Mestre Nenel

Manoel Nascimento Machado, known as Mestre Nenel, was born on September 26, 1960, in Salvador, Bahia—the son of Manoel dos Reis Machado (Mestre Bimba), the legendary creator of Capoeira Regional, and Berenice da Conceição Nascimento. He was raised by Alice Maria da Cruz, known as Mãe Alice, a woman deeply connected to both Bimba's academy and Bahian spiritual traditions.

Mãe Alice was one of the main Ialorixás (Candomblé priestesses) of the Nordeste de Amaralina region. She worked helping Mestre Bimba at his academy on Terreiro de Jesus, behind the church of São Domingos, performing general services and earning extra money washing and organizing students' clothes. Bimba later bought land for her to establish her terreiro, and in 1962 she founded Oiá Padê da Riméia in Alto da Santa Cruz. Before establishing her own terreiro, she organized the folkloric Candomblé presentations during Bimba's baptism and graduation parties—a testament to the deep connection between capoeira and Afro-Brazilian spiritual traditions.

As a young child, Nenel spent many of his days in his father's academy, the Centro de Cultura Física Regional. At six years old in 1966, he formally began capoeira training, earning his blue scarf after completing the basic course. He graduated in June 1967 alongside his brother Demerval dos Santos Machado (known as Formiga), at only seven years of age. Even at this young age, he participated in demonstration groups performing capoeira, samba duro, maculelê, and puxada de rede, traveling with his father throughout Bahia and beyond.

In 1972, Mestre Bimba and his family moved to Goiânia in the state of Goiás, disappointed by the lack of government support in Bahia. When his father's health declined, Nenel and his brother Formiga taught classes in Goiânia, carrying on the Regional methodology. Mestre Bimba died on February 5, 1974, leaving fourteen-year-old Nenel to assume custodianship of his father's legacy.

Nenel, like many of his siblings, worked various occupations to make ends meet—a period of hardship that tested his commitment to capoeira. Then, in 1975, he heard the call of capoeira. Despite financial difficulties, he moved to Brasília where he founded his first academy: Associação de Capoeira Mestre Bimba Filho. That same year, at just fifteen years old, he was consecrated mestre de capoeira in Brasília—a recognition of both his lineage and his demonstrated mastery.

In September 1977, Nenel returned to Salvador. He competed in capoeira championships, played street capoeira, and performed in folkloric shows while continuing to work various jobs. In the 1977 and 1978 Campeonato Baiano de Capoeira, he became bi-campeão (two-time champion), competing in sports format while representing Ginga Associação de Capoeira.

From 1984 to 1986, he administered classes at Mestre Moise Sucuiba's academy, gradually building his reputation as a transmitter of Mestre Bimba's authentic methodology. On June 10, 1986, he founded the Associação de Capoeira Filhos de Bimba, based at the Fitness Academy of Genivaldo Garcia in the Amaralina neighborhood of Salvador. In 1989, the school was transferred to the School of Arts and Trades as part of an educational project. In 1998, the school was renamed Filhos de Bimba – Escola de Capoeira.

The Fundação Mestre Bimba (FUMEB) was conceived by Bimba's disciples and admirers, under Mestre Nenel's leadership, starting in April 1993 and officially established as a non-profit institution on November 30, 1994. Recognized as Municipal and State Public Utility, the Foundation operates from a historic building in Salvador's Pelourinho district. It preserves and displays historical artifacts including Mestre Bimba's famous berimbau from the 1960s, the Thomé de Souza Medal, and the Doctor Honoris Causa diploma issued by UFBA.

Mestre Nenel's most significant scholarly contribution is the rescue and organization of the 12 toques (rhythms) of Capoeira Regional. These distinct berimbau rhythms—including São Bento Grande da Regional, Iúna, Cavalaria, and the Hino da Capoeira Regional—were left by his father but could only have been systematically organized by someone who lived with Mestre Bimba and understood his methodology intimately.

In 2018, Mestre Nenel, with organizer Lia Sfoggia, published "Bimba: Um século da Capoeira Regional" (Bimba: A Century of Capoeira Regional) through EDUFBA, the Federal University of Bahia's publishing house. This bilingual book (Portuguese/English) exposes the trajectories of both Bimba and Nenel, documenting the practices, clothing, musical instruments, and philosophy of authentic Capoeira Regional.

Today, Mestre Nenel resides in Salvador with his partner, Mestra Preguiça (not to be confused with the Senzala mestre of the same name)—the first woman to receive the white scarf in Capoeira Regional. Mestra Preguiça, who has been trained at Filhos de Bimba since 1995 and was consecrated mestra in 2010, is recognized as a symbol of Black women's resistance in capoeira and has worked with children through Projeto Capoerê since 1994.

Mestre Nenel is the Executive President of both the Fundação Mestre Bimba and Filhos de Bimba Escola de Capoeira, as well as coordinator of the Projeto Social Capoerê—a free initiative that has served over 8,000 children and adolescents in Bahia, São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Santa Catarina. He is also a founding member of the Associação Brasileira de Capoeira Regional (Brazilian Association of Capoeira Regional).

By 2022—marking the school's 36th anniversary—Filhos de Bimba had expanded to schools in six Brazilian states and international locations including England, Belgium, Italy, Canada, Croatia, Germany, and Lebanon. In the United States, there are branches in Fort Worth (Texas), the Bay Area (California), Atlanta (Georgia), and Detroit (Michigan).

Mestre Nenel has successfully fulfilled his father's vision that Capoeira Regional was created for the world. He participates in seminars and festivals, teaches courses internationally, and closely follows the work of his disciples across the globe. In an interview, he reflected on his relationship with his father: "At the same time that he was a father, he was a mestre too... Though he is physically absent, he continues being my mestre".