Mestre Decânio

Angelo Augusto Decânio Filho was born on February 12, 1923, in Salvador, Bahia, the son of Dr. Ângelo Augusto Decânio and Georgina de Barros Decânio. He would become one of the most significant figures in the preservation and documentation of Capoeira Regional.

In 1938, while studying medicine at university, the sixteen-year-old Decânio met Mestre Bimba and joined his academy—a fact he initially kept secret from his family. From that first day, Bimba adopted him "like a son", beginning a relationship that would span 36 years until the master's death in 1974.

During those decades, Decânio became far more than a student. He provided Bimba with "filial attention, medical care, advisory on academy administration, study of new techniques and counter-techniques, and establishment of norms and rules for improved teaching of the art". As a result of this intimate collaboration, Decânio had the privilege of being "the sole keeper of the Master's secrets and tricks".

Together with Sisnando Lima—another university-educated student who had trained in judo under Mitsuyo Maeda—Decânio formed one of the two pillars upon which Bimba built Capoeira Regional during its crucial Initial Phase (1930-1937) and Consolidation Phase (1938-1966). These academics helped transform capoeira from a street practice into a respectable institution, implementing structured academy operations with uniforms, training schedules, events, baptisms, exhibition rodas, and specialization courses.

Bimba formally graduated only four students to the level of mestre (white handkerchief) during his lifetime: Decânio, Jair Moura, Miranda, and Edinho. This was the highest honor in the Capoeira Regional graduation system, reserved for those who had dedicated many years to both training and teaching the art.

In 1969, when Bimba was invited to participate in the I Simpósio Brasileiro de Capoeira at Galeão Air Base in Rio de Janeiro—an event aimed at formulating sporting rules for capoeira—he sent Decânio as his official representative rather than attending himself.

As a physician and intellectual, Decânio formulated the theory of "Transe Capoeirano" (Capoeira Trance), described as "a physical-psychological state that the capoeirista reaches during the game, due to stimuli from the musicality, the rhythm of the atabaques and agogôs, and the atmosphere provided by the ritual of the capoeira roda". He published this theory in "Transe Capoeirano, um estudo sobre a estrutura do ser humano e modificações de estados de consciência durante a prática da capoeira" (Salvador, 2002). His work drew comparisons between the trance state in capoeira and that experienced in Candomblé ceremonies.

Decânio authored several books on capoeira, compiled in the self-published Coleção São Salomão: "A Herança de Mestre Bimba" (1996, 2nd edition revised with dialectal glossary 1997), "Manuscritos e Desenhos de Pastinha", "A Herança de Pastinha", and "Falando em Capoeira". His work was cited by Mestre Damião as "the true Bible of Capoeira".

Notably, despite being Bimba's closest disciple, Decânio showed profound respect for Mestre Pastinha and Capoeira Angola. In "A Herança de Mestre Bimba", he exalted Pastinha, the master of Capoeira Angola. He was also responsible for publishing Pastinha's manuscripts, preserving essential documents for the Angola tradition.

In his later years, Decânio lived at Sítio Vivendas Yemanjá in the Praia de Tubarão neighborhood of Paripe, in Salvador's Subúrbio Ferroviário, where he remained a welcoming figure for capoeiristas who sought his knowledge. He was close neighbors and friends with Mestre João Pequeno. When CEDANZE (the academy continuing João Pequeno's work) was formalized in 2003, Decânio served on its Council of Honor as one of the "advisors of highest expression of Capoeira in Bahia".

He held various titles in medicine, academic career, judo, and Candomblé. He also created the website "Capoeira da Bahia", which was later migrated to Portal Capoeira after his death.

On Wednesday, February 1, 2011—the eve of the Festa de Yemanjá—Mestre Decânio passed away, just days before his 88th birthday. Described as "the greatest authority in the world on Mestre Bimba's Capoeira Regional", he left behind an immense legacy of documentation, research, and philosophical contribution to capoeira.

As he wrote: "A capoeira na sua origem é uma só... Cada mestre cria um estilo próprio". (Capoeira at its origin is one... Each master creates his own style.)