Got a question for Mestrando Tigri? Submit it at grupoondasblog@gmail.com.
Hey Everyone – Tigri here. I was asked to clarify something and thought you might be interested in the response as well.
It is complicated – and I hope that we can continue to have these discussions… they are interesting – and they push us to move beyond the surface knowledge of the art with practice.
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Ladainha is not SPECIFIC to Angola. It is CHARACTERISTIC of Angola — it doesn’t mean others from “regional” don’t use it.
It is certainly not appropriate for, say, sao bento grande de regional.
For example: quadras are NOT characteristic of Angola… they are characteristic of Traditional Regional… in fact – not even contemporanea. Contemporanea capoeira music is characterized by HINOS (translates as ANTHEMS).
The relationship between ladainha, chulas, quadras and louvacao is complex….
Simply put — ladainha is a solo litany sung at the opening of a roda. That’s the basic definition of ladainha. Ladainhas end with louvacao (or cantos de entrada)…
This is my midnight attempt at a summary of what is a VERY LONG STORY….
Angola has ladainhas and louvacao (literally translated – PRAISE — in a religious sense).
Some secularists (and Regionalists of the 20’s-40’s to today) referred to louvacao as cantos de entrada or chulas.
Mestre Bimba had created a variation in the singing of cantos de entranda/chulas.
He also introduced quadras (in addition to the existing corridos that existed in capoeira at that time and practically REPLACED ladainhas with quadras)… How, you ask? His quadras were followed by chulas (cantos de entrada) much like ladainhas were. REMEMBER THAT BIMBA WAS AN ANGOLEIRO, so much of this was a conscious decision.
Although ladainhas and louvacao are separate entities – they are almost always used in sequence. Rarely do you hear a ladainha skip the louvacao and go right to corrido. I’ve only heard that once.
Eventually chulas and quadras had that same relationship, and quadras and chulas are now used sometimes interchangeably (and often confused for one another).
Below is an example:
NOTICE that It is labeled “QUADRAS” — but Mestre is doing BOTH the QUADRA and the CHULA. Also note the way in which Mestre Bimba sings the cantos de entrada (aka chula – aka louvacao). This is characteristic of Traditional Regional.
(by Mestre Bimba)
Compare with:
(by Mestre Jogo de Dentro)
Note that it is labeled LADAINHA, but M. Jogo de Dentro performs both the ladainha AND the louvacao.
With time — the term “ladainha” has come to encompass both pieces… ladainha and louvacao. So when someone says “sing me a ladainha” – they are asking you to basically sing the ladainha and end the louvacao (or canto de entrada). If fact, it would feel strange to stop with just the ladainha itself, unless you were just practicing the song….
Similarly, the term “chula” has come to encompass both the quadra and chula itself.
ENJOY
Note from Jaguati: There is also some interesting background information on the “Capoeira Music” page on wikipedia. It may not reflect exactly how we do things at our school, but it is interesting for some additional information.
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