Mestre Bimba
 
 
 
 
Manoel dos Reis Machado (1900 - 1974) Manoel dos Reis Machado was born in Engenho de Brotas, a neighborhood of Salvador-Bahia, on November 23, 1900 (he had two birth certificates, 1899 and 1900, but 1900 is the date most commonly used). He was the son of Luis Cândido Machado, a "Batuque" champion ("Batuque" was a traditional fight in Bahia in the 19th century), and Maria Martinha do Bonfim. The black king lived 74 important years for the destiny of Capoeira. He passed away on February 5th, 1974 from a heart attack after a Capoeira performance in the Public Labors Club in Goiania, state of Goias - Brazil.
      Mestre Bimba learned the primitive Capoeira with Mestre Bentinho, a captain of a Marine company in Bahia. He practiced this for 4 years and taught for 10. As a great fighter, Mestre Bimba felt the primitive Capoeira was loosing its fight aspects. It is good to say that, in that time, many international martial arts were entering Brazil. Mestre Bimba decided to create the brazilian way to fight called "Luta Regional Baiana" (Bahia Regional Fight). It was his own way to see, train and play Capoeira.    Now known as "Capoeira Regional", it is the first methodology of learning in Capoeira.
        He was a man with great charisma and a strong personality. Mestre Bimba branded his students hearts as being a man of respect, ethic and serenity. On July 9th of 1936, he founded the CCFR - Centro de Cultura Física Regional (Regional Physical Cultural Center). In 1937, Mestre Bimba was invited to perform to the president of Brazil, Getúlio Vargas,   in the nation's capital. Minutes after this performance, President Vargas declared "Capoeira is a genuine brazilian martial art". What was once a practice for vagabonds and the unemployed is now exploding into the world. Mestre Bimba used to say..." I took Capoeira out from the bottom of the bulls feet". And he did, by showing the importance and value of this art as a recipe for a good way of life.
       Mestre Bimba felt that the goverment in Bahia wasn’t giving him the value that he taught they should for his work with Capoeira and other cultural folkloric demonstrations that help to make that city (Salvador) one of the most tourist visited city in Brazil. So he accepted an invitation, from Osvaldo de Souza, his student, to move to Goiania (state of Goias, Brazil). He went to Goiania, but unfortunetly he didn’t stay there too long. After a performance in the Public Labors Club in Goiania, Mestre Bimba   passed away on February 5th of 1974. Some of his students said he died  because he missed his beloved Bahia. Who knows?
        Mestre Bimba is the godfather of Capoeira. He developed a method for everyone to understand, study, practice and learn this way of life. Today not so many schools work with Mestre Bimbas methodology. But even with out using his method, is important to rescue as much as possible the spirit of Mestre Bimba and his life with capoeira.
 
Axe Mestre Bimba!