As
a native of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, I started Capoeira Angola when I was
twelve years old with my father Jose Vicente Dantas. He was a student of Joao
Bodeiro de Serriha. however, as the Brazilian saying goes, "a household
saint will produce no miracles." So I went to train with Mestre Alfonsinho,
the son of YoYo, a civil policeman. After Mestre Alfonsinho closed his academy
I began to study with Mestre Curio. However, I needed to earn a living, so
I decided to quit the academies and play street Capoeira.
In 1989 I came to the United States with Franco Fontana's group 'Oba Oba' and danced with the troupe in a Broadway show, as well as
other shows across the United States. On October 23, 1993, I arrived in Miami with the group 'Scala Miami.' During the shows I would receive little notes from the audience brought backstage to me by the waitstaff asking me to teach them my art. So I began to teach in the same space I performed.
In 1989 I came to the United States with Franco Fontana's group 'Oba Oba' and danced with the troupe in a Broadway show, as well as
other shows across the United States. On October 23, 1993, I arrived in Miami with the group 'Scala Miami.' During the shows I would receive little notes from the audience brought backstage to me by the waitstaff asking me to teach them my art. So I began to teach in the same space I performed.
I have had four Mestres: my father, Jose Vicente Dantas; Mestre Alfonsinho,
filho de YoYo da Policia Civil; Mestre Curio, Jaime Martins dos Santos; and
my city, Salvador, Bahia.
Today I live in Detroit, Michigan to protect Capoeira Angola, to make my tribe grow and to teach my roots. I will continue to teach Capoeira Angola with my heart and I will stop only when Deus tells me, "M. Caboquinho de Aruanda. Tim tim tim aruande, tim tim tim aruanda. Caboclo do mato, porque come folha?"
[ a musica da nata da Capoeira de Angola 2004, M. Boca Rica e M. Caboquinho.