Since arriving at URI in 1996, Silas Pinto ’00 has taught hundreds of his fellow students, the martial art of Capoeira.
By Shane Donaldson ’99Photo by Nora Lewis
It took just 60 seconds to change the life of Silas Pinto forever.
In 1991 Pinto saw television coverage of a Brazilian festival that included a presentation of Capoeira (kap-oo-ay-ra), a martial art that features acrobatic moves and dance. Capoeira gained increasing visibility last summer with the release of the movie Catwoman. The star, Halle Berry, trained intensively with a capoerista (Capoeira instructor) and performed many Capoeira moves in her role of Catwoman.
Pinto was immediately attracted to Capoeira because of its connection to Brazil, a country with a culture similar to that of his native Cape Verde Islands. Since learning the art, first by himself through books and videos and later by studying with several Capoeira instructors and attending Capoeira gatherings, Pinto continues to spread his love of Capoeira, as well as dances from his homeland. He teaches his fellow students at URI and also offers classes in Warwick, R.I., at Grupo Ondas Academy.
“It makes me happy to do something for my own culture and Brazil,” said Pinto, a 2000 graduate who has returned to the Kingston Campus to pursue a Ph.D. in school psychology. “Cape Verde is like a little sister to Brazil. Both countries were colonized by Portugal and had slaves from Africa, and they are very similar in most aspects of their cultures, including language, food, and music. For me, Capoeira was a way to learn more about a culture I appreciate so much.”
Pinto, known as Professor Tigri when he is a capoerista, has taught the art and history of the dance to his fellow students since 1996. The students, who performed at the URI World Festival last spring, also learn about Brazilian and Cape Verdean history, culture, and language. “I try to be humble about the group because it has given me the opportunity to teach something I love,” Pinto/Tigri remarked.
Despite all the time he puts into teaching, Pinto does not make money from Capoeira. His classes at URI for free, and the Capoeira School he runs in Warwick, Grupo Ondas Academy, operates through a non-profit organization. Fees cover group trips to Capoeira events around the country. Members have taken part in events throughout New England as well as in Utah, Florida, and Virginia. “Capoeira has somewhat of a bad reputation in North America because many instructors appeared to just be interested in the money,” Pinto said. “Some will charge an arm and a leg— maybe even a hip!—to teach it. For me, I am proud to help spread knowledge of an art and my culture.”
Part of the reason Pinto loves teaching in a college setting is the constant turnover of participants. This year he had 20 returning students from last year in the first meeting. “You find that many people love to come back, but on a college campus, every year there are always new faces as well,” Pinto said. “That means new people are always being introduced to Capoeira. Over the last nine years, a lot of people have taken the time to experience Capoeira, and that always excites me.”
Some of Pinto’s students now teach beginner classes both at URI and at Grupo Ondas Academy. Pinto, who holds black belts in Tae Kwon Do, Shaolin, Kempo Karate, and San Cho, also founded the Future Impact Martial Art Team, a non-profit martial arts organization in Warwick, R.I., and supervises Capoeira groups in Virginia and Florida.
It took years before Pinto was ready to teach others, but he began teaching himself the art in 1991. Soon after seeing the demonstration on television, Pinto began studying the history, philosophy, and terminology of Capoeira. With no Capoeira schools within 50 miles of Providence, Pinto had to study on his own until he moved to Boston in 1996 to be a little closer to a Capoeira school. In 1994, however, he and his cousin, Fernando Fialho, had organized their own group at their high school in Providence. The 11-member group would meet and review the basics of the art and perform at diversity events and other school functions.
Upon accepting the responsibility of a Capoeira professor/teacher and choosing to be a representative of his country and his group, Pinto decided to only portray the “positive, cooperative” side of Capoeira, which includes respect, self-control, discipline, integrity, trust, honor, sincerity, love, peace, and joy.
Although competition is not the focus for Pinto and Grupo Ondas, his students do learn the self-defense aspects of Capoeira. As a capoeirista, one must learn how to fight, especially in today’s contemporary movement of the art form. Pinto’s philosophy is to compare his growth as a capoerista with his potential.
“I was attracted to Capoeira because it is a cooperative art,” Pinto said. “Players work together for the good of the presentation, not for competition. But Capoeira is a dance that can be a fight. You can use the skills of Capoeira as self-defense, but it is really an art of presentation. Today, however, there are organizations that work hard to demonstrate its power within the realm of martial arts.”
Pinto takes pride in the diversity of his students, who include Asians, Latinos, Caucasians, Cape Verdeans, Brazilians, and others. “I never thought we’d have a group as diverse as this,” Pinto said. “When I started, I really just wanted to go with the flow, but I never really found an instructor who I felt deserved my loyalty. I never thought I had the strength to do something like this, but so many people made it easy because they care about something that is very important to me.”
Once he completes his doctoral dissertation, Silas Pinto hopes to become a psychology professor at a college or university. Tigri, however, will always be a capoerista.
To learn more about Grupo Ondas and Capoeira, visit http://www.capoeiraBCV.com.
Shane Donaldson ’99 is a reporter for The South County Independent covering South Kingstown.
