*The legend of Zumbi has been carried through generations by capoeira practitioners
*Capoeria has become a symbol of resistance in the country
*Over 1500 public events were held nationwide to commemorate the new holiday
*Capoeria has become a symbol of resistance in the country
*Over 1500 public events were held nationwide to commemorate the new holiday
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NewsTranscript
00:00Brazilians enjoyed a new federal holiday today.
00:07National Black Concession is veiled.
00:10Our correspondent Brian Meir has more.
00:14In 1973, a group of Afro-Brazilian rights
00:17activists in Porto Alegre began fighting to
00:20establish November 20th as National Black
00:23Consciousness Day in honor of Zumbidos Palmares,
00:26leader of a nation of formerly enslaved people
00:29which lasted for almost 100 years during the 17th
00:32century in the colonial province of Pernambuco.
00:36This year, President Lula signed a law declaring
00:38it a national holiday.
00:43This is a very important date because we have
00:45been fighting for years for a holiday that
00:47commemorates Black Consciousness Day and the
00:49importance of the Capoeira movement within
00:51black consciousness.
00:53It's really important.
00:56During Palmares' height, its largest town had a
00:58population almost as large as that of Rio de Janeiro.
01:00But its wealth began to anger the Portuguese and
01:02after decades of unsuccessful attacks, a group
01:04of mercenaries ambushed and killed Zumbi in 1695,
01:06transforming him into a martyr with his legend
01:08carried through the generations in the songs of
01:10practitioners of the Afro-Brazilian martial art
01:12of Capoeira.
01:14Zumbi of Palmares has great importance for us
01:16because it is said that he was a great leader and
01:18that he created this movement called Capoeira.
01:20As the story goes, people from several different
01:22African nations lived in Palmares like Qetu,
01:24Mozambique, and Angola, so he was known as
01:26Zumbi of Palmares.
01:28His name is Zumbi of Palmares.
01:30He is one of the most well-known Brazilian
01:32artists.
01:34He was born in Buenos Aires, Brazil.
01:36He was raised in the city of Rio de Janeiro.
01:38He was a well-known singer.
01:40He was a member of a group called Cartel,
01:42Mozambique and Angola, so he invited the best fighters from each nation and unified their
01:47fighting styles as one.
01:53Like Palmares, Capoeira has become an important symbol of resistance in Brazil as attempts
01:58made to destroy it over the centuries by the government and Christian churches have all
02:03failed.
02:06Capoeira embraces the story of Zumbi of Palmares in the context of the representativity of
02:10November 20th, the day that Zumbi of Palmares was assassinated, killed after a long period
02:16of resistance.
02:18Since Capoeira is also a form of resistance and struggle in the broad sense, we are here
02:23in Pernambuco for the annual march for Zumbi of Palmares.
02:29According to Global News, over 1,500 public events were held across Brazil this November
02:3420th to commemorate the new federal holiday.
02:38Brian Muir, TELUS Sur, Recife