Religiosity and Afrocentrality in capoeira Angola from Porto Alegre (Brazil)

This article analyzes th e relationship between capoeira Angola and Afro-Brazilian religions. It emerges from an ethnography held in a capoeira Angola group in Porto Alegre, which analyzed the relationship between the capoeiristas with the afro-religion environment. We will see that this relationship is so significant that it defines the meaning of what means to be an angoleiro. The central argument is based on the premise that the practices and values cultivated in this art owe much to their connection with afro-centered religiosity, and that the removal of the latter would result in a mischaracterization of what is known nowadays as capoeira Angola. Keyword: Afro-Brazilian religions, capoeira, afrocentrality.