Mestre Gegê

Geraldo Costa Filho, known as Mestre Gegê, was born on April 9, 1948, in Maragojipe, a city in the Recôncavo Baiano region of Bahia. His first experience with capoeira and Afro-Brazilian culture came through Mestre Sete, who had learned capoeira from two legendary figures: Mestre Onça Preta and Mestre Rafael (Cobrinha Verde). This placed Gegê in a distinguished lineage connecting him to the pre-persecution era of Bahian capoeira.

In Salvador, Gegê encountered Mestre Waldemar da Liberdade, the legendary craftsman who invented the practice of painting and decorating berimbaus. Under Waldemar, Gegê learned not just capoeira but the art of fabricating the painted berimbaus that Waldemar had made famous throughout Bahia.

In 1965, at around seventeen years of age, Gegê moved to Rio de Janeiro. He began training capoeira in Duque de Caxias shortly after his arrival. His teacher in Rio was Mestre Fernandinho (Fernando Olímpio Paes Filho, 1948-2001), a student of the formidable Mestre Caiçara who was famous for his solid game and acrobatic skills, particularly his high-speed relógio. When Fernandinho departed Rio de Janeiro to tour Europe with a Brazilian folklore show, Gegê affiliated with the group Guaiamuns Nagôs led by Mestre Zé Pedro, who held his famous roda in Bonsucesso in the North Zone.

Together with Mestre Barbosa (José Barbosa da Silva), Gegê is considered one of the pioneers of capoeira in Duque de Caxias. While Barbosa focused on organizing and formalizing academy-based capoeira, Gegê pursued a different path—he created his own group, Grupo Maragojipe de Capoeira, named after his birthplace, and traveled extensively in the capoeira world, becoming known to mestres across Brazil and internationally.

Gegê's most enduring contribution has been his role as capoeira's musical chronicler. He has written many songs in a unique singing style, using them to tell stories about capoeira's past and spread its history and traditions. His song "Adeus Bonsucesso" celebrates the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro and particularly the Bonsucesso neighborhood where Zé Pedro's famous roda took place. As the Contemporary Capoeira project noted, the song "managed to crystallize something of his individual memory, and also of the collective memory of this rich moment that was fundamental for the development of contemporary capoeira in Rio de Janeiro".

His song was recorded on Muzenza's first LP in 1988, issued by Ariola and organized by Mestre Burguês. Many of his compositions appear on subsequent Muzenza LPs and CDs, and he collaborated on a CD with Mestre Paulão, the founder of Grupo Muzenza.

Seeking to deepen his understanding of the art, Gegê pursued formal education and obtained a university degree in History from an institution in Rio de Janeiro. This academic training reinforced his role as a researcher and authority on capoeira's historical development.

When speaking of capoeira in Caxias, Gegê is named as one of the "mestres imprescindíveis" (indispensable masters) alongside Mestre Raimundo and Mestre Levi. These three traditions, originating from the pioneer era, have built remarkable cultural initiatives including the Museu Vivo da Capoeira (Living Museum of Capoeira), based mainly in the second and third districts of Duque de Caxias.

Mestre Gegê has traveled the world teaching and performing capoeira, visiting countries including Portugal, England, and Australia, where he met with the Minister of Culture. He is recognized as one of the hundred principal masters of capoeira in the world, and is considered one of the most respected researchers in the art—a historian, instrumentalist, and composer who bridges the traditional Bahian heritage with the contemporary development of capoeira in Rio de Janeiro.

In 2010, he was listed among the habilitados (qualified candidates) for IPHAN's "Prêmio Viva Meu Mestre" award, which honors capoeira masters aged 55 or older whose life trajectory has fundamentally contributed to the transmission and continuity of capoeira in Brazil.