Mestre Sete Molas

Sete Molas was a capoeirista and mestre active in Salvador, Bahia, during the 1940s and 1950s. He is notable for being a distinct figure from Mestre Waldemar, who coincidentally also bore the nickname "Sete Molas" (Seven Springs) for his agility.

Sete Molas operated his own roda and school, the Escola de Sete Molas, in the Liberdade neighborhood of Salvador—close to Mestre Waldemar's famous Barracão. According to the researcher Araújo (2010), cited by velhosmestres.com: "there was also another mestre by that name, who had a roda close to Waldemar's."

Writer Jorge Amado documented that Mestre Traíra, the legendary capoeirista, divided his time between the two schools: "When Traíra was not at Waldemar's School, he was nearby, at the Sete Molas School, also in Liberdade." Waldeloir Rego mentioned Traíra's presence at the Sete Molas school in his foundational 1968 work "Capoeira Angola, ensaio sócio-etnográfico."

Mestre João Grande, in his 1989 interview with Mestre Luiz Renato Vieira (and repeated in a 2011 interview with Capoeira Connection), named Sete Molas among the elite practitioners at Waldemar's roda: "There were only snakes, experts, bred there. It was Evanir, Tatá, Bom Cabelo, Chita Macário, Sete Molas, Zacarias. All were extremely good."

Little else is documented about Sete Molas's life—his birth name, death date, and full biography remain unknown. His significance lies in his role as a contemporary of Waldemar who maintained an independent capoeira space in Liberdade during the golden era of Bahian capoeira, and as one of the skilled practitioners who helped shape the art form during its transition from street culture to broader recognition.