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Cakalak Thunder started
banging five gallon buckets with
broom sticks in 2002 for a World Bank
protest in Washington, DC. Since then, we've
tightened up a bit. We've managed to beg, borrow,
and dumpster-dive some real drums. Whistle calls, chants,
and even a color scheme have entered the picture. About a year ago
we began playing Samba Batucada after one of our number visited Sweden
and played with a Samba group there.
Samba in Sweden? Yup, the group he learned from, Yacumbe, is led a by Uruguayan immigrant who lives in Stockholm. But Samba originated in Brazil. It began hundreds of years ago as the music of enslaved African people mixed with indigenous Brazilian cultures. From its beginnings, naturally, Samba has been a music of resistance to oppression. Cakalak Thunder plays samba humbly with respect for it origins and fiercely in the spirit of resistance through which it came to us.
We have brought the funk to crowds both large and small in venues both expected and unexpected; in large moblizations such as the RNC protests in New York City, and in local spirited actions in downtown Greensboro.
Many of the people in Cakalak Thunder have never played percussions before joining. Yet we practice once a week, and are always learning, coming up with new ways to channel revolution through our instruments. For every ounce of energy we put into our playing, the investment is returned ten-fold in inspiration, motivation, and the feeling of creating something powerful with a dozen other friends in struggle.
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