Idalina

Idalina Maria do Sacramento was a legendary female capoeirista and valentona from Salvador, Bahia, whose exploits in the 1910s and 1920s became the stuff of legend. She was a "desordeira conhecida do conhecido Distrito da Sé" - a known troublemaker from the famous Sé District in Baixa dos Sapateiros, an area that held the stories of capadócios, valentes, and incorrigíveis.

The most documented incident of Idalina's life occurred on August 1, 1917, around 5 PM, in front of Armazém do Saldanha. When her companion Firmina was being insulted by Maria Joanna, Idalina did not hesitate: "não perdendo a oportunidade de defender a honra da camarada: entrou em luta com a desafeta e a feriu com sua faca" (not losing the chance to defend her comrade's honor: she entered into fight with her enemy and wounded her with her knife).

When civil guard #233 arrived to break up the fight, Idalina did not surrender. Instead, she turned to fight him too. Guards #191, #165, and #210 arrived as reinforcements, along with several police officers. What happened next became legendary: "Todos se engalfinharam com a valente, que lutou com todos de uma vez" (All tangled with the brave woman, who fought them all at once). She was eventually taken to the Casa de Correções and charged with bodily injuries.

This was not an isolated incident. According to the Jornal de Notícias, Idalina had multiple documented conflicts with the authorities and other women. In records from 1917 and April 24, 1920, she appears alongside Zeferina, another capoeirista, with whom she feuded over prostitution territory. The newspaper reported: "encontraram-se as desafetas e foram ao duelo a murro e pontapé" (the rivals met and went to a duel with punches and kicks). There exists "uma vasta lista de registros policiais em que ela foi enquadrada sob acusação de capoeiragem" (an extensive list of police records in which she was charged with capoeiragem).

Idalina's legacy extends beyond historical records. Mestre Bimba, the creator of Capoeira Regional, honored her by naming one of his seven fundamental toques (berimbau rhythms) "Idalina". This toque - a slow to moderate rhythm with a strong beat - is traditionally used for a freer, more expressive game. Some sources indicate it was also associated with the jogo de navalha (razor game). The existence of this toque suggests that Idalina's reputation was widely known in the capoeira community of her time.

Multiple capoeira songs also reference Idalina, including "É de manhã, Idalina tá me chamando" (It's morning, Idalina is calling me), suggesting she became part of the oral tradition that preserves capoeira history. The songs portray her as someone who "chama a gente e sai andando" (calls people and keeps moving) - a woman who lived life on her own terms.

Idalina was one of many "mulheres incorrigíveis" (incorrigible women) documented in Paula Juliana Foltran's groundbreaking doctoral thesis at the University of Brasília (2019). This research, conducted in the Arquivo Público do Estado da Bahia, identified hundreds of women engaged in street fighting and capoeiragem during the 1900-1920 period, definitively dismantling the myth that capoeira was exclusively a male domain.

As Foltran writes: "Idalina é capoeira, não fica parada à espera de nada" (Idalina is capoeira, she doesn't stay still waiting for anything). This phrase captures the essence of a woman who, in an era when capoeira was criminalized and women faced even greater persecution for practicing it, fought back against anyone who challenged her - whether rivals, civil guards, or the social order itself.