History
To the left is a photo of the man who, over 14 years (1992) ago brought the art of Capoeira to our shores. Long before Capoeira was popular in the Caribbean Mr. Michael Ray was sharing his love for the art with those of us on the island fortunate enough to come into contact with him.
We (Capoeira Barbados) recognize him as the "Godfather" of Capoeira in Barbados and perhaps through his influence the wider Caribbean, although, for the modest that being he is, "Baba de boi" will simply tell you that "I was in the right place at the right time".
During his many visits to the island Baba de has conducted seminars and workshops on the art-form, he has been on television and even more impressively has made
The Monkey Shines...
The film featured Mark Dacascos in the role of Louis Stevens, a green beret who learned Capoeira in Brazil. In returning to his Miami hometown and seeing the destruction caused by gangs and drugs in his former alma mater, he goes about teaching 12 of the "worst" in the school students the art of Capoeira in the
His efforts are met with resistance from
within the group of students and externally from a gang leader name "Silverio"
himself a master of Capoeira and uncle to Orlando, one of Louis' new
students.
An initial confrontation with Silverio leaves Louis physically
wounded but his spirit remains unbroken and he continues to teach his
students and in so doing continues their transformations.
The film completely inspired Marlon to learn more about the art form so he began the process of searching and learning everything he could from every medium possible, his first mission was to build a website through which he was contacted by Capoeiristas the world over all willing to share their knowledge and passion for the art.
Mestre Preto Velho (Dennis Newsome(Os Malandros de Mestre Touro)) would be the first to reach out to him and share knowledge, not only of Capoeira but other African dance/fight systems.
Nigel Boyd (Os Malandros de Mestre Touro) would be a constant light in the novice Capoeiristas' search for knowledge.
Hannah Smith would teach him the toques of the Berimbau.
Jessica Gelay (Capoeira Omulu) inspired him with her deep love for the mystery of the Capoeira form.
Ishaq Abdulkabir (Menino Doido) introduced him to the man he would call Mestre.
When the Student is Ready...
After returning to Barbados, Macaco continued to spread the word to whom ever would listen by teaching classes in Barbados and networking with his Capoeira brothers and sisters in the Caribbean.
The year 2003 would mark the beginning of his recognition by those in the international Martial community and he was invited and attended a seminar held July 2-8 in Texas on African / African-American martial systems where he instructed in the Capoeira art form.
His videos and website material have been quoted, stolen and re-used
several times on the internet the official website of Axé Capoeira Barbados, the online portal for
everything "Capoeira" on the island. Feel free to browse around
our site and be sure to stop by our Media section to view our Photos and
Videos.
Please use the links provided on the left to navigate our site. The News and
Downloads section to the right of the page provide you with links to recent
updates to the site.
Capoeira Barbados..
To this end, Grupo Axé Capoeira Barbados has given and continues to give performances at schools, hotels and gyms across the island, they have been invited to perform for the Brazilian Ambassador at his residence on a number of occasions over the past years. They have been featured in print and internet news media and have appeared on the local "Mornin' Barbados" television show.
Macaco has acted as choreographer to the National Cultural Foundation for their production "How Music Came to Ain' Chain People" and has himself been featured in the print media in articles relating to Capoeira and fashion.
In more recent times the Grupo has embarked on a project in association with the Ministry of Health to provide and encourage year- round donations of food and clothing to those stricken with the A.I.D.S virus, the project has been met a degree of success and we continually encourage donations from both private citizens and corporate barbados.
We need you..
