Game of Freedom: Mestre Bimba and the Art of Capoeira

In the powerful, vibrant biography Game of Freedom, awardwinning creator Duncan Tonatiuh sheds light on the legacy of a legendary capoeira player, Mestre Bimba, who resisted racial oppression through art and turned a marginalized practice into a global phenomenon.A meia lua whooshed in the air. The strike was evaded and followed with an a.Two young men were playing capoeira in the middle of the roda. Bimba wanted to play too.Although it is debated when and where capoeiraan art form that blends martial arts, dance, acrobatics, music, and spiritualityoriginated exactly, one thing is certain: in the early 20th century, Brazil was the only country in the world where capoeira was played, and it was mainly practiced by people of African descent. In 1890, two years after Brazil officially abolished slavery, the game was outlawed. Wealthy, lighterskinned society feared and looked down on capoeira, seeing it as a game for malandroswhat people in power called the poor Black communities they disdained. But in the early 1920s in the city of Salvador, a man called Bimba advocated for capoeira, and those who practiced it, demanding they be treated with dignity and respect.Duncan Tonatiuhs lyrical prose and beloved fullcolor illustrations, inspired by preColumbian codices, tell the story of arguably the greatest capoeirista of all time, who fought to turn a misunderstood, persecuted AfroBrazilian activity into a celebrated art practiced by millions around the world. In 2014, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) named capoeira an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, a distinction awarded because of the games promotion of social integration and the memory it holds of the struggle against historical oppression. From an awardwinning authorillustrator, Game of Freedom is a stirring celebration of solidarity and resistance through art.