CL-Nyack

Capoeira Luanda - Nyack

Capoeira Luanda

New York Capoeira Luanda is an organization that practices, teaches, and preserves the Afro-Brazilian martial art of Capoeira. Capoeira Luanda practices a style of Capoeira known as Capoeira Regional Contemporanea. This style is derived from movements and sequences developed by Mestre Bimba, as well as influences and evolutions of Capoeira from the founding Mestres of Capoeira Luanda.

Capoeira Luanda was founded on April 6th, 2007, after a long process of research and study under the direction and guidance of Mestre Jelon Vieira. Today, Capoeira Luanda has spread internationally with centers and academies in the United States, Brazil, Germany, Spain, France, Bali, New Zeland, Peru and Colombia. The root of the name Luanda is a homage to Mestre Eziquiel Martins, who founded the Grupo Luanda de Capoeira in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil in 1963. Another inspiration behind the name Luanda was meaning of the word Luanda in Yoruba language which means “the junction of the moon and the earth” and “Peace and imaginary land” in the dialect Bantu. Luanda is the capital of Angola and was one of the most important ports during the slave trade when Africans were taken to the Americas as chattel.

Luanda is one of the cities in West Africa where Africans said the last good bye for those who never returned. It was the Africans from the slave trade that contributed to the richness of the African Culture in Brazil.

What is Capo

eira?

Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian martial art created by enslaved Africans in Brazil roughly 500 years ago. Part dance, part fight, and part acrobatics, it blends traditions from many African cultures. Oral tradition tells us it was practiced in secret, disguised as a playful game to fool slave owners while preparing to resist oppression. Today capoeira is played as a game inside a roda, a circle of players and onlookers led by musicians and a mestre (teacher) who guides the songs and rhythm. With its deceptive kicks, sweeps, and strikes, capoeira challenges your wits and creativity as much as your body. It's a great way to get in shape and a chance to immerse yourself in a rich art form, learn about Brazil and Africa, play instruments, and sing in Portuguese. Come try capoeira today!

Who Are we ?

Professora Coruja

Professora Coruja (Renée Rinaldi-Garcia) was first introduced to capoeira while studying abroad in São Paulo, Brazil in 2001, and what began as a research topic soon became a lifestyle. After college, Coruja moved to NYC to begin her career in education and trained capoeira in Harlem, before joining Grupo Capoeira Performance Arts with Mestre Bom Jesus in New Rochelle.

Under Mestre Bom Jesus’ guidance, she earned her blue cord (Graduada) in 2010, helped develop capoeira curriculum for school arts programs, and founded several afters-chool Capoeira programs in Harlem and the Bronx. In 2013, she opened The Capoeira Center in Downtown New Rochelle, where she taught adults and children of all ages for over a decade.

When Mestre Bom Jesus retired from Capoeira in 2014, she found support and friendship with Capoeira Luanda, and in 2015 officially joined the group under the supervision of Mestre Chuvisco. Since then Coruja earned her green cord (Instrutora) in 2016, her purple cord (Professora) in Goiânia, Brazil, in 2022, and most recently was promoted to purple-brown cord in NYC in 2026. Professora Coruja currently teaches Capoeira to adults and children @ The Angel Nyack, in Downtown Nyack, NY.

Outside of capoeira, Professora Coruja is a middle school principal in the Bronx and the mother of four beautiful children.