Malvadeza

José Martins dos Santos, known as Malvadeza or Martim da Pemba, was a capoeirista and violeiro (seven-string guitar player) from Santo Amaro, Bahia. He was the father of Mestre Curió, one of Capoeira Angola's most celebrated guardians, and the link between the old capoeira tradition of his father Pedro Virício and the modern era of the art.

José Martins was born around 1900 in Santo Amaro da Purificação, in the Recôncavo Baiano—a region renowned for producing legendary capoeiristas including Besouro Mangangá, who was his segundo primo (second cousin). He learned capoeira from his father Pedro Virício, known as "Curió Grande", continuing a family tradition that may have stretched back even further.

In addition to his skill in capoeira, José Martins was a talented musician. He was a close friend of Mestre Pastinha—the father of Capoeira Angola—and served as his violeiro, accompanying Pastinha musically. This connection to Pastinha would later influence his son's path, as Mestre Curió would eventually become one of Pastinha's most faithful disciples.

José Martins married Maria Bispo, known as "Pequena", who was also a capoeirista from a family of angoleiros in Santo Amaro. Together they had a son, Jaime Martins dos Santos, born January 23, 1937, in Candeias. Maria gave birth to Jaime during a roda de capoeira—a detail that speaks to how deeply capoeira was woven into this family's life.

Beginning in 1943, when young Jaime was six years old, José Martins and his father Pedro Virício began teaching the boy capoeira. This dual-generational transmission—from grandfather and father simultaneously—immersed Jaime in the traditional methods and philosophy of Capoeira Angola. By 1951, at only fourteen, Jaime had already begun teaching capoeira himself.

José Martins lived to be approximately one hundred years old. In 2000, he was photographed with his son Mestre Curió at Feira de São Joaquim in Salvador—a remarkable image of father and son, both capoeiristas, representing nearly a century of continuous tradition.

After his death in the early 2000s, José Martins dos Santos is remembered annually at ECAIG (Escola de Capoeira Angola Irmãos Gêmeos), where a mass is held in his memory alongside Mestre Pastinha during the school's annual Encontro Internacional de Capoeira Angola.