Certificate of Participation – DDD2023

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The Jaraguá indigenous land is made up of 6 villages where the team’s players live. It is located around the Jaraguá Peak, in the Northeast region of the city of São Paulo

The 32-year-old goalkeeper, Jacileide Martins, known as Jaci, is aware that due to her age it will be difficult to have a professional football career. However, she recognizes the importance of Xondarias Guarani for the future, an indigenous female football team from Jaraguá, Northeast region of São Paulo.

“I am [in the team] to encourage the girls. Women with a totally different culture, with kids and jobs, are overcoming difficulties by taking their children to training, to the pitch and football matches. That is what makes us different, we are true warriors by still being able to keep the Xondarias Guarani team going”, Jaci says proudly, from the Tekoa Ytu Indian village.

No wonder Xondarias means warriors in Guarani. You only have to watch a few minutes of the training of the 15 indigenous Guarani women of various ages, to realize that the chosen name could not be any other.

Officially, Xondarias Guarani has existed since January 2019. Resulting from the merging of two old female teams from the community, the Real Guarani and the Soberanas. The indigenous women with a passion for football have been fighting since 2001 to be able to play and show their football skills, including within the Jaraguá indigenous land, made up of these villages: Tekoa Pyau, Tekoa Itakupe, Tekoa Ytu, Tekoa Ita Vera, Tekoa Ita Endy e Tekoa Yvy Porã.

During the training sessions, which take place every Wednesday and Friday, from 12 noon to 2pm, on the Parque Estadual do Jaraguá football pitch, as well as focusing on the trainer’s instructions, the players take turns to look after the children, as some are still in the breastfeeding stage.

“The majority of them have children and few know someone who can look after them. So, they bring them to the games”, explains the team’s trainer, Rodrigo Benevenuto, 31 years old, who also helps out by taking care of the children.

Benevenuto is part of the Salve Quebrada Collective, which is based in the Jaraguá neighborhood, and is currently making a documentary about amateur football in the region. This is how the collective, in partnership with the Ginga.FC movement, got involved with the female indigenous teams. Upon seeing the individual talents and the sheer potential of the group, they proposed to bring the teams together.

The idea was to strengthen female indigenous football, help to look for sponsors and getting hold of footballs and kits, as well as creating a games schedule for the new team for friendly games, festivals and championships beyond the villages. However, Benevenuto soon became responsible for the players’ technical, emotional and physical preparation.

The initial idea was to bring all football teams together to play on the pitch. But female football is already difficult. It is even more difficult with the indigenous women as they have less support and face more discrimination. So, futsal, by using smaller groups, having more pitches, became the most feasible option”, explains the trainer.

From the end of the year until now, the Xondarias have taken part in more than 10 friendly games, three festivals and one championship. For Jaci, taking part in friendly games and futsal championships outside of the indigenous community, as well as offering improvements in technique and individual skills, brought joy and maturity to the team.

“It is hope for all of us. Some people think of giving up, but when they see that we are taking part and improving, they hang in there. It is a certain way of looking, we are in a team and it’s not me that is playing. We all are. We are the Xondarias.”

Vanessa Fernandes dos Santos, 18 years old, from the Tekoa Ytu village, better known as Nega, is a right winger and stands out as one of the best in the team. She, as many of the players, is reserved, but when she is playing and scores a goal, she represents the Guarani women’s passion for football.

“I feel important. Both by scoring a goal and helping the team. So, for me, taking part and helping the girls leaves me very happy”, shares Nega.

For the team’s development, getting more supporters and fans is really important for Xondarias Guarani to achieve its dreams and attract new talents in the indigenous community, as well as continuing the Jaraguá indigenous female team.

The opportunity to have experiences such as this one could be a lot closer than you think! Have a go taking part in Challenge Day. The campaign takes place every year on the last Wednesday of May. There are over 3 thousand cities that get involved, both in Brazil and in 13 countries of the American continent such as Argentina, Chile, Cuba, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela. Find out more!

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Bike Zona Sul encourages the use of bicycles for leisure, tourism and alternative transport

In 2013, the 34-year-old analysist, Paulo Alves, began to share his bike rides from Grajaú to Ibirapuera on social media, in the South of São Paulo. This is how the page Bike Zona Sul emerged, with posts about routes, landscapes, diversions and new cycle paths in the region. The idea received a lot of attention and people were very interested. “People got together, because in the South there aren’t any cycling platforms”, comments Paulo.

