Mestre Zeca do Uruguai

In the history of Salvador's Lower City, Mestre Zeca do Uruguai stands as a quiet architect of style. While legends like Besouro Mangangá, Cobrinha Verde, and Gato Preto often take center stage in the narrative of Bahian capoeira, Zeca's contribution runs like an underground stream—steady, essential, and felt in the way many capoeiristas still listen to the berimbau.

Zeca came from Santo Amaro da Purificação, the same town that produced Besouro, Cobrinha Verde, and Gato Preto. He was first cousin to Gato Preto and also cousin to Cobrinha Verde, placing him within the tight network of Santo Amaro capoeiristas who shaped the art in the early to mid-twentieth century. At some point, he relocated to Salvador and established himself in the Uruguai neighborhood of the Lower City (Cidade Baixa).

Those who knew him remember a short man with a big moustache, characterized by his cunning, truthfulness, and confident manner. He worked as a docker—one of the many stevedores and port workers who formed the backbone of capoeira practice in Salvador's waterfront neighborhoods. As Mestre Canjiquinha recalled: "He was dark, a bookie and had a big moustache".

Zeca taught in a space next to his house in the Uruguai neighborhood, where students trained for street rodas. His instructional approach emphasized the berimbau's authority. Canjiquinha, who learned berimbau from him, remembered: "He showed me how to play, taught me rhythms and lots of songs... that the berimbau reigns the capoeira roda". This philosophy—that the capoeirista must play according to the rhythm imposed and obey the berimbau's calls and warnings—became foundational to the Lower City style.

His primary disciples were Pierrô and Nilton, who in turn organized and commanded many capoeira angola rodas in the streets of the Lower City alongside Zeca himself. The brothers Nilton and Cutica (Nelson Moraes Paes) lived in nearby Massaranduba and would carry their berimbaus the short walk—not even a kilometer—to train under Zeca and Pierrô in Uruguai.

Through this teaching lineage, Zeca's influence extended to one of the most prolific capoeira angola masters in history. In 1952, when young Norival Moreira de Oliveira's family moved to Massaranduba, Nilton and Cutica—by then "highly respected capoeiristas"—took him to meet Pierrô and Zeca. This began Norival's formal capoeira education. On September 18, 1964, Nilton and Cutica awarded Norival his diploma, certifying him to teach. Norival became Mestre Nô, the "mestre dos mestres" (master of masters) who has graduated over 75 students to the rank of Master—a record likely unmatched in capoeira history.

In January 1955, photographer Marcel Gautherot captured Zeca do Uruguai at the Segunda-Feira Gorda (Fat Monday) carnival celebrations in Ribeira, playing berimbau alongside Mestre Waldemar and Mestre Gigante. These photographs, now held by the Instituto Moreira Salles, document the vibrant street capoeira culture of Salvador's Lower City.

The network of capoeiristas active around Zeca in the Lower City included Pierrô, Cobrinha do Morro (Pedro Caipora, described as "one of the most dangerous"), Risadinha da Rua Chile, Edinho do Uruguai, Ninho from Ribeira, Cacua, Cutica, João Caveirinha (a skilled berimbau player), Nilton, Edinho Bufo-Bufo, and Gaguinho Preto. This informal community maintained the tradition of street rodas in neighborhoods like Ribeira, Massaranduba, Uruguai, Bonfim, and Jardim Cruzeiro.

Zeca do Uruguai's death date is unknown, but his legacy persists through the extensive lineage descending from Mestre Nô and the Lower City tradition of listening carefully to the berimbau.