Contra-Mestre Pinguim

Luiz Antonio Nascimento Cardoso, known as Contramestre Pinguim, was born in Salvador, Bahia, on the outskirts of the city where he had his first contact with various Afro-Brazilian cultural manifestations. His father's death forced the family to migrate, and as an adolescent, Pinguim moved to São Paulo to join his mother, who had already migrated seeking better opportunities. He was raised alongside five siblings in a working-class household.

He began his capoeira journey between 1983 and 1984 at an academy in the Rio Pequeno neighborhood, in the western zone of São Paulo, under Mestre Pato (Valdenor Batista da Silva). It was Mestre Pato who gave him his capoeira nickname, describing him as "encolhido, desconfiado" (withdrawn and distrustful)—characteristics that would evolve into the careful, reflective approach that defines his teaching today.

But it was with José Gabriel Góes—Mestre Gato Preto, holder of the prestigious title "Berimbau de Ouro da Bahia"—that Pinguim truly came to know the values, practices, references, history, memory, and heritage of the old capoeira mestres and Afro-Brazilian culture. The fateful meeting occurred in 1991 through a work project with the dancer and choreographer Firmino Pitanga of the Cia de Dança Negra Contemporânea Batá-Kotô.

Gato Preto, from Santo Amaro da Purificação, represented a direct lineage to the most iconic figures of Bahian capoeira: Besouro, Cobrinha Verde, Siri de Mangue, Canário Pardo, and Waldemar da Liberdade. Through Gato Preto, Pinguim connected to this ancestral chain—an unbroken transmission from the old masters of the Recôncavo Baiano.

In 1997, ten years before its official formalization, the capoeira angola group Guerreiros de Senzala arrived at the University of São Paulo (USP). Coordinated by Pinguim and guided by Mestre Gato Preto, the group began meeting in vacant spaces on campus to study, research, and practice capoeira angola and other Afro-Brazilian cultural manifestations including maculelê, Afro dance, percussion, puxada de rede, and samba de roda.

The path was not easy. When the Chemistry Faculty didn't renew their space agreement, the group occupied the university restaurant basement. A 1999 eviction notice forced them to relocate to an open-air theater at the Geology Faculty. In 2000, with support from the Black Consciousness Nucleus, they occupied Building 28—an abandoned warehouse they restored through periodic community work projects.

In 2001, Pinguim received his title of contramestre in a ceremony at the sacred Terreiro do Bogum (Zogodô Bogum Malê Rundó)—a traditional Jeje nation terreiro in Engenho Velho da Federação, Salvador. The title was conferred by Mestre Gato Preto himself, in a location deeply significant to both men. Gato Preto had served as ogã huntó at Terreiro do Bogum since the time of the former Mãe Runhó. Present at the ceremony were other representatives of the old guard, including Mestre Boa Gente.

Just one year later, on August 6, 2002, Mestre Gato Preto died at age 73 in Salvador. The loss was profound, but Pinguim continued the work they had begun together.

In 2002, Ballet Stagium director Márika Gidali invited Pinguim to work as an arts educator on community projects including Projeto Joaninha and Projeto Professor Criativo, teaching Afro dance and capoeira angola to students and teachers from public schools.

On October 31, 2007, the Guerreiros de Senzala finally achieved official recognition when the Pró-reitoria de Cultura e Extensão Universitária of USP approved the creation of the Núcleo de Artes Afro-Brasileiras—making it an official support nucleus for culture and extension activities. This provided the group a permanent address within the university.

In 2012, Pinguim received the VII Prêmio África-Brasil from the Centro Cultural Africano, recognizing his decades of work promoting Afro-Brazilian culture.

In 2017, he was honored by faculty and researchers from NAPEDRA (Núcleo de Antropologia da Performance) at USP's Department of Anthropology, receiving the title of "Mestre do Saber" (Master of Knowledge)—recognition of the legitimacy of embodied, traditional knowledge within academic spaces.

Since 1999, Pinguim has led annual trips to Bahia with Guerreiros de Senzala students. These pilgrimages visit places, people, and communities that serve as references for the work developed at the Núcleo—including the Terreiro do Bogum and communities throughout the Recôncavo Baiano. In 2000, the group acquired land in Dias d'Ávila, Bahia, for a future educational center.

Pinguim defines capoeira as "a luta para escapar da luta" (the fight to escape from fighting). He emphasizes continuous learning, stating that capoeira never ceases. Despite his recognition, he refuses the title of mestre, viewing himself perpetually as a student: "Sou uma criança em desenvolvimento" (I remain a developing child).

His philosophy centers on transmitting knowledge through embodied practice—"telling stories through accent, swagger, and all that's happening in this colorful Brazil." The Núcleo continues as an interdisciplinary space for teaching, research, and experimentation with artistic-cultural performances that integrate Brazil's diverse Afro-Brazilian heritage.

Today, he serves as founder of Grupo de Capoeira Angola Guerreiros de Senzala and artistic director of the Núcleo de Artes Afro-Brasileiras, where he leads classes in capoeira angola, Afro dance, and percussion, and directs shows and artistic presentations. The biweekly roda de capoeira angola "Abassá da Capoeira" takes place only by candlelight, led by Pinguim on Friday evenings at the Núcleo.