ABADA-Caporeira San Francisco Presents CIGARRA & Guerreiras Nessa Arte

The history and legacy of Afro-Brazilian female trailblazer Marcia Treidler to be showcased at Z SPACE May 3-5

SAN FRANCISCO, April 15, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ --ABADÁ-Capoeira San Francisco (ACSF), the Bay Area's first non-profit organization dedicated to recovering, preserving, and promoting Afro-Brazilian arts and culture, will present CIGARRA & Guerreiras Nessa Arte May 3-5 at San Francisco's Z SPACE. The audience will witness the spellbinding ritual of various Brazilian arts, including capoeira, maculele, jongo and samba de roda, as Marcia Treidler, a.k.a. Mestra Cigarra, shares the story of her path-breaking ascent through capoeira's male-dominated ranks. Guest artists from Brazil and the ABADÁ-Capoeira San Francisco Performance Company will highlight her lineage throughout the show.

CIGARRA & Guerreiras Nessa Arte aims to challenge preconceived perceptions of limitations; unearth little-known facts, stories, music, and movement traditions; provide insight into building equity in male-dominated arts; serve as a testament to capoeira's enduring empowerment and the potential of the human spirit; and honor, preserve, and bring to life ancestral and cultural knowledge.

Film and other archival media created and curated by local Emmy award-winning filmmaker Claudia Escobar will ground the performance, leading audiences through a multi-sensory journey. Escobar, a filmmaker who uses photography, journalism, illustration, and other media to create and share stories of migration, artists and cultural makers, has been documenting stories, dances, and conversations from Mestra Cigarra and other female contributors on film, and this work will be woven into the performance.

Mestra Cigarra has been the singular role model for women practicing capoeira. At age 25, she was the first woman practitioner to bring capoeira to California, having started a school in San Francisco's Mission District in 1996 that has become a cultural stronghold, sacred community space, and renowned global training center. Her talent, success, and commitment to publicly embracing being a gay female have amplified gender equity in capoeira internationally. This project reflects her courageous character and illuminates her story and historic significance while advancing cultural knowledge.

"While I am responsible for making my own way, there are many women across various forms of Brazilian arts who were influential in blazing a trail for me and others to follow," said Mestra Cigarra, Artistic Director of ACSF. "When I started capoeira in the 1980s, there were only a handful of women training, and none were taken seriously by male counterparts. I was determined to change the trajectory for women in capoeira. It's my honor to continue to pave that path for others and at the same time share the rich and varied history of Brazilian culture through multiple art forms."

Tickets can be purchased online here at the Z Space website.

ABOUT ABADÁ-Capoeira San Francisco (ACSF)

ABADÁ-Capoeira San Francisco (ACSF) preserves, develops, and shares the Afro-Brazilian art of Capoeira with integrity, and cultivates, engages, and supports cultural practitioners and artists. By exploring creative ways of sharing cCapoeira and related arts, ACSF remains a pioneering force in the preservation and development of Brazilian arts.

Founded in 1991 by master artist Márcia Treidler, ACSF uses capoeira arts to enrich, strengthen, and uplift under-resourced communities, and as a catalyst to build a healthy, just, and vibrant society in which people feel connected to and responsible for their community.

ACSF continues its commitment to providing accessible, inclusive, culturally authentic programs and apprenticeships taught by highly skilled artists.

ACSF shares its name and philosophy with ABADÁ-Capoeira?the Brazilian Association for the Support and Development of the Art of Capoeira?founded in 1988 by Mestre Camisa, in Brazil. ABADÁ-Capoeira has independent branches in 80 countries.

For more information about ACSF, visit http://www.abada.org/.

Media Contact

Michelle Sieling, ABADA-Capoeira San Francisco, 1 415-871-5358, [email protected], https://www.abada.org

SOURCE ABADA-Capoeira San Francisco