Mestre Bimba

During the slave trade, slaves were brought from Africa to Brazil to labor in the sugar and tobacco plantations. The slaves were distributed in the three main ports of Bahia, Recife and Rio de Janeiro. Once reality of their condition had dawned on them, many slaves ran away. After rebelling against their master, some forty slaves in Recife killed all the white employees, burnt the plantation house down and set themselves free. This group headed to a safe place in the mountains to hide from the slave hunters which they named Palmares. Here, they laid the foundation for an African community which lasted almost a century.

The new community of Africans at Palmares comprised of various African tribes, some whites and Indians. This mix brought about a rich cultural fusion through the blending of dance, religion, rituals and games which gave birth to the earliest form of Capoeira. As more refugees arrived in Palmares, the Portuguese colonizers began to worry. The Palmares people would also come

Capoeiristas took on up to three nicknames upon "baptism" in order to conceal their real identity from the police.

In 1937, the president invited Mestre Bimba to showcase this art form in the capital. The success of this performance saw him obtain permission from the government to open the first Capoeira School in Brazil. Years later, a bill was passed by the senate which established Capoeira as a national sport. Today, Capoeira is firmly rooted in Brazilian culture and has found its way to all corners of the world.

Joan One is a freelance journalist and creative writer who immensely enjoys writing and researching into any topic under the Sun. She specializes in writing "green" eco-friendly topics aimed at enabling environmentally conscious readers to find simple ways to reduce their carbon footprint and help save our