Mestre Rafael Flores

Rafael Flores Viana, affectionately known as "Rafa", was a founding mestre of Grupo Senzala and a pioneering figure who helped shape modern capoeira in Rio de Janeiro. Born in Bahia around 1948, Rafael was one of three Flores brothers whose family moved to Rio de Janeiro but maintained deep ties to Salvador, the heartland of capoeira.

Rafael's first encounter with capoeira came at age eight when he witnessed his cousin defending himself using capoeira movements—an experience that sparked a lifelong fascination. As a teenager, he trained at Waldo Santana's academy in Cinelândia, Rio de Janeiro, and also frequented a Pernambucan capoeira group at Praça Mauá led by Mestre Marcelino. During school vacations, he would return to Salvador for intensive training.

In early 1963, Rafael and his brother Paulo spent two months training at Mestre Bimba's legendary academy in Salvador. A capoeirista cousin introduced them to the master of Capoeira Regional, and this intensive training would prove foundational for their future work. Sources also indicate the brothers trained with Mestre Pastinha, exposing them to the Angola tradition as well.

Returning to Rio de Janeiro in 1963, the brothers organized weekly training sessions on the terrace of their apartment building in Laranjeiras. Rafael trained alongside Paulo on this terrace, and soon friends began joining them—including Fernando (later Mestre Gato), Gil Velho, Garrincha, Itamar, Peixinho, Danadinho, Preguiça, and Sorriso. These teenagers would become the generation to revolutionize capoeira teaching methodology.

Rafael himself articulated the group's diverse origins: "Rafael of Bahia, Paulo born in Rio and Gato from Pernambuco formed the triple base of the future Grupo Senzala". This geographic diversity—Bahia, Rio, and Pernambuco—enriched the group with different regional perspectives and styles.

In 1964, Rafael and Gato competed in the Berimbau de Prata tournament in Santa Teresa, placing third against established groups including Mestre Artur Emídio's. In 1966, during a demonstration at the German Club (Clube Germânico), his brother Paulo suggested the name "Grupo Senzala"—referencing the slave quarters where enslaved Africans were held, a powerful political and cultural statement.

Rafael served as the group's leader and spokesperson for approximately the first 20 years, during which Senzala won the prestigious Berimbau de Ouro tournament three consecutive years (1967-1969), permanently claiming the trophy. In 1969, Rafael began teaching capoeira at the Fundação Getúlio Vargas, expanding the art into Rio's intellectual and upper-class neighborhoods.

Rafael later decided to relocate to Santa Luzia do Norte, a district of Ecoporanga in northern Espírito Santo, where his family owned land. There he developed close friendships with the local community, who had the privilege of witnessing performances by capoeirista friends he hosted. The community asked him to form a group, and on October 12, 1988, he founded the Grupo de Capoeira Senzala "Patrimônio dos Pretos"—named after the old name of the district, itself a reference to quilombo (maroon) heritage.

That same year, Rafael organized a historic capoeira gathering in Santa Luzia do Norte. Nearly all of Grupo Senzala participated, along with legendary mestres including Leopoldina, João Grande, and João Pequeno—a remarkable convergence of Rio and Bahian capoeira traditions.

The Patrimônio dos Pretos group achieved international recognition: in 1990, they performed at the World Capoeira Meeting in Rio de Janeiro and were invited to represent Brazil in a UNESCO/French Government-sponsored project. In 2000, ten children aged 11-14 from the group traveled to France to represent Brazil in the project "Children of Today, Musicians of Tomorrow", which brought together communities from over 14 countries. In April 2004, the district hosted the 4th International Capoeira Meeting, welcoming visitors from France, Germany, and the Netherlands.

Rafael Flores passed away on Saturday, November 5, 2016, at age 68. Having lost his mother in 2011, he had no children, but left behind siblings and many friends who remember him as someone who devoted himself entirely to his community. His legacy lives on through both Grupo Senzala in Rio de Janeiro and the Patrimônio dos Pretos group in Espírito Santo, where the International Capoeira Meeting continues to be held every two years.