Fresh off a trip to Tanzania, Maike brought back some inspiration and a nice traditional song about Mount Kilimanjaro. We added a little Brazilian feel to the rhythm section and tried out some vocal harmony: Mandingueiros da Harmonia – Kilimanjaro (traditional)

Menina: Vocals/Guitar/Caxixi
Vaqueiro: Vocals/Djembe/Agogo/RekoReko

Mandingueiros da Harmonia

Kilimanjaro

This song is in remembrance of the atrocities of slavery, particularly as practiced in Brazil. It celebrates the bravery of those who fled captivity to reach the Quilombos (communities of former slaves) and also the longing to return to the homeland, Africa, here symbolized by the metonym "Aruanda."

Lyrics by Vaqueiro
Performed by Vaqueiro & Menina – Os Mandingueiros da Harmonia
(Menina: Vocals, guitar / Vaqueiro: vocals, berimbau)

O Chicote

This song is a tribute to the "Malandro" or devious trickster, whose persona is manifested in many a capoeira jogo (game). It tells you to watch out for his trickery, the deceptive moves he makes, but reminds you that if you play safely you won't get caught. As our Mestre Borracha reminded us, this sort of malandragem or trickery is beautiful to see in the roda of capoeira, but you don't want to encounter it in real life. 

Lyrics: Vaqueiro
Menina: Vocals & Guitar
Vaqueiro: Vocals & Pandeiro

Cuidado Malandro

Mandingueiros da Harmonia 
We're Vaqueiro (Ted) and Menina (Maike), two capoeiristas and music lovers based in Hamburg, Germany, from the capoeira group "Capoeira Aruanda." We are inspired by the music of capoeira, Brazil, and Africa. Menina provides her mezzo-soprano vocal melodies and harmonies along with acoustic guitar strumming and arpeggiation. Vaqueiro adds baritone vocals and various percussive elements, such as berimbau, pandeiro, atabaque, reko-reko, agogo, djembe. We compose our songs in the spirit of the corpus of capoeira music and we reinterpret traditional songs.

Mandingueiros da Harmonia

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