A long way from the block
My conversation with Capoeira Mestre, Bay Area community activist and background talent for Marvel's black Panther, Mestre Malandro.
Mestre Malandro is a Capoeirista (practitioner of capoeira) based in the San Francisco Bay Area. With over 20 years of experience, Malandro is adept at various styles of capoeira. He specializes in Capoeira Regional, a methodology created by Mestre Bimba in Bahia, Brazil. He has been featured as a capoeira consultant, fight choreographer and background talent in indie and blockbuster films, most notably, Marvel’s Black Panther and Avengers’ franchise. He is passionate about spreading knowledge, education and history of Capoeira through film. In 2013 he founded the first American chapter of Filhos De Bimba Escola de Capoeira in the Bay Area. He’s taught capoeira all over the world including Canada, Brazil, China, Japan, Israel and Switzerland among others.
The Early Days
Malandro began training capoeira in 1997 under the guidance of Barret “Camarada” Leveret with Capoeira Mandinga Detroit. A year after receiving his first belt, he moved to California to train extensively with Mestre Marcelo in 2000. Over the next five years, Malandro trained in different iterations of capoeira;Contemporânea, Angola and Regional. In 2005, Malandro made his pilgrimage to Brazil, where he lived and trained intensively with different masters, or mestres, of capoeira. In 2006 in Ubatuba, Brazil, Malandro was the youngest member in the Mandinga group to receive the rank of Contra Mestre.
During his time in Brazil, he was introduced to Capoeira Regional after visiting Fundação Mestre Bimba, a capoeira academy started by the founder of Capoeira Regional Mestre Bimba's son, Mestre Nenel.
The Regional style differs from other styles in that in addition to the friendly play, it is an efficient combat-orientated method of self defense. Years later in 2009, he returned to Bahia to do more research on Capoeira Angola and Capoeira Regional. Over the next two years, he studied those styles, eventually returning to the Bay Area to teach them under the guidance of Mestre Jogo De Dentro and Mestre Nenel, respectively. In 2012, he started his own Capoeira group, Mandinga de Escravos, Witchcraft of the Slaves.
Malandro shared Mestre Nenel’s vision for Capoeira Regional and decided to exclusively work with him to expand it outside of Brazil. He started his own Filhos de Bimba School, Filhos de Bimba – California Bay Area School of Capoeira in 2013. Mestre Nenel officially inaugurated the school by March 30, 2013. He’s the first African American official FBEC professor. Since then, Malandro has been invited all over the world to teach capoeira. He has served as a capoeira consultant, choreographer and made an appearance in Marvel’s Black Panther and Avengers’ franchise. In November 2017, Malandro celebrated 20 years of practicing capoeira at FBEC’s Encontro Internacional event, an international gathering of Filhos de Bimba schools, held in Bahia, Brazil.
Since this interview he has been recognized by his community as Capoeira Mestre.
Mestre Malandro is a Capoeirista (practitioner of capoeira) based in the San Francisco Bay Area. With over 20 years of experience, Malandro is adept at various styles of capoeira. He specializes in Capoeira Regional, a methodology created by Mestre Bimba in Bahia, Brazil. He has been featured as a capoeira consultant, fight choreographer and background talent in indie and blockbuster films, most notably, Marvel’s Black Panther and Avengers’ franchise. He is passionate about spreading knowledge, education and history of Capoeira through film. In 2013 he founded the first American chapter of Filhos De Bimba Escola de Capoeira in the Bay Area. He’s taught capoeira all over the world including Canada, Brazil, China, Japan, Israel and Switzerland among others.
The Early Days
Malandro began training capoeira in 1997 under the guidance of Barret “Camarada” Leveret with Capoeira Mandinga Detroit. A year after receiving his first belt, he moved to California to train extensively with Mestre Marcelo in 2000. Over the next five years, Malandro trained in different iterations of capoeira;Contemporânea, Angola and Regional. In 2005, Malandro made his pilgrimage to Brazil, where he lived and trained intensively with different masters, or mestres, of capoeira. In 2006 in Ubatuba, Brazil, Malandro was the youngest member in the Mandinga group to receive the rank of Contra Mestre.
During his time in Brazil, he was introduced to Capoeira Regional after visiting Fundação Mestre Bimba, a capoeira academy started by the founder of Capoeira Regional Mestre Bimba's son, Mestre Nenel.
The Regional style differs from other styles in that in addition to the friendly play, it is an efficient combat-orientated method of self defense. Years later in 2009, he returned to Bahia to do more research on Capoeira Angola and Capoeira Regional. Over the next two years, he studied those styles, eventually returning to the Bay Area to teach them under the guidance of Mestre Jogo De Dentro and Mestre Nenel, respectively. In 2012, he started his own Capoeira group, Mandinga de Escravos, Witchcraft of the Slaves.
Malandro shared Mestre Nenel’s vision for Capoeira Regional and decided to exclusively work with him to expand it outside of Brazil. He started his own Filhos de Bimba School, Filhos de Bimba – California Bay Area School of Capoeira in 2013. Mestre Nenel officially inaugurated the school by March 30, 2013. He’s the first African American official FBEC professor. Since then, Malandro has been invited all over the world to teach capoeira. He has served as a capoeira consultant, choreographer and made an appearance in Marvel’s Black Panther and Avengers’ franchise. In November 2017, Malandro celebrated 20 years of practicing capoeira at FBEC’s Encontro Internacional event, an international gathering of Filhos de Bimba schools, held in Bahia, Brazil.
Since this interview he has been recognized by his community as Capoeira Mestre.