOEIRA GINGA CARIOCA
Mestre Paulinho chooses to use the term Escola and not Grupo because whereas
the term Grupo refers to an occasional grouping, the term ESCOLA indicates
both a long training route and the existence of a guiding figure in it.
The term GINGA indicates the basic movement of Capoeira from which start all the others offensive and defensive movements and by which the capoeirista tries to deceive or disorientate the other.
CARIOCA is a Tupi term which literaly means "white men's house",
formerly indicated the person born in the Estado da Guanabara. The
l'Estado da Guanabara was an independent state, its area corresponded to the
actual city of Rio de Janeiro (Cidade de São Sebastião do Rio
de Janeiro).
GINGA CARIOCA is the easy and dancing manner of moving, the capacity
of facing or "getting out" from the different situations with cunning:
it's the "way of life" of the people from Rio de Janeiro.
The School of CAPOEIRA GINGA CARIOCA aims to the teaching, study, research, preservation and dissemination of the arts, traditions and Afro-Brazilian folklore, and especially of Capoeira in its various aspects of sport, combat, martial arts , acrobatics, dance, body expression, improvisation, rhythm, games, folklore, art, poetry, music, singing, non-verbal communication, ritual.
The School of CAPOEIRA GINGA CARIOCA is today based in Italy in the following cities: Rome, Bracciano, Lucca, Terni.