Justin L. Cook and Professor Jeff Parkin, Theatre and Media Arts

Capoeira is an art form that originated in Brazil during the time of the slave trade. According to legend it was used as a form of communication and unification amongst the African slaves from varying tribes and lingual backgrounds in defying their masters. It has since developed in Brazil as a unique art form combining dance, song, and martial arts to provide both physical and emotional development and discipline for those involved.

This particular project was initiated with the intent to further investigate Capoeira as an art form and find out the ways in which it allows for, aside from the physical and emotional aspects, spiritual development of the individual. I had previously become acquainted with the instructor of the BYU Capoeira Club, Mike Lauritzen, and through him found out about his brother, Aaron “Mago” Lauritzen who was an instructor representing the Capuraginga Schools in Colorado Springs. Mago had originated the Capoeira Club at BYU in the late 1990s and was also an influential tool in being an advocate for the art form and spreading it to different areas of the United States.

Mago and his wife Anne “Segura em Casa” Lauritzen, who had also attended BYU, proved to be helpful subjects in exploring how the art form has not only originated and developed, but the impact it has made on their lives. In going into this project I hadn’t expected such a dedicated and passionate pair of subjects who had faced the challenges that they had in order to make their dream of teaching and becoming a positive influence on those around them a reality. I knew coming into the project that I would ask questions concerning challenges relating to the art form itself, but I had not planned on the documentary turning into such an interesting and poignant look at the couple’s journey versus the martial artist’s or capoeirista’s journey.

Mago and Segura were two studious and fairly successful professionals bound for higher degrees and important positions in life. As time went on, however, Mago realized that his passion for Capoeira superseded his interest in becoming a plant botanist, despite his love for the subject. Segura was unsure how she felt about this, having been raised in a family where higher education and subsequent financial security was just a way of life. When Mago decided that he wanted to train to become a fulltime Capoeira instructor, Segura realized how important this was for him and decided that she would be a full participant and a support. After having sold everything and moving to Brazil to train for some time, the couple felt inspired that Colorado Springs was the place for them. Despite having no previous contacts or ties with the city, it was the place they felt they were led to and started from scratch, with nothing but a few bags of clothing and things in the car and a map in hand.

After spending several months living on very little and having to rely on their own skills developed through independent research about Capoeira and running their own business, they rented a space and designed their own Capoeira studio. Segura attributes their ability to achieve what they did to the teachings about self-sufficiency and leadership that they learned from attending The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Not only did their spiritual center guide them to where they were at, but it sustained them in building a successful group, having started from nothing.

Mago discusses his challenges as an insomniac, and the sacrifices required of him being a member of the Church, as well as a Capoeirista. He has faced his inability to sleep with a positive outlook, throwing out the television and endless infomercials, he decided to read and study and become an educated and prepared instructor, businessman, and human being. His own spiritually grounded life in combination with the discipline and endurance learned through being a Capoeirista has allowed him to take the challenges he faces outside of the Capoeira roda or ring, and find strength in not necessarily overcoming all that he has been challenged with, but facing it with intelligence and preparedness. This is something learned through the art form, this careful and almost evasive martial art, requires a cleverness and a stamina that is developed through practice, quickness, and careful observance. Rather than directly hit or kicking the opponent without any thought, it is more of a defensive and almost sneaky way of going about conquering the attacker. Mago feels that life can and should be approached in this way, whether physical or spiritual the challenges, they should be faced with this malícia or cunning that is so carefully developed through Capoeira.

Mago in Portuguese means magician. Mago paid his way through college as a professional magician and he earned his nickname when he started associating with Brazilians as a missionary for the Church in northeastern Brazil. This in turn became his Capoeira nickname. Segura earned her name when she was a beginner playing in the roda, or ring, and another Brazilian turned to her husband and said “ela tá segura em casa”—she’s safe at home.

One of the challenges that I had not planned on, but should have, was the fascinating yet rather broad nature of the art form. In making a documentary that focuses on a subject it is difficult to explore the entirety of that subject in under one hour or even the two hours of a feature length project. As Mago says, Capoeira cannot be placed in a box nor can it be easily defined. Upon discovering this in my research, I decided to focus on not defining every aspect of the art form, but on how the art from has impacted the lives of this couple and how they in turn have impacted others for good. Had I known this before traveling to Colorado Springs, I would have had more preliminary interviews and taken more time discussing the origins of Anne and Aaron and how they progressed in becoming Segura and Mago, the Capoeiristas. I have opened up something that will take much longer than 30 minutes to explore on film, perhaps it will take a series of documentaries exploring the various aspects.

Mago and Segura truly have developed something wonderful together, and they find strength in their art, their marriage, and their work. They have found a center in the ring, in something that they are passionate about and it gives them fulfillment, physically, emotionally and spiritually. I cannot communicate everything that has been learned or all the good that can be found in Capoeira, but hopefully a portion of Mago and Segura’s passion and the positive and important aspects of the art form can be communicated in the documentary. They truly are safe at home.

This documentary was presented in part at the 2005 Final Cut Film Festival in the Varsity Theatre on BYU Campus. The completed version has yet to be presented or broadcasted, but it will be submitted to several national festivals over the course of the following year with the possibility also of airing on KBYU pending further arrangements.