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Few of today's capoeira practitioners stick so close to the art's traditions and originality as José Paulo dos Anjos. He passed away in March of 1999 in Salvador, the victim of an infection contracted after a surgery in a local hospital. His death representes the loss of not only a very distinguished human being, but also an irreparable loss for capoeira, especially the lineage of capoeira angola. |
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Mestre Ananias is one of the icons of capoeira in São Paulo. At 81 years old, he embodies the fusion of African heritage with the Brazilian people. He lives capoeira, samba, and candomblé without separating them. Mestre Ananias was born in 1924 in São Felix, a region of the Bahian Recôncavo whose cultural richness merits in-depth study. After absorbing the culture in which he grew up, he moved to São Paulo in the middle of the 20th century after being invited by theater producers. He worked with Plínio Marcos, Solano Trinidade, and other famous people in all the city’s theaters. In 1953, he founded the most traditional capoeira roda of São Paulo, which takes place in the Praça da República. This roda grew as his peers arrived, and during this time capoeira really showed one of its main fundamentals: to integrate disadvantaged classes into society despite racial and social prejudice. |
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By writing about Mestre Waldemar da Liberdade, also known as Waldemar da Paixão and Waldemar do Pero Vaz, we face the difficulty of tackling the life of a great capoeirista, someone who had the same status as Mestre Bimba and Mestre Pastinha. So we want to make it clear that we don't intend to trace, except in general lines, the biography of this great figure. We will only detail some points in order to reveal a little of his personality to the newest capoeiristas and to those who did not have the opportunity to see him play, sing, and speak of capoeira. |
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Expressing in words the emotions felt in these last fifteen days of August, during Mestre João Grande's majestic passage through the city of Salvador, can seem difficult if we choose our words too carefully. On the other hand, the task becomes easy if we allow simplicity and sincerity to guide our feelings. Mestre João Grande is simple in his innocent profundity and in the precision of his movements. Despite being such a celebrity, he was one of our mestres there earlier, blessing us with his Ngunzo (strength/force) and baptizing our land with his mandinga. |
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Mestre Gato Preto will turn seventy years old on March 19th of this year. He has spent over fifty years in capoeira and he's still going strong, giving an example to the newer students. |
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