Chico Preto

Liberato Francisco Xavier, known as Chico Preto, was a capoeirista and fish vendor (peixeiro) who operated a stand at the famous Mercado Modelo in Salvador, Bahia.

The Mercado Modelo was not just a market—it was a hub of Bahian culture and capoeira during the mid-20th century. The Rampa do Mercado (Market Ramp) was a renowned gathering place for capoeiristas, and vendors like Chico Preto were connected to the vibrant community of practitioners who worked and played there. Mestre Waldemar began selling his hand-painted berimbaus at the nearby Agua de Meninos fair in 1942, and mestres like Bugalho were fixtures at the market ramp.

Chico Preto was the father of Mestre Roque (Roque Mendes dos Santos, born 1938 in Cachoeira), one of four founding lineages of contemporary capoeira in Rio de Janeiro. His brother Ze Bedeu was also a capoeirista who would father and train Marco Buscape.

Through his position at the Mercado Modelo and his connections in the capoeira community, Chico Preto facilitated his son's introduction to the art. When Roque was ten years old in 1948, Chico Preto arranged for him to train with a friend—a tailor who lived on Peru hill near Largo do Tanque. This tailor became Roque's first formal teacher.

Young Roque, through his father's market connections, socialized with many of the famous capoeiristas of the era: Gaje, Indio, Tatu Bola, Bom Cabrito, Boca de Fumaca, Traira, Canjiquinha, and Cobrinha Verde. Roque would later claim that he "learned a lot from Cobrinha Verde" and that his lineage descended from Tio Alipio through Besouro, continuing with Cobrinha Verde.

Chico Preto represents the generation of capoeiristas who practiced during the transition period—when capoeira was legalized in 1937 after decades of prohibition, and the art began moving from the streets into academies. His role in connecting his son to the capoeira community helped establish one of the major lineages in Rio de Janeiro.