Satanás

Satanás was one of the few women who practiced capoeira in Salvador during the 1930s and 1940s - an era when the art was deeply hostile to female participation. She was part of a small but determined group of women who reportedly "se fizeram passar por homens" (disguised themselves as men) to gain acceptance in the male-dominated rodas of capoeira.

According to the capoeira oral tradition, she received her cruel apelido "Satanás" (Satan) because "por ser muito feia ninguém a queria" (being very ugly, no one wanted her). While such nicknames seem harsh by modern standards, they reflect the rough street culture of early 20th century Bahian capoeiragem, where apelidos often referenced physical characteristics, circumstances of life, or notorious deeds.

Satanás is listed alongside Maria 12 Homens, Calça Rala, Nega Didi, and Maria Pára o Bonde as one of the "grandes referências femininas" (great female references) of strength, courage, and determination from this era. These women became known as valentonas - brave, tough women who defied social norms to practice an art form that was both criminalized and explicitly coded as masculine.

Some sources indicate that Satanás was among the students of Mestre Bimba, who opened Salvador's first formal capoeira academy. Bimba was notable for accepting women into his academy during a time when this was controversial. However, he faced ongoing challenges: his female classes reportedly never completed full courses due to social pressures including interference from jealous boyfriends, pregnancies, and romantic entanglements with male students.

No civil name, specific dates, or detailed biographical information survive for Satanás. Like many women of her era, her story exists primarily in the realm of oral tradition and collective memory, preserved in the mentions by later researchers documenting the forgotten history of women in early capoeira.

It is important to distinguish this Satanás from Roberto Satanás (Roberto Barreto Pereira, born 1943), a male student of Mestre Pastinha who traveled to Dakar in 1966 and sang on the historic 1969 LP. These are two completely different individuals.