Within the past ten years, Capoeira's popularity has soared, causing concern among some capoeiristas who want to ensure the art form maitains its historical traditions. As Mestre Acordeon, Ra and Suelly struggle to make Capoeira relevant to youth today, they acknowledge that the art form is as much alive as are those who play it.

Along with capoeiristas Aki Moore and Aryn Faur, Mestre Acordeon discusses Capoeira's synthesis with contemporary American culture. > PLAY MOVIE

Many young capoeiristas, who have grown up listening to the syncopated drum-driven rhythms of hip-hop and drum 'n bass, and break dancing's floor acrobatics, see Capoeira as an African-diaspora art form, created by those without a voice to speak out against oppression.

"Capoeira constitutes one of the strongest moral infirmities of this great and civilized city." -- Rio de Janeiro Chief of Police Dr. Pinto Matos (around 1878)

CAPOEIRA HISTORY
1500...Portuguese arrive in Brazil
1822...Brazil's proclames its independence from Portugual...Police crackdown on Capoeira
1828...Capoeiristas are sent to the front lines during th Paraguayan war.
1850...Slave trade is abolished
1885...Brazilian law frees all slaves over age 65
1888...Slavery is abolished
1930...Repression of Capoeira abates when Getulio Vargas comes to power.
1932...Mester Bimba (Manoel dos Reis Machado) opens the first formal school of Capoeira
937...Brazil's federal government officially recognizes Bimba's school