Wellington Gomez Martins
A challenge I overcame: To leave from being close to my family.
A dream for my future: To travel the world.
A hope for the global community: Unity of people.
Wellington is an absolute star! Wellington is a multi-talented huge-hearted lad who's amazing at capoeria, karate, circus, music, theatre, drawing, even knitting (he gifted Rachel and I a hand-knitted scarf each when we left - amazing!) He also works with local kids at the NGO Arco Iris, teaching all these skills and is massively generous with his time because he even began passing his skills along to we Meninadança volunteers too in the evenings along with his good friend Genilson, another multi-talented lad with the most beautiful warm smile. :-)
Rachel and I had been lucky enough to meet the lads, who are both also good friends of Cristina, by going to a capoeria session one evening a couple of weeks into our volunteering in Medina. That week Wellington and the other lads were preparing for a big championship tournament at the weekend, and happily Wellington came first and Genilson third place - brilliant! Well done lads :-)
Over our different sessions with the lads in the evenings of our last weeks Lauren, Joel, Rachel and I were treated to a few different classes where we got to try out different sttyles of capoeira. I reckon my favourite was maculelê, a fast dance with sticks that looks like this (when it's professional level that is - we were a wee bit slower you can imagine!!)...
As well as the capoeria and stilt classes we shared so many lovely nights with Genislon and Wellington, many of them centred around Praça Santa Rita, the same square where we made our mural. We'd got to watch their theatre troop rehearse a piece written by Cristina and then watched the brilliant final performance on our very last evening in Medina. We heard them sing and play local music, demonstrate all styles of capoeria for us, and also had a beautiful night with dance-dodging the rain around Praça Santa Rita one night and taking a few forro steps at a local 'quadrilla'.
After such huge huge generosity I was hoping to be able to offer the lads something in return so suggested passing along some animation techniques. The video below shows the results of some playful animation experiments that Wellingotn, Jefferson, Rachel and I got up to in the local bus station on our last Sunday evening in Medina, after the brilliant afternoon up the mountain. What a beautiful evening.. after the animation we were dancing around showing each other different traditional dance steps!
So wow, what a beautiful person Wellignton is and what a brilliant friend to have met!
On my final evening I was sat again in the bus station, this time watching the sunset over the hills through red eyes feeling a little melancholic after saying all my goodbyes back at the Pink House, but then all of a sudden Wellington and Chirley appeared! I was so happy to see them and share my final half hour in Medina in their gorgeous company... and I left the town elated again and grinning ear to ear!
Então, muito, mutio obrigada Wellington, e obrigada a Genislon e Jefferson também. Vocês são todos fantásticos, pessoas legal demais.
Têm com um coração de oro, e talentos tão grande... te agradeço todo que dividiu com a gente, por o CD de musica e mas de todo por sua amizade tão linda! Até a próxima vez amigo,
abraços fortes
:-)
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