The Afro-Brazilian ensemble Ologunde brought its exciting and dazzling blend of music, dance, and martial arts to the Rutgers-Newark campus. Presented by the Institute on Ethnicity, Culture, and the Modern Experience, A Synthesis of Spirit presented the rich Afro-Brazilian culture of Salvador, Bahia through a diverse repertoire of music and dance, including the rituals associates with Candomble, a synthesis of the Yoruba and Catholic religions in which various orixas (gods) are invoked; the breathtaking Capoeira martial arts dance; Maculele, a warrior dance which utilizes sticks and matchetes and was originally created in the sugar cane fields by slaves; and the exhilarating Samba de Roda, which can be trace back to the samba of Angola.
