Nagé

José Anastácio de Santana, known as Nagé, was born around 1923 in Coqueiros de Paraguaçu and lived in Nagé—both localities in the district of Maragogipe, in the Recôncavo Baiano. The village he lived in gave him his apelido, following a tradition where capoeiristas were often named for their place of origin.

Nagé was one of the valiant Black men of Bahia, famous throughout the lands of the Recôncavo and in all the plazas and streets of Salvador. For many years he was feared and respected by the best capoeiristas. No champion or leader had as many admirers. Writer Jorge Amado immortalized him in the 1964 novel "Os Pastores da Noite" (Shepherds of the Night), calling him "um assombro de valentia" (an astonishment of bravery). Art critic Wilson da Rocha described him as "um herói popular" (a popular hero).

By the 1940s, Nagé was part of the scene at Mestre Waldemar's legendary Barracão in Corta Braço (later Liberdade), Salvador. According to Waldemar's 1989 interview: "Outros foram José Cabelo Bom, um preto por nome Nagé—que juntaram cinco homens pra matar ele" (Others were José Cabelo Bom, a Black man named Nagé—they gathered five men to kill him). This casual mention of the conspiracy that would eventually claim Nagé's life speaks to how intertwined violence and survival were in the capoeira world of that era.

Nagé was documented by multiple photographers and filmmakers. He possibly appears in Pierre Verger's 1948 photographs at Corta Braço. On July 24, 1954, he was featured in photographs published in Manchete magazine by photographer Salomão Scliar. That same year, Marcel Gautherot likely photographed him as well.

In November 1954, Nagé appeared in the pioneering documentary "Vadiação" directed by Alexandre Robatto Filho—a landmark of Brazilian cinema's engagement with capoeira. The 8-minute film featured a roda in Salvador with Mestres Bimba and Waldemar, alongside Traíra, Zacarias, Curió (the elder), Crispim, Caiçara, and Rosendo. Nagé played in multiple game sequences: first with an unidentified partner, then with the older Curió, and in a third brief game. In the film he appears shirtless, wearing a hat.

In 1958, Nagé died after being stabbed in Góes Calmon, Bahia. He was defending himself in a capoeira fight against five men—the very fate Waldemar had foretold. The conflict originated from a dispute over a pandeiro and berimbau. He fought capoeira until the very end, dying as he had lived.

Thousands of people attended his funeral. Despite his renown, Nagé's story was rarely told for decades. As Frede Abreu wrote: "Nagé, de propósito ou sem querer, entrou no rol dos malditos da capoeira" (Nagé, purposely or unwittingly, entered the list of the "damned" of capoeira). His association with street disorder and fatal violence led to his marginalization from official capoeira history, even as he represented what Abreu called "a history of resistance of the oppressed".

In 2017, four years after his own death, Frede Abreu's book "Nagé, o Homem Que Lutou Capoeira Até Morrer" (Nagé, the Man Who Fought Capoeira Until Death) was published posthumously by Editora Barabô, edited by his daughter Elza Abreu. The 132-page book, featuring unpublished photographs and historical research, finally gave Nagé the scholarly attention his life deserved.

Nagé left behind a daughter named Marileide.