Mestre Acordeon

Ubirajara Guimarães Almeida, known as Mestre Acordeon (meaning "accordion" in Portuguese, reflecting his musical talents), was born on August 30, 1943, in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.

In 1958, at fifteen years old, Acordeon began his capoeira journey when he entered the academy of the legendary Mestre Bimba. His path in capoeira led him to make his mark with what he describes as "the total involvement of body and soul, ARTE-LUTA" (art-fight). He excelled in the athletic and competitive aspects of capoeira while developing exceptional musical abilities.

By 1959, just one year after starting, Acordeon opened his first academy at his residence in Boa Vista de Brotas, Salvador. He quickly attracted students seeking a different approach—one that demanded rigorous physical conditioning combined with artistic values and music.

In 1964, Acordeon founded and directed the Grupo Folclórico da Bahia, pioneering the theatrical presentation of capoeira. In 1966, the group premiered "Vem Camará: Histórias de Capoeira" at Teatro Jovem in Rio de Janeiro—a show that would prove transformative for the art form. The production presented an approach that influenced a new generation of young capoeiristas and affirmed the concept of "grupo de capoeira" as a performing ensemble, not just a training academy.

In 1968, along with Mestre Onça (Ayrton Neves Moura), Acordeon co-founded the K-poeira academy in São Paulo, expanding capoeira's presence beyond Bahia into Brazil's largest city.

During the 1970s, Acordeon participated in national capoeira tournaments sponsored by the Brazilian National Confederation of Sports and the Ministry of Education. He won three Brazilian National Championships, establishing himself as one of the premier competitors of his era. In 1975, he represented Bahia in the 1st Troféu Brasil de Capoeira held in São Paulo.

At the end of 1978, Acordeon made a decision that would change capoeira's global trajectory: he relocated to San Francisco, California. Arriving with his musical group Corpo Santo, he introduced capoeira to the American West Coast in 1979. He was one of two Brazilians who brought capoeira to the United States, and his impact would prove extraordinary.

Beyond teaching capoeira, Acordeon helped co-found the Mission District's Carnival street celebration in San Francisco in 1979—bringing Brazilian carnival culture to California.

In 1981, Acordeon published "Capoeira: A Brazilian Art Form: History, Philosophy, and Practice" through North Atlantic Books—the first capoeira book ever written in English. This groundbreaking work introduced countless English speakers to the art form and remains influential today.

In 1985, he recorded "The Music of Capoeira: Mestre Acordeon" for Smithsonian Folkways Records (catalog FW04332), featuring tracks like "Saudação aos Mestres" and "Homage to Mestre Bimba: Corridos de Capoeira Regional". The album featured collaborations with Mestre Suassuna and Dennis Broughton.

In 1994, Acordeon became the first "artist" to receive the Tinker Visiting Professorship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison—a significant recognition of capoeira as an academic discipline. The following year, he collaborated with master drummer CK Ladzepko on "Warriors at the Edge of the Rain Forest".

In 1998, Acordeon co-founded the Capoeira Arts Café in downtown Berkeley, California, with Mestre Rã (Cassio Martinho). Together they established the United Capoeira Association (UCA), an organization born from their shared philosophical ideals while preserving their individual identities. The UCA grew to include schools across the United States, Ciudad Juarez in Mexico, and academies in Brazil.

Acordeon also founded the Capoeira Arts Foundation in Berkeley, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that sponsors the UCA and Projeto Kirimurê—a social program for at-risk children in the Itapoã neighborhood of Salvador, Bahia. The project has been supported since 2005, serving a community where many families live on approximately $8.75 per day.

In 2008, recognizing thirty years of continuous work on the West Coast, the City of Berkeley proclaimed October 18 as "Mestre Acordeon Day".

At age 70, on Labor Day 2013, Acordeon, his wife Suellen Einarsen (Mestra Suelly—the first American woman to earn the mestre title, in 2000), and nine disciples embarked on an extraordinary journey: a 6,500-mile bicycle ride from Berkeley to Salvador, Brazil. The purpose was to raise funds and awareness for Projeto Kirimurê while documenting capoeira's development in the Americas.

In 2019, Acordeon retired from the Capoeira Arts Foundation and relocated to Albuquerque, New Mexico. In December 2023, he celebrated his 80th birthday with performances at the Freight & Salvage and Casa de Cultura in Berkeley, featuring an ensemble including Grammy Award-winning violinist Evan Price.

His son, Alexandre "Sanfona" Almeida, serves as president of Instituto Mestre Acordeon, continuing the family's capoeira legacy.