Claudia Lyra
Founder, creator and educator at BRaPA. |
BRAPA is a small business where the community can find services related to Brazilian culture such as Portuguese lessons that are offered in a daily bases to all ages as well as lectures and workshops about Brazil and its culture, including Capoeira and Rhythms.
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More about Claudia Lyra
More about Claudia Lyra
PORTUGUESE LANGUAGE AND BRAZILIAN INSTRUCTOR
Claudia Lyra is the owner, educator and artistic director at BRAPA - Brazilian Portuguese and Arts in San Diego, CA. Originally from São Paulo, Brazil, and growing up in the city of Londrina - PR, Claudia has shared Brazilian culture in the United States since 2003. With a Bachelor degree in Psychology, a Master's degree in Dual Language Education from SDSU, enrolled in a PhD program since 2021 in Linguistics and a background in Brazilian performing arts, Claudia strongly believes in the connection between the mind, heart, and body in any learning process. One of her best memories in her career was working with a professional team of Portuguese professors at Middlebury University in Vermont in the summer of 2020 and 2021. The immersion program adapted to digital learning and lasted 7 weeks. Claudia taught Portuguese and Culture to “novice” ,“intermediate high” and "advanced" levels, following ACTFl standards. Plus, being the assistant of a Harvard University Portuguese Immersion Program in 2017, she confirmed that education has changed in the last 15 years providing an active method of learning fostering engagement and interest by students at all ages and levels. She is the founder, owner, artistic director, and lead educator of BRaPA – Brazilian Portuguese and Arts, based in San Diego, California, where she develops culturally responsive programs that connect language, arts, identity, and well-being. Her private students have been very happy with their language acquisition and becoming comfortable to speak with Brazilian about Brazil. She includes authentic and updated material to each lesson based on students' needs. |
BRAZILIAN ARTS TEACHER AND CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
Claudia Lyra is a Brazilian teaching artist, musician, educator, and Capoeira instructor dedicated to creating joyful, meaningful learning experiences through Brazilian music, creative movement, Portuguese language, Capoeira, and traditional Brazilian rhythms. With more than two decades of experience, Claudia has developed and delivered arts-integrated programs for thousands of children, families, and educators throughout San Diego and beyond. Through Do RE TREE (formerly Nós de Chita), she offers cultural assemblies, artist residencies, live performances, and hands-on workshops for families in San Diego and students from kindergarten through eighth grade, integrating music, percussion, storytelling, movement, Capoeira, singing, and Portuguese. Claudia's educational philosophy is rooted in the belief that the arts foster curiosity, creativity, critical thinking, social-emotional well-being, cultural understanding, and a sense of belonging. She uses Brazilian cultural arts as a bridge to heritage-language preservation, intercultural understanding, and meaningful community connection. At Schools : Her work includes partnerships with San Diego Unified School District, as well as Arts Integration curriculum development with Coronado Unified School District and Del Mar Union School District. In 2017, two of her arts-integrated lessons were selected for the CCSESA Arts Initiative, providing California educators with resources for incorporating Brazilian music, movement, and cultural arts into classroom learning. Her expertise in Brazilian traditional arts has been recognized by the Center for World Music, where she authored an educational article and video demonstration about the Brazilian berimbau. Claudia began teaching and performing Capoeira before moving to the United States in 2003 and continues to teach with Capoeira Luanda in San Diego. Through her work, Claudia creates opportunities for students to experience Brazilian culture not simply as an art form to observe, but as a living, participatory, and joyful way of learning and connecting with others. |
About Thiago Winterstein - Musician supporting Do Re Tree in its journey to preserve Portuguese present in people's lives as a Heritage Language through music and movement.
Mr. Thiago is a charismatic, family-oriented multi-instrumentalist who performs and teaches in multiple languages and genres. He earned a Guitar Performance degree from Musicians Institute in Hollywood, CA, and studied Brazilian percussion, drum set, cavaquinho, arrangement, and 7-string guitar in São Paulo, Brazil.
Thiago has been performing, teaching, recording, and writing music in styles ranging from Bossa Nova, Nueva Trova, North American and Latin American Folk, reggae, rock, and blues. For years he performed with Chilean singer Angela Roa. He also helped develop a music program in Los Angeles to promote language development, literacy, and movement.
Thiago has been performing, teaching, recording, and writing music in styles ranging from Bossa Nova, Nueva Trova, North American and Latin American Folk, reggae, rock, and blues. For years he performed with Chilean singer Angela Roa. He also helped develop a music program in Los Angeles to promote language development, literacy, and movement.