The initiative became a collective of cyclists who encourage the use of bicycles as a means of transport, leisure and tourism in the city. The Facebook page, currently with 24,000 followers, is the main channel for organizing the meetings and actions, which brought about new perspectives. “I fell in love with São Paulo after I started to ride my bike”, says the 42-year-old administrative assistant Francineide Veloso, who has been riding with the collective for the past 3 years. For her, the bicycle promotes connections with the city. “You are able to fall in love with a city that, suddenly, changes and is no longer a concrete jungle. It is a city that deserves to be loved”, she explains.

Paulo forms part of the Cycling Committee (CTB)  –  a space for discussion about public law along with the community to address the demands of the cyclists. Created in 2015, it serves as a consulting space for the City Council Transport (CMTT) and it played an important role in the implementation of more than 450km of cycle paths in the city of São Paulo.

As well as participation in dialogue with the management authority, the BZS also promotes actions for the community. The night bike ride Bike Zona Sul is an event which forms local cycling groups in different neighborhoods of the region, the collective holds the first meeting and then the cyclists continue with their group.

In Bike Zona Sul Cicloturismo, the members organize touristic routes through the Polo de Ecoturismo in São Paulo. The outings generally go from Grajaú or from the Rio Pinheiros cycle path; some of the bike rides go towards Templo Quan-Inn, near the Varginha Terminal; to Cachoeira do Marsilac, on the Estrada do Capivari; and to the Vale dos Templos, in Itapecerica da Serra.

During these bike rides people’s lives have changed. The lawyer Amelia Farias, 51 years old, began to ride over 4 years ago in order to recover from depression after her son died. “The bike was something that gave me life. My work colleagues began to use bikes and I found it really interesting”. Today, she cycles 20 kilometres to work 3 days during the week and she has lost 24 kilos. Soon after starting to cycle alone; she came across the collective on social media and started to get involved. “The importance of riding in a group is the friendship which you form with the people, they motivate you even more”, she affirms with enthusiasm.

All the bike rides are organised through the Facebook group Bike Zona Sul and anyone is welcome. The only requirement is that you must read the safety recommendations on the website beforehand.

The opportunity to have experiences such as this one could be a lot closer than you think! Have a go taking part in Challenge Day. The campaign takes place every year on the last Wednesday of May. There are over 3 thousand cities that get involved, both in Brazil and in 13 countries of the American continent such as Argentina, Chile, Cuba, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela. Find out more!

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On Challenge Day, the general public that passed through the station experienced dance and cycling in an unusual way

Victor Santos, a 20-year-old student, was returning from his English course when he saw a circle of people inside Luz station, in the center of São Paulo. Without knowing what was happening, he came up with a way to fit in with his wheelchair and get involved in the activity “Game, body and sound”, proposed by the urban dance group Zumb.boys. 

Victor Santos besides the dancer Danilo Nonato trying out different ways to move the body with the dance. Credits: Ira Romão/Agência Mural 

This was one of two activities that took place during Challenge Day, held on 29th May, with activities in more than 3600 cities across the American continent. Santos, one of the first people to arrive, danced, entertained the crowd and was applauded afterwards. “I really loved it, I enjoy dancing and I think they should do this every day”, he says jokingly.  

In a circle the activity invited everyone to relax and be at ease to get involved. Credits: Ira Romão/Agência Mural 

For the 26-year-old dancer of the group, Danilo Novato, physical activity enables non-athletes to experience something new, regardless of their physical or psychological condition. “The challenge here was to create a story with other people. The curiosity is always the first step to start an exercise routine”, he reflects. 

The 16-year-old student, Sarah Vianna, who also joined the circle, shared her thoughts. “It was really interesting because an activity, such as this one, can even change the minds of the people, bringing and discovering new things”.

Pedaling for a juice

In another part of the station, you had to pedal on a bicycle for 30 seconds, to complete the challenge and drink a natural juice. As the people pedaled, the juice was beaten with the energy generated by the bike on the cup of an attached blender. 

400 people made the most of their fare to try out pedaling. Credits: Ira Romão/Agência Mural

After making the juice, the 24-year-old nursery schoolteacher, Beatriz Varjão, recalled that her bronchitis flare-ups could be avoided with more physical activities. “I should do it more often in order to improve my health. At the moment it isn’t part of my day-to-day life”, she ponders. “But you have to practice, that is the advice I’ll give. Also, the actions during Challenge Day are an important reminder”, she concludes. 

