Mestre Jelon

Jelon Vieira was born in 1953 in Santo Amaro da Purificação, Bahia, Brazil—the same sacred region that produced Besouro Mangangá, Cobrinha Verde, and countless other legendary capoeiristas. His path to becoming one of the most influential figures in capoeira's global spread began with an unlikely start: at nine months old, he suffered severe fractures in both legs and did not walk until nearly age three.

At around nine years old, Vieira encountered capoeira for the first time. He was on his way to get a haircut when he saw someone practicing the martial art. Fascinated, he forgot about the haircut and watched for hours. By age ten, he began formal training in Capoeira Angola under Mestre Emerito, later continuing with Mestre Bobô—whom he would come to consider his true mestre. When he told his mother about his new pursuit, she warned him against it because of capoeira's negative reputation. Undaunted, he continued training and told her he had been playing soccer when he came home sweaty.

In 1969, at age sixteen, Vieira met Mestre Ezequiel (Eziquiel Martins Marinho), one of the great disciples of Mestre Bimba. Under Ezequiel's guidance, he studied Capoeira Regional and had the honor of attending classes at Mestre Bimba's legendary Centro de Cultura Física e Luta Regional. The same year, he joined Viva Bahia, a pioneering folk dance company founded by ethnomusicologist Emília Biancardi that traveled internationally performing capoeira, samba, candomblé, and other Afro-Brazilian arts.

In 1974, Vieira toured Europe with Viva Brasil (a spinoff of Viva Bahia). The expedition included Mestre João Grande, one of the most renowned capoeiristas in Brazil. Vieira became the first person to teach capoeira in London that year. After the tour, he left the group and moved to Paris, then London, before setting his sights on America.

In April 1975, Vieira and fellow Bahian choreographer Loremil Machado arrived in New York City to perform in a production of the play "Parto" by Brazilian playwrights Gilda Grillo and Maria Isabel Barreno. They became the first capoeira mestres to live and teach in the United States. Their first jobs were doing demonstrations in Bronx public schools; that summer, Vieira performed weekly demonstrations in Central Park.

His early supporters included choreographer Alvin Ailey, off-Broadway theater pioneer Ellen Stewart (founder of La MaMa), and Brooklyn schoolteacher and martial artist Robert Cooper. Ellen Stewart provided space for him to teach at her theater. Alvin Ailey offered him a scholarship to study at his dance school, where Vieira learned Martha Graham technique from Denise Jefferson and Horton technique from Thelma Hill.

In 1977, Vieira and Machado founded "The Capoeiras of Bahia", which became the first company to bring traditional Afro-Brazilian dance and capoeira to the United States. In 1981, Alvin Ailey told Vieira: "If you want to survive in this business, you must start a not-for-profit organization". That year, he renamed the company DanceBrazil at Ailey's suggestion. In 1980, he founded the Capoeira Foundation to promote Afro-Brazilian cultural forms through education.

The demonstrations by Vieira and Machado in New York during the late 1970s have been credited with influencing the nascent breakdancing movement. Mestre Acordeon stated: "These demonstrations are considered by many to be responsible for the incorporation of capoeira movements into breakdancing". Scholar Matthias Röhrig Assunção confirms that "many people believe their performances inspired the break dance craze of the 1980s".

In 1989, Vieira recorded an LP featuring the participation of legendary mestres João Grande, João Pequeno, and Bobô. That same year, he invited Mestre João Grande to tour the United States. The tour was a tremendous success. Encouraged by Vieira, João Grande founded his own academy in New York City in 1990, where he has trained thousands of students in the tradition of capoeira angola. Both men would later receive the NEA National Heritage Fellowship—the highest U.S. honor for traditional arts.

In 1990, Vieira was inducted into the International Hall of Fame for Martial Arts. In 1993, he established a DanceBrazil branch in Salvador, Bahia, and opened community centers. He taught legendary footballer Pelé and movie stars Wesley Snipes and Eddie Murphy. Snipes, himself a martial arts practitioner with a 5th dan black belt in Shotokan Karate, described Vieira as one of "the masters of the martial arts of the 20th century".

In 1999, City Lore inducted Vieira into its Hall of Fame for lifetime contribution to New York City culture. In 2000, New York City's Brazilian Cultural Center recognized him as the "Pioneer of Capoeira in the United States".

In 2007, Vieira co-founded Capoeira Luanda with Mestre Guerreiro and Mestre Apache. The name honors his teacher Mestre Ezequiel, who had founded Grupo Luanda de Capoeira in Salvador in 1964. "Luanda"—the capital of Angola—references the ports from which enslaved Africans said their final goodbyes. In Yoruba, it means "the junction of the moon and the earth".

On September 26, 2008, Jelon Vieira received the NEA National Heritage Fellowship—the United States government's highest honor in folk and traditional arts. He was recognized for his cultural education and community engagement, particularly with underserved populations. As of 2025, he continues to teach and direct DanceBrazil and Capoeira Luanda from New York, with branches throughout the Americas, Europe, and beyond.

Vieira has reflected on his philosophy: "Capoeira for me is very much a life philosophy... Capoeira is my life and Capoeira is my strength. It teaches me tolerance for things that I can't change. Capoeira gives me sensitivity, gives me love, gives me the understanding that people are people regardless their background, their gender, their race. We all should come together and that's the power of Capoeira, bringing people together".