Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Spotify | Pandora | Blubrry | RSS | More
What up Capoeiristas!! This is your host Inst. Caxixi!! And
[00:01:25] – Valente: I’m good thank you so much for having me, I’m excited to be on your podcast
[00:01:30] – Caxixi – Yes Yes thank you for making the time, the little window for sharing this experience, so like any interview I’m gonna start from the beginning, from your very beginning on Capoeira, so when you started from the first day until today and you can start however you want.
[00:01:55] – Valente – ok so actually I sing up for my first capoeira class in San Diego at university California San Diego, in the year 2000 and was a recreating class from campus and unfortunately last minute before I started the class I had to change my academic curse schedule to another class that was schedule on the Capoeira nights and I was sad I already paid for it so actually one of my best guy friends at the time I said “hey you know have you hear about Capoeira?” and he said “no” and I said “well it is this kind of like breakdance thing you should check it out” and I said “I paid you should take my spot” and he ended up becoming very good capoeirista practicing every day for a few years and I went to his batizado I believe 2003/2004 and I saw him and his friends doing Capoeira at a party in about I think was 2005 then I said ok that’s really cool but I wanna learn breakdancing.
so I moved to Seattle after san Diego and I was living up there 2005/2006 and 2006 ok I can’t find a breakdancing class but there is a capoeira class, I’m gonna try then breakdancing from Capoeira so I went to group axe capitol hill in Seattle and an amazing class it was Coquinho who was the instructor at the time and it was a great group very very friendly and after the first class I said ok I don’t care about breakdancing Capoeira is it, Capoeira is my thing and I knew from day one that it was for me for the rest of my life.
[00:05:30] – Caxixi: What is the story behind your nick name, Valente?
Valente: I receive my name I believe after a year, year and a half in Capoeira, end one thing that anyone who remember, when I first started in Capoeira in los Angeles, I didn’t really have a good understanding in my level compare to people much more experienced so I’d play in the roda as if I’ve much more experience than I did I’m sure didn’t look that great but I didn’t care I just went forward, I played every one very hard and thankfully I did not die in that processes but just had no sense of fear at all I just didn’t have any worries about it I just went forward I just loved it so much that I didn’t care, and no matter how it looked so I be alive that’s why I got the name “Valente”
[00:08:08] – Caxixi: What do you think about the business and Capoeira? Your own perspective on how or what do you think about those combination?
so I’m in a interesting situation because Mestre Mindinho and I actually created a non-profit for our academy, I receive no income at all for teaching and we put a lot of heart and soul into this so for me it’s all about the love of Capoeira even thigh it takes up about as much time as my day job and I work in a hospital, even though it take about as much time as my day job, you think about my training the administration the website, read the communication with families, the marketing, everything, teaching itself, cleaning the academy, I think the academy, Mestre Mindinho cleans the academy. I would say I spend as much time in Capoeira as I do in my day job, and personally I’m not receiving any money back that’s a choice from me. I absolutely love Capoeira and I just wanted move it forward with that being said of course still a business for example we have a standalone studio, there is nothing other than Capoeira in our studio and is a nice space, so in order to maintain that of course we have to treat that as a business, so of course is constant marketing to get more students, sell uniforms, having events, we have lot of workshops, keeping cost low, and I do actually have to deal with the business side every single day.
[00:15:03] – Caxixi: what do you think the benefits that Capoeira can bring to society, from your own perspective?
Valente: I’ve been teaching probably, I wanna say I’ve been teaching for like 3 years, 3 and a half years, in my own studio each time, both time have been in my own location and because of that all my students come to me without any Capoeira experience, totally fresh and I’m going to tell you it is so dramatic the change that I see in confidence, all my students for me that’s everything
Valente Social Media:
Website Here
Instagram Here @mindinhoValente
Capoeira Brasil Cali Desert Here
Facebook Here