The unusual and fun experience transformed the energy created from pedaling into a beaten juice instantly. Credits: Ira Romão/Agência Mural 

Overall, 400 juices were made throughout the day. The fruit options were mango, banana, orange and strawberry, which could also be mixed. Two types of sugar and honey were used to sweeten the drinks, as well as coconut shavings and ginger. 

The 23-year-old teacher, Gisele Rodrigues, was returning from work and decided to take a peek. She got into the queue, pedaled and won her juice. “What I did here was a motivation. I got tired of pedaling”, she comments whilst laughing. “Our health is the greatest treasure, so we must look after it, otherwise it could be too late”, she advises. 

The opportunity to have experiences such as this one could be a lot closer than you think! Have a go taking part in Challenge Day. The campaign takes place every year on the last Wednesday of May. There are over 3 thousand cities that get involved, both in Brazil and in 13 countries of the American continent such as Argentina, Chile, Cuba, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela. Find out more!

*Series of reports produced by Agência Mural de Jornal das Periferias, whose mission is to minimize the existing gap of information and contribute to the deconstruction of stereotypes about the peripheries of Greater São Paulo. 

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The classes have transformed the lives of many people, integrating capoeira movements with singing, games and dancing

Gingoterapia has transformed the lives of elderly people through adaptations of capoeira movements, using games, dances and popular music played on the berimbau and other instruments – in Perus, a northeastern region of São Paulo, as well as other surrounding neighborhoods. The person behind it all is Geraldo Sebastião Pinto Sobrinho, known as Master Geraldo, who has dedicated 39 of his 60 years to capoeira. 

Photo: Ira Romão/Agência Mural

Around 8 years ago, he began to teach capoeira as a volunteer for a group of 15 elderly people, in a Basic Health Unit near his gym. Upon noticing the difficulties amongst the group in doing certain movements, he developed alternatives. “It was then that I created these games that they do. And at the same time, they practice capoeira”, explains the master. 

Since then, the activity has attracted more and more elderly people. Currently, there are almost 300 students, split up into seven groups. In order to run the classes, which run from Monday to Friday, as well as his gym, Geraldinho uses spaces made available by churches and centers that focus on old people’s health. There are six different locations: three of them in Perus; one in Morro Doce, in the Anhanguera district; another in Vila Aparecida, in Caieiras and one in Vila Piauí, in the Lapa district.

Two of his classes, also in Perus, remain in his gym. In Vila Piauí, the class is held in an old people’s center, where other activities take place focused on the wellbeing of elderly people. “They discovered Gingoterapia and invited me along to do some work with them there, once a week, with two hours of class”, he states.

Photo: Ira Romão/Agência Mural

More than just a physical activity, Gingoterapia has also promoted inclusion and transformed the lives of the students. This was what happened with the retired Aparecida de Jesus Pacheco, 67 years old, who has been practicing the activity for the past 4 years in Perus. “I used to live closed off. Whoever saw me always thought I was angry. I didn’t know what it meant to be happy”, she states excitedly.

She  hardly used to leave her house due to her hearing impairment, gradually worsening over time. But in the Gingoterapia, she found something to relate to. Through lip reading, she follows the classes and establishes relationships. “I started to form friendships and to give that love back. I think that I formed my second family”, she concludes.

Photo: Ira Romão/Agência Mural

The housewife Odiva da Silva Sabino, 79, who has been participating in the classes for the past 3 years in Morro Doce, emphasizes her renewed energy. “We are lively. I arrive home, it’s as if I hadn’t done anything. I am light, ready to do my housework”, she affirms.

Photo: Ira Romão/Agência Mural

In the Gingoterapia, just like in capoeira, the students go through degrees. Strings, in the form of necklaces, symbolize the level of practice. As for the future, the master wants an even bigger legacy, and since last year he has been providing training for teachers and capoeira masters that would like to work with older people. 

The opportunity to have experiences of this kind could be closer than you think. Give it a go by taking part in Challenge Day. The campaign takes place every year on the last Wednesday of May. More than 3,000 cities take part, both in Brazil and in 13 countries of the American continent such as Argentina, Chile, Cuba, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela. Learn more! 

*Series of reports produced by Agência Mural de Jornal das Periferias, whose mission is to minimize the existing gap of information and contribute to the deconstruction of stereotypes about the peripheries of Greater São Paulo.

O post Master adapts capoeira and attracts almost 300 elderly people with Gingoterapia apareceu primeiro em Dia do desafio.