Brazil News
| SALVADOR, Bahia – Capoeira master Joao Pequeno, 93, who passed away Friday afternoon, was buried today at the Bosque da Paz cemetery in Salvador. The soulful sound of the berimbau gave voice to the pain of the capoeiristas who attended the funeral.
Joao Pequeno (photo: G1 Bahia)
The governor of Bahia, Jaques Wagner lamented the death of the master capoeira on Saturday. “On behalf of Bahia, I pay tribute to one of the greatest icons of so genuine and important cultural manifestation, that today leaves its mark on each of us and his example of tenacity,” the governor was quoted by G1 Bahia.
“The great lesson that he left us was peace, love, sincerity, humility and respect. He was very friendly, very hospitable and so he was to god. For us it was a great loss. The great mission here was to pass it to the world, everything that our teacher taught us,” the master's friend, Curio, was quoted by G1.
Joao would have been 94-years-old on December 27. Born in Araci, Bahia and given the name Joao Pereira dos Santos, the young man fled the drought of 1933 on foot, ending up in Alagoinhas, where he learned capoeira.
At 25, he moved to Salvador, the capital of Bahia, where he joined the Capoeira Angola Sports Center, created by the Pastinha congregation. He became a disciple and taught other capoeiristas important to the history of Capoeira Angola in Bahia, including the Master Curio.
In 2003, the Master's work was recognized by the Federal University of Uberlandia receiving the title of Honorary Doctorate. In the same year the then President of the Republic, Luis Ignacio Lula da Silva, also acknowledged the work of Joao Pequeno making him a Commander of Culture of the Republic.
In 2008, the Federal University of Bahia recognized the work of the capoeira and honored him with an Honorary Doctorate. The master also received the Zumbi Medal dos Palmares, from the Municipality of Salvador a year earlier.
Read also: More Articles from Brazil Dispatch
Brazilian online news source for this article: G1 Bahia
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