Amazing Alegria

Update: the time for the Taka street roda on Oct 21 has changed to 4 pm.

Cirque de Soleil says, "Alegría is a mood, a state of mind."

Translated into English, Alegría means joy -- and it's an apt nickname for one of my capoeira classmates.

I'm continually in awe of her high spirits and fortitude in class. Faced with frustrations or taking the occasional punch, she comes with a determined smile.

We're in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, so Alegría is fasting. But her abstinence from food and water doesn't seem to make a dent in her capoeira training. She still trains as hard as anyone and doesn't cut herself any slack, other than rushing straight to the electric fan during our infrequent breaks. Whereas if I miss lunch before class, I feel as if I'm ready to die by the time we finish our warm-ups.

Today, her roda game was absolutely on fire. She spent more time in the roda than out of it, and she nailed several very well-timed moves. It was a beautiful game to watch. You rock, girl!

Upcoming capoeira activities

• Argola de Ouro is having an open street roda on the sidewalk in front of Takashimaya on Saturday, October 21, from 4 pm to around 5:30 pm. This also marks a farewell to our French Brazilian guests, Cabeça and Bruno.
  
  
• Training details for regular classes are in this post. Classes at Substation are cancelled on the 21st, because of the holidays - the street roda at Takashimaya will take the place of Saturday's class.

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