Mestre Fernando de Saubara

Antônio Fernando da Silva, known as Mestre Fernando de Saubara, is one of the last remaining capoeiristas trained by Mestre Pastinha, the legendary codifier of Capoeira Angola. His apelido ("of Saubara") identifies him with the municipality of Saubara in the Recôncavo Baiano, a region steeped in Afro-Brazilian cultural traditions including capoeira angola and samba de roda.

The Recôncavo Baiano—encompassing towns like Santo Amaro, Cachoeira, São Félix, and Saubara—is recognized as one of the cradles of capoeira. As Mestre Gato Preto once said: "Colônia Aliança, Usina Santa Elisa, São Bento de Inhatá, Muraê, Banga, Capanema, São Braz, Santo Amaro, Acupe, Vila de São Francisco, Saubara, Itapema... fall into that whole region there and you'll really learn." Fernando de Saubara represents this deep tradition.

While specific details of his training timeline with Pastinha are not extensively documented, his recognition as "one of the last remaining capoeiristas trained by Mestre Pastinha" places him among an increasingly rare generation. Pastinha taught at the Centro Esportivo de Capoeira Angola (CECA) in Pelourinho, Salvador, from 1941 until 1973 when he was forced to leave. If Fernando trained with Pastinha in the 1960s (as an adolescent or young man), this would align with the academy's active period.

Beyond his role as a capoeirista, Fernando de Saubara is recognized for his cultural and social contributions to the Saubara region. The municipality of Saubara, with its strong Afro-Brazilian heritage, has produced notable cultural figures including Rosildo do Rosário, a mobilizer of samba de roda traditions who received the Berimbau de Ouro award in 2016.

In January 2025, at over eighty years old, Fernando de Saubara received the Sankofa trophy at the VI Rede Capoeira event in Salvador, consecrating him as a "herói popular" (popular hero). The Sankofa symbol—an African bird with its head turned backwards—represents "returning to the past to resignify the present and build the future." He was honored alongside fellow octogenarian mestres Virgílio da Fazenda Grande, Boa Gente, Baiano (Edvaldo dos Santos Reis), and Mestre Nô.

As one of Pastinha's last living students, Fernando de Saubara represents a living link to the foundations of Capoeira Angola.