About vzw E.CA asbl

E.CA is a non-profit organization and has the spreading of the Brazilian culture in all her aspects: capoeira, dance, music, culinary art, ... as its goal.

Capoeira is our outstanding means of socialization. Through the Afro-Brazilian culture we aim at stimulating mutual respect. We do this by teaching how to use and stimulate our body in other ways, by sharpening our motoric coordination, and this without loosing sight of the individual capacities and abilities of our pupils. In the end we want to build up an emotional shield by clearly expressing our feelings through singing and dancing.

E.CA came into being through the group Grupo Cativeiro Capoeira, created in 1978 at Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo by six mestres: Miguel, Ely, Caio, Rodolfo, Cidão and Belisco. The year 1978 was characterized by the creation of several social organizations that fought racial discrimination. For example:

• The movement of black women of the Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT) fought for equal rights for the black woman as they were doubly discriminated in the Brazilian society.
• Festival Communitário Negro Zumbi (FECONEZU) is an organization of young black Brazilians, looking for an identity by lack of space to express oneself elsewhere in the Brazilian society.
• April 20th, 1978: founding of Grupo Cativeiro Capoeira. This organization was created to emphasize the Afro-Brazilian values in Capoeira. One was brought to think that the sportive value in capoeira was taking the upper hand at the time. This led to a revival of capoeira in São Paulo!

Quite remarkable since, from 1974 to 1979, Brazil was under the administration of President Ernesto Geisel who in turn followed the government of Emílio Garrastazu Medici, also known as the government of the "Jumbo years" (Brazil was a military dictature from 1964 to 1985).

vzw E.CA asbl has as a base goal to form and inform capoeiristas. We don't proclaim the absolute truth but help the pupil to develop and broaden his potential. We pass on the necessary information to gain insight in the infinite universe named capoeira. We also assist in getting to know the complexity of the Afro-Brazilian culture a little better.

We don't follow a formal pedagogy. We rather wish to create a situation in which the pupils learn in a harmonious, fun and spontaneous way and improve their physical motion. The initiative is theirs, we only offer the means!