1930 > 1960

Founder of the Group Cordão de Ouro, Reinaldo Ramos Suassuna better known as Mestre Suassuna was born in Brazil in 1938 in Ilhéus and he grew up in Itabuna. Due to a physical leg handicap that he suffered during his childhood, his doctor recommended that he pursue a regular physical activity other than football. Thanks to his two friends, he discovered Capoeira in the beginning of the 50s and began training with Mestre Sururú, Arame and then Tonho Rale. He drew inspiration from the most well-known Mestres such as Mestre Pastinha, Waldemar, but particularly from Mestre Canjiquinha and Mestre Bimba. In 1965, he moved to São Paulo after being called upon to present Capoeira in the city. In September 1967, he would create the group Cordão de Ouro along with Mestre Brasilia. The group Cordão de Ouro is presently one of the oldest groups of Capoeira, as well as one of the biggest and most influential too. Mestre Suassuna is known for his talent as a Capoeirista and for his music skills, but mainly for having created the Miudinho game which is a more dynamic version of the Capoeira Angola game 'Jogo de Dentro'....

Mestre Leopoldina (born in 1933) was one of the most famous Mestres from the “a velha guarda” when most of them had already passed away. He is remembered by Angoleiros as well as Regionalistas as a person with a great sense of humour, representing the old Capoeira Carioca, malicia and the traditional maladragem of Capoeira. He died in 2007....

Mestre Bimba (Manoel dos Reis Machado) was born in Salvador in the year 1899 but was not officially registered until 1900, resulting in some confusion surrounding his date of birth. The son of Luiz Cândido Machado and Maria Martinha do Bonfim, Manoel was born at the Bairro do Engenho Velho, Salvador. The nickname "Bimba" came up due to a bet between his mother and the midwife during his birth; his mother bet that he was going to be a girl and the midwife bet he would be a boy. After he was delivered, the midwife said...

Waldemar Rodrigues da Paixão (Mestre Waldemar, Waldemar da Liberdade or Waldemar do Pero Vaz) is born in 1916 in Ilha de Maré and began the practice of capoeira in 1936 at 20 years old. He was a student of Canário Pardo, Peripiri, Talabi, Siri-de-Mangue and Ricardo of Ilha de Maré: “I asked those men to teach me, so that I could become professional. So that I could say that I knew, and now I know. I learned capoeira,”  He began to teach capoeira in 1940, He was already a very skillful and respected capoeira when he begun holding his rodas in the Corta-Braço slum (a very poor neighborhood in Salvador Bahia), later known as Liberdade.“Earlier, it was in open air. Later I made a shed of straw and the capoeiristas of Bahia all came there to play.” Like Canjiquinha and others, Waldemar learned capoeira intuitively, in the old way of teaching/learning capoeira by observation and imitation as opposed to systematized teaching. Little by little, Mestre Waldemar’s roda became one of the most important meeting points for Bahian capoeiristas.  Although capoeiristas often arrived at the roda armed, they would respect Mestre Waldemar by going to the bar and asking the bartender to hold on to their weapons while they played....

Mestre Ananias (Adilene Cavalheiro) is the synthesis of the African heritage of the Brazilian people. He lives Capoeira, Samba and Candomblé without dissociating them from one another, explaining in his behavior questions about the ancestry of the brazilian people. Born in 1924 in São Félix, the Reconcavo Baiano region. He absorbs the context in which it is immersed and frequent Mestre Waldemar's roda. In the middle of the twentieth century he moves to São Paulo at the invitation of the São Paulo theater producers. He worked with Plinio Marcos, Solano Trindade and other theater personalities. In 1953, the year of his arrival, Master Ananias founds the most traditional capoeira roda of São Paulo, the Roda da Praça da República and his group: Associação Capoeira Angola Senhor do Bonfim. At the end of the 90's he records his first CD with Mestre Pedro. He passed away in 2016....

Mestre Paulo dos Anjos (José Paulo dos Anjos) was known as one of the most skilled and versatile angoleiros of the century. He strongly resisted the attempts to incorporate the changes and fads of modern capoeira into the traditional art. “For me, nothing has changed. I continue practicing Capoeira Angola according to tradition,” he used to say. Born on August 15th, 1936 in the state of Sergipe, the 14-year-old José Paulo dos Anjos made a name for himself in Salvador as a promising boxer. When he met Mestre Canjiquinha one year earlier, he became hooked on Capoeira and began to frequent the rodas of the Bahian cities. In the street festivals, his technique and abilities began to attract everyone’s attention. From then on, time would transform him into a master, graduated by Mestre Canjiquinha himself. He was widely respected in the capoeira world and also well-known as a singer. He recorded some songs on a CD, with his unique style, maintaining the musical tradition of capoeira. Alongside Mestre Gato Preto, he gave classes on Itaparica Island as well as other places in the metropolitan region of Salvador. In the 1970s, he moved to São Paulo for five years. In São José dos Campos, he formed the group Anjos de Angola...