PROFESSOR
VARAL
BIOGRAPHY
| BIOGRAFIA
(English)
(Português)
Luiz Otavio Pereira (Varal), of Porto Alegre, RS – Brazil, began his
capoeira training at the age of 11 inside the hall of a church in his
neighborhood. He learned capoeira from his teacher, Luiz Henrique Pontes
(C-Mestre Reco. Now Varal has taught capoeira for over 10 years in
community centers, schools, sports centers, and martial arts academies
and he has taught workshops in Brazil and in the United States. He
practices and uses as the main focus of his classes the methodology and
philosophy of Mestre Bimba’s Capoeira Regional.
His story began when a group of friends got together to train capoeira
in the Assunção Zona Sul neighborhood of Porto Alegre where Varal grew
up. Mestre Leca, student of Mestre Indio of Bahia, and his students
Rubão, Beto Loco, Reco among others, started to teach capoeira classes,
changing the daily routine of this little community. These classes
caught the attention of everyone in the neighborhood, especially the
kids, who watched with great curiosity and admiration. Little by little,
the church hall started filling up with spectators, kids and adults. And
thus began this interesting story.
Luiz Henrique Pontes (C-Mestre Reco), with the encouragement of his
teachers Mestre Leca and Professor Rubão, decided to offer free capoeira
classes to the kids in the neighborhood. Many kids passed through Reco’s
classes - like Chico, Michel (Geleia), Fernando (Faraó), Buiú, Capeta,
Marcelo (Duas Casas), Jacson (Mosquito), Jacson (Gardel), Massinha,
Magrão, and many others. One of those kids was Luiz Otavio Pereira, now
known as Varal, a kid who had no idea that he would eventually become a
teacher of capoeira, an art form that took over his life, and developed
into his own life philosophy.
Today, at 30 years old, Varal is fully aware of the importance and
responsibility a capoeira teacher has, and through this eternal journey
of learning, he has made this his life long mission. Capoeira has the
power to change lives with its strong cultural history and rich benefits
and values. It is important to remember that capoeira emerged from an
era of great suffering for the Brazilian culture, “and we must
deliberately preserve our culture and nurture our roots.”
THE NICKNAME
In capoeira we have the tradition of the nickname. It is like a new
identity and with Varal it was no different. When he was a small child,
he received his first capoeira t-shirt, but, there was just one detail,
it was adult size. Varal, always having been tall and thin, as if that
wasn’t enough, decided to cut the collar of the t-shirt and cut too much
leaving the shirt very loose. One day he went to participate in the
capoeira roda and it was a very windy day and that little boy’s t-shirt
did not stop flapping in the wind on his thin frame. Then Betão, one of
the capoeiristas who was also participating in the roda, looked at him
and said, “Look at that little boy, he looks like a clothesline” (called
a varal in Portuguese). Then everyone looked at him and cracked
up because, well, the t-shirt did look like it was on a clothesline. And
from that moment forth, his name became Varal, his capoeira identity.
GRADUATION
On Oct 31, 2008, Varal graduated in Capoeira Regional, receiving his
blue scarf with the support of C-Mestre Reco and under the supervision
of Mestre Deputado e Mestre Onça Negra, both students of Mestre Bimba.
After training and living with his teacher C. Mestre Reco and
his Mestres Onça Negra and Deputado in the Capoeira Bimba Meu Mestre
Academy in Redondo Beach, CA, USA, Varal is continuing with his mission
working with capoeira in California, dedicated to expanding and
preserving its values and legacy.
Please take a look at the
SCHEDULE OF CLASSES.
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