Mestre Valmir

Valmir Santos Damasceno was born on August 27, 1965, in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. He entered the world of Capoeira Angola in 1982, joining the renowned Grupo de Capoeira Angola Pelourinho (GCAP) under the guidance of Mestres Moraes and Cobra Mansa. This was a pivotal moment in capoeira history—GCAP had just returned to Salvador from Rio de Janeiro and was at the forefront of reviving Capoeira Angola, which had declined following Mestre Pastinha's death in 1981.

For twelve years Valmir trained with GCAP, absorbing the philosophy and techniques of traditional Capoeira Angola from two of its most influential modern practitioners. In mid-1992, he received the title of Contra-Mestre, marking his transition from student to teacher. Already by this time, he was developing social projects using capoeira as the primary vehicle for community transformation.

His social work during the early 1990s included projects with the Associação Livre de Moradores da Mangueira (ALMM), the Fundação do Menor Trabalhador (FAMEB), and Projeto Axé—organizations focused on supporting at-risk youth and underserved communities in Salvador. This commitment to using capoeira for social uplift would become a defining characteristic of his career.

In 1994, Valmir departed from GCAP and established his own group. In 1995 or 1996 (sources vary), together with Mestre Cobra Mansa and Mestre Jurandir Nascimento, he co-founded the Fundação Internacional de Capoeira Angola (FICA), also known as ICAF (International Capoeira Angola Foundation). The organization was established with headquarters in Washington, D.C., dedicated to preserving, promoting, and researching Capoeira Angola.

While Cobra Mansa focused on the United States and Jurandir on Minas Gerais, Valmir became responsible for FICA-Bahia in Salvador. In 1996, he formally started the FICA group in Salvador, which he led for nearly three decades. He organized international encounters in Bahia in 1997 and 1999, attracting approximately 300 capoeiristas from around the world. In 2005, he hosted the XI International Capoeira Angola Encounter, themed "Capoeira Angola and Social Ascension: from Appropriation to Exclusion".

In August 2003, Valmir received the title of Mestre de Capoeira Angola at the 9th International Capoeira Angola Meeting organized by FICA in Belo Horizonte. This ceremony formally recognized his mastery after over two decades of dedicated practice and teaching.

His international teaching took him across multiple continents. In the United States alone, he conducted workshops in Texas, Philadelphia, Chicago, Indiana, Connecticut, Washington D.C., and California (1998 and 2000). In 2002, he taught in Germany. His presence at the 10th Capoeira Angola Meeting at UC Berkeley in 2004 demonstrated his standing in the international Angola community. Additional workshops followed in Finland, Sweden, France, Italy, England, Japan, Spain, and Costa Rica.

In 2001 and 2002, Valmir coordinated the "Capacitação Solidária" project focused on the production and commercialization of musical instruments, teaching classes in movement, singing, rhythm, and instrument-making to youth from various underserved communities. Since 2006, he has served as General Coordinator of the Audiovisual Archive Project for Capoeira Angola—a Ponto de Cultura (Culture Point) under the Ministry of Culture's Cultura Viva program. Through this role, he became responsible for FICA operations not only in Bahia but also in Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, and Goiás.

As described by National Geographic Traveller in 2025, Valmir operates from the Instituto de Capoeira Angola Alagbedé in Pelourinho, Salvador's UNESCO-listed historic core. When interviewed about the nature of capoeira, he said: "It's a fighting dance... It's a dialogue, not a competition. I'm not teaching people to be violent. I'm teaching them to realise their potential, to understand their ancestry".

In June 2023, Valmir founded the Instituto de Capoeira Angola Alagbedé (I.C.A.A.), separating from FICA to establish his own independent organizational structure. The name "Alagbedé" comes from the Yoruba word for blacksmith—the craftsmen who forge iron and are associated with the orisha Ogun. Many of his students followed him into the new organization. As of 2025, Alagbedé groups operate not only in Brazil but also in Colombia, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Japan, France, England, and Spain. Key figures in the organization include Contramestre Aloan, Contramestre Ajaye (Dija), Contramestre Fabricio, and Contramestre Yuta.

Valmir released the CD "Das Voltas Que O Mundo Deu, As Voltas Que O Mundo Da" (The Turns the World Has Taken, The Turns the World Takes), available on streaming platforms since 2011. The recording captures the traditional music of Capoeira Angola.

Now approaching sixty years of practice, Mestre Valmir continues to lead classes in Salvador, craft berimbaus and caxixis, coordinate rodas, and travel internationally sharing the art form he has dedicated his life to preserving.