Mestre Joel Lourenço

Joel Lourenço do Espírito Santo was a Bahian capoeirista who played a pivotal role in establishing and organizing capoeira de Angola in Rio de Janeiro during the 1950s. Born in Bahia at an unknown date, he migrated to Rio de Janeiro and by 1946 was working for the municipal government, first at the Secretaria Geral de Administração (Departamento do Pessoal) and later with the 11º Distrito de Obras da Prefeitura.

In 1953, Edison Carneiro featured Joel Lourenço prominently in his article "A Arte dos Moleques de Sinhá" published in Flan magazine. Carneiro described him as the person among all his companions in whom the spiritual heritage of Angola was most evident: "Talvez seja esse negro, entre todos os seus companheiros, aquele em quem é mais patente a herança espiritual de Angola". Joel was recognized for his ability to organize and direct capoeira demonstrations, earning trust through skill rather than force in navigating the individualistic capoeira community. He was described as "ágil como um gato" (agile as a cat).

Joel Lourenço was one of the pioneers in using the term "capoeira de Angola" when registering his school's name in Rio de Janeiro, at a time when the "utilitarian capoeira" of Sinhozinho was more prominent in the city. His students, however, did not continue using the "capoeira de Angola" designation, nor did they achieve the same prominence as their teacher.

In 1962, Joel Lourenço participated in the Rio de Janeiro staging of "O Pagador de Promessas" by Dias Gomes, alongside Mestre Paraná's Conjunto Folclórico de Capoeira São Bento Pequeno. That same year, Onça Preta was documented as a member of Joel Lourenço's capoeira Angola group.

Joel Lourenço maintained deep connections to both capoeira and samba communities. He was the son-in-law of Antenor dos Santos, a member of the Diretoria de Samba (Samba Board) of Portela, one of Rio's most famous samba schools. He resided in Madureira, a neighborhood in Rio's northern zone known for its strong Afro-Brazilian cultural traditions.

In 1977, Joel Lourenço recorded an album "Samba de Caboclo" with his group, captured on February 27 in São João do Meriti, Rio de Janeiro. The recording featured Felipe da Encarnação alongside Joel Lourenço and was supervised by Aloysio de Alencar Pinto.

He participated in the First Folklore Festival in 1961 and continued his cultural activities into his later years. On March 14, 1980, he performed at the opening of the Museu de Folclore Edison Carneiro—a fitting tribute given Edison Carneiro's early recognition of his significance to capoeira de Angola.

Joel Lourenço composed at least one capoeira song about the berimbau that was well-received among practitioners. Together with Paraná and Onça Preta, he formed part of the core group of Bahian mestres from whom a whole generation of capoeiristas born in the 1930s learned, forming the foundation from which contemporary capoeira developed in Rio de Janeiro.