Nilton

Nilton Moraes Paes grew into capoeira the way many from Salvador's Lower City did: by proximity, by neighborhood, by the morning light on a square. Born October 16, 1937, he was the firstborn of a remarkable family—nineteen children in all, fourteen boys and five girls. The Moraes Paes family lived in Massaranduba, a poor neighborhood in Salvador's Cidade Baixa, not far from the famous church of Bonfim.

He first learned with Ninho from Ribeira, joining the rodas at Praça Argolo (Largo de Argolo), the small crossroads between Massaranduba and Jardim Cruzeiro. There, on packed dirt, young Nilton absorbed the rhythm and mandinga of the Lower City style. He and his younger brother Nelson—known as Cutica or Índio, born in 1941—then studied with Pierrô and carried their berimbaus the short walk, not even a kilometer, to the Uruguai neighborhood. There they trained under Mestre Zeca do Uruguai, the berimbau master who taught that "the berimbau reigns the capoeira roda; the capoeirista must play according to the rhythm imposed and obey the berimbau's calls and warnings".

That triad of teachers—Ninho, Pierrô, Zeca—gave Nilton a spine of rhythm, cunning (mandinga), and neighborhood style that still marks the Lower City lineage. Together with Pierrô and Zeca, Nilton organized and commanded many capoeira angola rodas in the streets of Salvador's waterfront communities. The rodas attracted visits from great mestres—Waldemar from Liberdade, Traíra with his legendary intensity—twenty masters showing up to sing, play berimbau, play pandeiro, and vadiar.

The brothers Nilton and Cutica were part of a notable network of capoeiristas active in the Lower City: Pierrô, Cobrinha do Morro (Pedro Caipora, described as "one of the most dangerous"), Risadinha da Rua Chile, Edinho do Uruguai, Ninho, Cacua, João Caveirinha (a skilled berimbau player), Edinho Bufo-Bufo, and the elder Mestre Zeca do Uruguai. This informal community maintained the tradition of street rodas in neighborhoods like Ribeira, Massaranduba, Uruguai, Bonfim, and Jardim Cruzeiro.

In 1952, a seven-year-old boy named Norival Moreira de Oliveira arrived in Massaranduba when his family moved from Itaparica Island. The boy's grandfather Olegário had already given him his first capoeira lessons on the island, beginning at age four. Now, in Massaranduba, Norival found Nilton and Cutica living down the block. The brothers, by then "highly respected capoeiristas", took young Norival to meet the elder masters Pierrô and Zeca, beginning his formal capoeira education.

In 1963, at the festa of Ribeira, Nilton told Norival to "buy the game" during a roda led by Mestre Waldemar. Until then, Norival was unknown to the great mestres. That day, he played and demonstrated his worth before Waldemar, Traíra, Cobrinha Verde, Canjiquinha, and other excellent capoeiristas. He was consecrated as a capoeirista.

On September 18, 1964, Nilton and his brother Cutica jointly awarded Norival his diploma—his formal certification to teach. The diploma, preserved in Mestre Nô's personal archive, represents the passing of the Lower City lineage to a new generation. Norival became Mestre Nô, the "mestre dos mestres" (master of masters) who has graduated over 75-100+ students to the rank of Master—an achievement likely unmatched in capoeira history.

Nilton also trained his youngest brother Fernando Olímpio Paes Filho (known as Fernandinho or Mano, March 26, 1948 – May 5, 2001), who later moved to Rio de Janeiro and rose to the rank of contra-mestre under Mestre Caiçara, continuing the family's capoeira tradition in a new city.

Nilton died sometime before 1979. His exact death date is unknown, but during a party at the Academia de Capoeira Angola Orixás da Bahia in 1979, Mestre Nô paid tribute to the "late Nilton and Cutica", honoring the brothers who had opened the door to his destiny. Two portraits of Nilton are preserved in the archive of his sister Norma Moraes Paes and in Omilad D'Angola's collection.

In the story of Salvador's capoeira, Nilton is a bridge—from Massaranduba's doorstep to Zeca's yard, from local roda to lasting lineage.