Mestre Mau

Marcelino dos Santos was born on January 4, 1942, in Santo Amaro da Purificação—the legendary town in the Bahian Recôncavo that produced Besouro Mangangá, Cobrinha Verde, and Gato Preto. He came to capoeira relatively late in life, beginning his training at age 26 in 1968 under Mestre Gato Preto at Engenho Velho da Federação in Salvador.

Mestre Gato Preto had himself been a student of Mestre Cobrinha Verde, the last living link to the legendary Besouro. Through this lineage, Mau inherited a direct connection to the oldest documented traditions of capoeira angola.

Beyond capoeira, Mau was deeply involved in Bahian folkloric traditions. He participated in several prominent folkloric groups including Olodumaré, Afro Bahia, and Oxum, traveling extensively throughout Brazil with these ensembles. This background in Afro-Brazilian culture informed his understanding of capoeira as part of a broader cultural matrix.

In 1974, Mau co-founded two important institutions alongside Mala and Gatinho (José Souza Góes, son of Gato Preto): the Associação de Capoeira 3 Amigos and the Grupo Folclórico Filhos de Oxalá. The 3 Amigos association followed the Angola lineage, and Mau served as both patron and professor.

What made Mau's academy particularly significant was that the elderly Mestre Cobrinha Verde—by then one of the last surviving "old masters"—would appear there on Sundays. According to witnesses, "at his Academy Mestre Cobrinha Verde felt at home." Mau was evidently proud of having on his side one of the oldest angolistas alive, and he asserted with conviction that his was "the only academy in Brazil and in the world, possibly, where the most authentic capoeira de Angola survives."

The connection to Cobrinha Verde proved crucial for the broader capoeira community. According to researcher Frede Abreu (2011), around 1980 during the First Seminar of Capoeira, they "rediscovered Mestre Cobrinha Verde, through Marcelino." This suggests that Mau played a key role in reconnecting the capoeira world with this living repository of tradition.

The family dimension of 3 Amigos was significant: initially formed by Mau himself and mestres Bom Cabrito and Mala, the association later comprised Mau and his two sons, Edmilson "Encranca" (who by age 18 was running a famous folkloric show at a Salvador restaurant) and Edmar "Esparro." The capoeirista Gilberto José Ferreira ("Gigi") was also a notable member working at the academy.

Mau's most enduring contribution to capoeira history may be his authorship of the book "Capoeira e Mandingas: Mestre Cobrinha Verde," published by Liceu de Artes e Ofícios da Bahia in June 1991. This 45-page work preserves Cobrinha Verde's own narratives, including his strong prayers (orações fortes), songs (ladainhas and corridos), and a visual memory section. The book contains a ladainha by Mestre Mau dedicated to Cobrinha: "Este Mestre é Cobrinha / Nasceu em Santo Amaro em 1912" (This Mestre is Cobrinha / Born in Santo Amaro in 1912).

In his introduction to the book, Mau wrote: "I was born in Santo Amaro da Purificação, and I met Cobrinha here in Salvador. Knowing that Cobrinha Verde was one of the best capoeira mestres in Bahia, I made an effort to get close to him, and this began my project of researching Cobrinha Verde's life. I discovered that he was one of the greatest capoeiristas of all time because of his malícia, courage, and teaching."

When he learned that Cobrinha Verde was Besouro's cousin and had been raised as his brother, Mau became even more deeply invested in documenting the mestre's life and teachings. This research produced one of the most important primary sources on pre-modern capoeira, preserving Cobrinha Verde's memories of Besouro, the old mestres of Santo Amaro, and the spiritual traditions that underpin capoeira angola.

Mestre Mau thus occupies a dual role in capoeira history: as a practitioner in an important lineage and as a researcher who ensured that lineage's oral traditions would survive in written form.