Mestre Jamaika received a fellowship from the Utah Division of Arts & Museums. His work and message stood out to be chosen as one of the recipients. You can view the juror’s statement about him below. Thank you to the programs like this one that support artists!
In our and Salt Lake Capoeira community, our goal is for everyone to feel welcome and respected when they take a class. We believe capoeira is for everyone that it speaks to, no matter your age, cultural background or country of origin, gender, physical condition, race, religion, sexual orientation, or political persuasion. We are proud of our diverse community and recognize how it strengthens us as we train and play together and learn from one another. We encourage our students to come to class with love and not hate; to focus on what they can do and not what they can’t; to try to help and not to judge; and to share their happiness and help take away others’ sadness. This video highlights some of the women in our group and the important energy and strengths they bring to capoeira.
Video shot and edited by Noah Waldman of The SugarHouse Studio and sponsored by Living Traditions and the Salt Lake City Arts Council.
We had the opportunity to be part of the Living Legacy video series.
“The Living Legacy video series engages Salt Lake City’s diverse community in showcasing a collaborative narrative on how these various communities keep their traditions and legacies alive today. Learn more about Salt Lake Capoeira and the Living Traditions Presents, Living Legacy program at https://saltlakearts.org/livingtraditionspresents/livinglegacy/.”
Jen Hill featured Mestre Jamaika in Salt Lake Magazine’s fall 2020 issue. Here’s an excerpt:
Is it dance, acrobatics or self-defense? Chances are you’ve noticed a group practicing capoeira at Liberty or Sugar House park—a group of people wearing white pants, colorful cords as belts and singing in a drum circle. Spotting the Brazilian flag, you can assess they aren’t singing in Spanish, but in Portuguese, which is considered a pluricentric language, meaning it has evolved with several interacting countries and cultures—with a compelling, powerful history. The same goes for what they’re doing: capoeira.
“It hits the best of everything,” says Mestre Jamaika (Mauro Romualdo) founder, Capoeira Mestre of Volta Miuda capoeira, and born in Brazil, Jamaika started training at the age of seven. The history of capoeira extends to Africa and tribes from Angola, he says, “Slaves living on Brazilian plantations weren’t allowed to practice self-defense openly, and disguised their training by combining it with dance-like movements, singing, and the rhythms of drums and traditional instruments.” Like sparring without contact, capoeira resembles a “game” of fluid movements, spinning kicks, aerials and hip hop ground moves like the coffee grinder and head spins all while being encircled by the claps and singing of spectators. As Mestre Jamaika says, “Growing up, my involvement with capoeira saved my life. No matter where I travel in the world if I find a group that practices, I feel like I’m home.”
But what really is capoeira? Watching is delightful, but participating is kind of the point for those of any age, culture or gender, during the class. Mestre Jamaika shouts out to me, “I know you want to try this!” And while I haven’t attempted a cartwheel for a while, he says it never is too late to join; my heart skips a beat, “Meu Deus é bom!”
Check it out here: https://www.saltlakemagazine.com/from-brazil-with-love/
We had the pleasure of performing at TEDx SLC in 2016. Enjoy the performance!
The Pain & Possibility is a community art project that was catalyzed and funded by Sugar Space Foundation, Mestizo Institute of Culture and Arts, and other collective partners. We are proud to present to you, Capoeiristas for Black Lives Matter. This video is organized by the students of Volta Miuda capoeira and supervised by Mestre Jamaika Romualdo of Salt Lake City, Utah. This concept dance video highlights original song, music, and dance by the creators of the project. Our aim is to shift perspectives through art, to inspire one another, and to uplift our communities. We are a community that stands strong in times of racial oppression and police brutality. Capoeira is our tool of resistance! It's important to share the reality we co-create! We hope you enjoy!
Mestre Jamaika is featured in Samskara Screendance Project.
On the weekend of August 15-18, eight different cultural dance artists were filmed in eight different locations throughout Utah.The project aims to represent a cross section of humanity throughout time and geography. Through Samskara, viewers explore the realms of the past, present, and future as it is expressed through the human form and the tradition of dance. Angela Challis explains, “Samskara (Sanskrit) is the scope of experiences which we collect through our life journeys. This project celebrates humanity–our similarities and differences.”
The Samskara Screendance Project was funded with generous grants from the Utah Film Commission Next Level Grant and from the Utah Division of Arts and Museums with the support of the Utah Dance Education Organization and special thanks to the BYU ARTS Partnership.
There will be a screening on November 23rd, 2019 at the Marmalade Library located at 280 W 500 N, Salt Lake City, UT 84103. A brief question-and-answer session with the dancers, director, and crew will follow the showing. Refreshments will be served.
