Two new Olympic sports well represented at the center: Skateboarding and Breakdancing

Two new sports are now on the list of Olympic competitions: skateboarding and breakdancing. The former made its debut at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (held in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic). Breakdancing will also make its debut at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The two modalities did not originate in Brazil, but the country has world-renowned names in both sports. In her Olympic debut, the “fairy” Rayssa Leal, just 13 years old, took the silver medal in skateboarding.

Skateboard

Let's start by talking about this sport that is so popular among young people, especially in large Brazilian cities. In São Paulo, it could not be any different.

The practice of skateboarding emerged between the 1950s and 1960s in the state of California, that is, in the United States, where there were many surfers.

The goal of creating skateboarding was to find an alternative to continue practicing the elements of surfing when the sea was not in good shape.

When it first appeared, the sport was called sidewalk surfing, something like sidewalk surfing. It soon took over the USA.

Shortly after, under the influence of fashion magazines, young Brazilian surfers also began to practice “sufinho”. Yes, the sport was called that when it arrived in Brazil and the practitioners used a type of wooden board with rubber or metal wheels.

According to the Brazilian Skate Confederation, some of the first practitioners of the sport in Brazil gathered at the Skate square in the Sumaré neighborhood, West Zone of São Paulo.

From then on, skateboarding became popular in Brazil and until Rayssa Leal made history at the 2020 Olympics, names like Sérgio Fortunato de Paula, at the end of the 70s , Bob Burnquist, Luan de Oliveira, Sandro Dias and, more recently, Letícia Bufoni collect titles won around the world.

Skate and Break: Skate in São Paulo

According to data from the Brazilian Skateboarding Confederation, the last Datafolha survey on the sport was conducted in 2015 and indicated that the Southeast region had the largest number of skateboarders: at least 14% of the households surveyed had a skateboarder. The Brazilian average is 11%.

Since the arrival of “surfinho” in Brazil until today, the practice has become a “lifestyle” and not just a sport. Practitioners have their own way of speaking, interacting, dressing and expressing themselves.

For many, it has become a way to fight against prejudice and express themselves freely around the city, since skateboarding can be done almost anywhere in the city. This, in fact, is a challenge for skateboarders.

There are currently dozens of skateboarding tracks spread throughout the city of São Paulo, which is certainly the place with the largest concentration of skateboarders in the country. In the city center, three locations stand out and are the hub of the São Paulo skateboarding scene.

One of them is located in Praça Roosevelt, where skaters believe there could be more obstacles for practicing the sport. There is also the track at Praça Zilda Natel, on Avenida Dr. Arnaldo, 1250.

In the region, there is also the Extreme Sports Center, located at 5700 Avenida Presidente Castelo Branco. This is considered one of the best tracks in the city, with several training areas and many obstacles.

Breakdance, break or breaking

Another, now an Olympic sport, that arose out of “necessity”. Breakdancing, also known as “street dance”, has its origins in several influences. The stories start from two points, both in the 1970s in the United States.

A part, among the black and Latino populations of New York, who adopted dance in place of fights in disputes over territories in some neighborhoods.

Instead of violence between street gangs, break-boys, as well as break-girls (also known as b-boys or b-girls) began to compete against each other to see who could do the most amazing dance moves to hip hop and rap music.

Another side of the story mentions the emergence of street dance in Los Angeles, at the same time, influenced by American funk, with the name “Loking”. The name, which means “to lock” or “to lock”, indicates the way the dance movements were made: fast and with sudden stops.

In the early 1980s, break dancing arrived in Brazil and took over the streets of major cities. Early on, on the streets of São Paulo, it gained influence from capoeira in the dance movements, giving everything a Brazilian touch.

In fact, many believe that breakdance and capoeira may have a common origin, that is, as a consequence of the influence of enslaved black people forced to leave Africa for Brazil and the United States.

While in Brazil capoeira remained more of a fight and a sport, in the US this influence seems to have given rise to street dance. However, later on, the two ended up merging.

Skate and Break: Break in São Paulo

According to the Brazilian Breaking Confederation, São Paulo is believed to be the birthplace of breakdancing in Brazil. Nelson Triunfo, from Pernambuco, as he was known, arrived in São Paulo in the late 1970s with the first breakdance moves with his team Funk & Cia.

It was in 1983 that the streets of downtown São Paulo, more specifically on the corner of 24 de Maio and Dom José de Barros, saw the first steps of breakdancing in Brazil. From then on, the dance/sport spread throughout the country.

Currently, the country has names like Bart, Neguin, as well as Pelezinho who have already stood out on the world scene with break.

In 2019, in fact, the city hosted the biggest breakdance championship in the world, Red Bull BC One, which had participants from several countries in the competition.

Currently, there are several groups in the capital of São Paulo, both professional and amateur, who practice breakdancing. Whether in clubs, dance halls or where the practice, now an Olympic sport, originated: the city streets.

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