Capoeira: The History of an Afro-Brazilian Martial Art

CONTEMPORARY CAPOEIRA 183
indulge in sequences of high kicks, but always ‘entered’, be it from a low or high position, always according
to the jogo de dentro (‘inner game’) of Angola. What also struck Marco Aurélio and many others was
that Moraes went to rodas on his own, or only accompanied by his wife and a student, unlike the
capoeiristas from Senzala or other groups who—knowing that fights were likely to happen-would only
attend in larger numbers. Moraes not only skilfully evaded his opponents’ kicks but often even ‘demoralized
the guy, he slapped the guy on his bottom’. 87 He even managed to stick to his style when playing with the
emerging stars of Cariocan capoeira, such as M. Camisa, then part of the Senzala group. According to
André Lacé, a game between Moraes and Camisa was among the best capoeira one could see in Rio at the
time. 88 A number of Moraes’ students from that period later became mestres of Angola themselves, such as
Neco, Lumumba, Braga, and Jurandir, to name only a few. They contributed to establishing the style,
especially in the northern suburbs of Rio, and later to take capoeira Angola abroad.
In October 1980, M.Moraes, now working as a security guard for the underground, founded the Grupo de
Capoeira Angola Pelourinho—GCAR. 89 The intention was to establish Capoeira Angola as a style on its own
in the city, departing from the dominant model of blending traditional Bahian capoeira with Regional and
other fighting techniques. Whilst the capoeiristas influenced by Regional claimed that the low game and
other aspects of traditional vadiação were not ‘efficient’, angoleiros insisted on playing low and frequently
put their skull on the ground. This was seen as a provocation by many mainstream capoeiristas, who attempted
to ‘kick the head of angoleiros’ (on the ground) during open rodas. Playing capoeira Angola in these days
of confrontation with Regional could thus be a dangerous game, but it was thanks to the boldness of these
early angoleiros that the style earned recognition.
Moraes and his top student Cobra Mansa (Cinésio Feliciano Peçanha, graduated mestre in 1984) moved
to Salvador in 1982. After Pastinha’s death in 1981, capoeira Angola seemed on its inexorable way to
extinction, with many older mestres having retired or making major concessions to Regional style. A couple
of faithfuls remained: M.João Pequeno of Pastinha and M.Virgílio of Espinho Remoso were still
teaching. 90 João Pequeno received support from Jair Moura and Frede Abreu, two local capoeira scholars
keen to revitalize the art. In 1980, for instance, a first Regional Seminar of Capoeira and Festival of the Rhythm
of Capoeira was held in Salvador. João Pequeno’s rodas at the Forte Santo Antônio attracted an increasing
number of players and spectators.
Eyewitnesses agree that ‘the return of Moraes and Cobrinha Mansa […] had a galvanizing effect on
members of the capoeira community’ in Salvador. At the time an increasing number of people considered
capoeira Angola to be an art for elderly men. Moraes and Cobrinha, being much younger than the old guard
of mestres in Salvador, invalidated that view and epitomized the potential of capoeira Angola for the
future. 91 GCAP set out in Salvador with Moraes, Cobra Mansa and six other students (Pepeu, Valmir,
Poloca, Paulinha, Janja and Natinho). Ten years later the group counted at least 80 regular members, and the
six original students had all become contra-mestres. 92
Greg Downey has provided us with a detailed analysis of how GCAP coalesced a corporeal ‘counterorthopraxy’
that was most successful in opposing the mainstream Regional. He highlights three aspects that
mark the kinaesthetic of GCAP: a particular pattern of the use of limbs (the ‘inverted’ body), a ‘soft body’,
and ‘broken’ movements. 93 The agenda of the group consisted not only in training and playing capoeira
Angola, but also in researching aspects of capoeira history and ‘black culture’ in Brazil and the diaspora, to
show that capoeira Angola still existed as a vibrant art, and to bring back into the roda the older generation
of mestres that had abandoned capoeira due to the hegemony of the athletic and acrobatic Regional. 94 M.
João Grande even agreed to teach again for GCAP after a six-year absence. 95 The annual ‘Capoeira Angola
workshops and exhibitions’, held since 1985, contributed substantially to the group’s objectives, and to
make the GCAP known to a wider audience.