Cabelo Bom

José Cabelo Bom was one of Mestre Waldemar's most significant students at the legendary Barracão in Corta-Braço (later Liberdade), Salvador. Waldemar himself pointed to Cabelo Bom and Zacarias Boa Morte as "the capoeiristas of the future who will continue his tradition".

His apelido ("Good Hair") came from the texture of his hair, which was very soft and would fall into his eyes during play. He wore a distinctive hat secured with a band or sash to keep it in place during rodas. He was known for having a notable mustache.

Mestre João Grande described the elite practitioners at Waldemar's establishment: "There were only snakes, experts, bred there"—listing Cabelo Bom alongside Evanir, Tatá, Chita, Macário, Sete Molas, and Zacarias. All were described as "extremely good".

Cabelo Bom was characterized as "a very good person, very calm" (uma pessoa muito boa, muito tranquila). His playing style was described as snake-like—subtle, fluid, and refined. Multiple sources note the similarity between his game and Traíra's, both having absorbed Waldemar's distinctive approach.

In a memorable encounter at Conceição da Praia on December 8th (likely in the early 1950s), Mestre João Grande played against Cabelo Bom: "I entered and later Bom Cabelo bought in. I gave him a meia lua and he gave me a meia lua and I retreated and then gave him a cabeçada and he lightly gave a knee strike to my jaw".

Cabelo Bom appears in significant visual documentation from the golden age of Bahian capoeira. In 1953, photographer Alice Brill captured him at Mestre Waldemar's hut alongside Mulunga, Bugalho, Waldemar, and Traíra. In 1954, Marcel Gautherot photographed him playing on the port quays and at Itapuã beach—one image shows his hat fallen on the ground as he plays against "Pai de Família" while Waldemar and Vanildo (Quebra-Jumelo) provide berimbau accompaniment.

On January 9, 1960, Cabelo Bom's game was filmed by INA (Institut National de l'Audiovisuel) for the RTF "Voyage sans passeport" series, documenting a capoeira session at Itapuã beach with Mestre Waldemar and others.

Jorge Amado, in his book "Bahia de Todos os Santos" (1977 edition), wrote about visitors going to Mestre Waldemar's terreiro in Liberdade to see "great masters Traíra and Bom Cabelo play, who by that time had disappeared".

The roda at Largo da Liberdade, directed by Mestre Waldemar, was frequented by notable figures including the artist Carybé, the sculptor Mário Cravo, and Cabelo Bom among the capoeira practitioners.

His nephew Anilton Silva became Waldemar's last student, focusing on berimbau craftsmanship rather than the capoeira game itself. Anilton stated: "I am Anilton, the last student of mestre Waldemar and nephew of Cabelo Bom. I got baptized with a drop of Angola in the berimbau production on the Peixe Avenue in Pero Vaz. I lived with mestre until the last days of his life making berimbaus, and I recorded a disc with him and Mestre Canjiquinha in 1986".

Regarding his later years, there was uncertainty about whether he was still alive in the 2010s. Some reports said he had died; others claimed he lived in Candeias. In interviews from around 2015, sources noted he was "around a hundred years old".

A source of historiographical confusion: Mestre Pelé da Bomba and others reference "Cabelo Bom and Bom Cabelo (twins)" among the legendary figures at the Mercado Modelo rodas. Portal Capoeira also identifies them as "brothers". However, Mestre Olavo, who knew him personally, firmly stated: "It's only one. It's Cabelo Bom, Waldemar's student. I knew him, he was my friend". The truth may never be definitively resolved.