Mestre Medicina

Luís Oliveira Rocha, known as Mestre Medicina, was born on December 16, 1950, in Itabuna, Bahia, to Antônio Viana Rocha and Dinah Oliveira Fernandes. His nickname "Medicina" derives from his profession as a gynecologist and obstetrician—a rarity among capoeira mestres of his generation.

Medicina came from humble origins and began playing capoeira as a child. Around age ten, he practiced gymnastics and athletics at a local judo academy in Itabuna. A friend introduced him to capoeirista Antônio Rodrigues, who brought him into the street capoeira circles of Itabuna around age fifteen. There he encountered the young Reinaldo Ramos Suassuna, known simply as "Nado" at the time.

The early 1960s were formative years for capoeira in Itabuna. Major Carlos Dória had founded the "Academia Cultura Física e Capoeira Major Dória" in 1958, with classes taught by Maneca Brandão—a white man whose father was a former mayor and who had trained under Mestre Bimba. Street capoeiristas like Suassuna and Medicina trained in this environment, absorbing the Regional tradition that connected back to Salvador.

When Suassuna departed for São Paulo in 1965 to seek his fortune with capoeira, he left the ACRI (Academia de Capoeira Regional de Itabuna) under the command of his best student: Luís Medicina. The young mestre—only about fifteen years old—changed the academy's name to ACRESI (Academia de Capoeira Regional Suassuna de Itabuna) in homage to his teacher.

In 1972, Medicina moved to Salvador to study medicine at the Faculdade de Medicina da Bahia—one of Brazil's oldest and most prestigious medical schools. There, at the Hospital das Clínicas in the Canela neighborhood, he and a fellow student named Pacheco (nicknamed "Malandragem") started teaching capoeira to other students. What began informally at the Academic Directory soon attracted more practitioners: Sandoval, Anselmo, Manequim, Wilson, Bajola, China, Dedé, Goezinho, Careca, Cafuringa, Alberto Faísca, and others. From this nucleus emerged the idea for a formal organization, and in 1973 they founded the Associação de Capoeira Kilombolas.

The Kilombolas group would prove influential in Salvador's capoeira history, though Medicina would not remain its leader. When he neared graduation and needed to return to Itabuna for his final year of medical studies, Mestre Dedé assumed command of the association. Medicina later returned to Salvador for his medical residency, but could not successfully reclaim leadership of Kilombolas—Dedé had made it his own.

After completing his residency, Medicina lived for five years on Ilha Mar Grande, where he founded another capoeira initiative: the Grupo Meninos da Ilha (Island Boys Group), which he describes as embodying a joyful capoeira spirit among young practitioners.

Eventually Medicina settled in the Recôncavo Baiano—first in Cachoeira, then in nearby Muritiba, where he established his most enduring legacy: Grupo de Capoeira Raça. The name "Raça" (Race, or Grit) reflects his philosophy: "people who are in the struggle of life with courage".

By 2007, Medicina was celebrating forty years of teaching capoeira. An event at the Grapiúna Tênis Clube in Itabuna baptized approximately 300 children from peripheral neighborhoods including São Pedro, Califórnia, Ferradas, and Urbis 4. The event also included children with Down syndrome and saw the formation of new contra-mestres. Mestre Suassuna himself attended, reconnecting with his most accomplished student.

Today, Mestre Medicina holds the title "Mestrissimo" and leads Grupo Capoeira Raça from its headquarters in Muritiba, Bahia. The group has expanded internationally with branches in Chile, Argentina, France, Spain, and Portugal. His teaching continues the Cordão de Ouro/Regional tradition he learned from Suassuna while carrying forward the distinctive identity he developed through decades of independent work in the Bahian Recôncavo.