Capoeira: The History of an Afro-Brazilian Martial Art

Figure 5.5 M.Bimba teaching soldier Zulfredo, Forte do Barbalho, c.1938. Courtesy of Jair Moura.
BIMBA AND ‘REGIONAL’ STYLE 139
former rebel officer] Prestes and ‘Návio negreiro’ [Slave ship, a famous Abolitionist poem] by Castro
Alves. 78
According to another student’s statement, Bimba, having sought advice, revoked the authorization for PCB
activities to take place in his academy, his ‘only party being the Regional.’ 79 If party politics therefore had,
with the exception related above, no direct interference with the development of Bimba’s group, the broader
political and ideological climate of the period, characterized by the confrontation between communists and
fascists, also shaped the language and the imagery which represented the emerging Regional style. In this
respect, it is very difficult to assess the influence particular students had on the choice of the symbols
adopted by Regional.
The emblem of the academy, a ‘Star of Solomon’ with an R inside, topped by a cross, can be seen as
paradigmatic for the amalgamation and the re-invention of different esoteric traditions. As we have seen in
Chapter 4, that star was a common symbol among slaves and the free lower classes. The mestre himself
displayed the symbol of Solomon on a metal ring he used on a finger of his left hand. 80 Yet why and how
the symbol of Regional was adopted is still not quite clear. According to Muniz Sodré the two intertwined
triangles symbolize the equilibrium required for capoeira practice. 81 More ambiguous even was the choice of
the Regional greeting. Bimba apparently favoured ‘Axe’ [Divine energy in candomblé], which was more in
line with his Afro-Bahian heritage. Some of his right-wing students however suggested ‘Salve’, a salute
whose gesture and neo-Latin etymology clearly reveal its fascist inspiration. 82 The ‘Salve’ was finally
adopted and is still widely used in contemporary capoeira academies.
It seems therefore that Bimba carefully listened to the advice given by his senior students, and eventually
adopted their suggestions. No doubt this contributed to the success of his style. Rego, for instance notes that
only Bimba’s school had, in the 1960s, written rules and recommendations, displayed on the walls of his