Pelé is the king of soccer. The Gracie family rules in the Brazilian jiu-jitsu world. In the universe of capoeira, the Afro-Brazilian martial art, the big name is Manuel dos Reis Machado, aka Mestre Bimba. Born in 1900 and deceased in 1974, Bimba codified the fight, developed a learning method, introduced new elements, such as the uniform (white t-shirt and pants), performed for the governor of Bahia and president Getúlio Vargas and, this way, gained respect for a martial art till then illegal.
There are very few images of Bimba practicing capoeira, playing berimbau and giving interviews. These are some of them:
This is the 2007 film “Mestre Bimba, a Capoeira Iluminada”:
And here a small excerpt of the documentary “Mandinga em Manhattan”, where he plays berimbau with Charlie “Bird” Parker’s band.
Playing berimbau:
Check also the other posts about capoeira on Deep Brazil.
If Bimba is the first name, then the second name would be Mestre Pastinha, who opened the first academy of Capoeira Angola here in Salvador. Bimba and Pastinha were contemporaries, but not fans. Films of Pastinha playing Capoeira are practically nonexistent, to the point that it is rumored (by some) that he did not know how to play at all.
“Pelé is the king of soccer. The Gracie family rules in the Brazilian jiu-jitsu world. In the universe of capoeira, the Afro-Brazilian martial art, the big name is Manuel dos Reis Machado, aka Mestre Bimba.”
You would have it complete if you typed…
Arthur Friedenreich is the Emperor of football, Pele is the king of soccer. The Gracie family rules in the Brazilian jiu-jitsu world. In the universe of capoeira, the Afro-Brazilian martial art, the big name is Manuel dos Reis Machado, aka Mestre Bimba
That is an interesting comment, Nicholas. In fact, Friedenreich deserves a whole post, the first black man that broke the resistance of all-white Brazilian teams. Thanks for the tip.
“the first black man that broke the resistance of all-white Brazilian teams.”
you mean, the first professional brazilian footballer (a light brown man with blue eyes, a man with white and black features combined that is called a mulato) that broke the resistance of the all-white teams.