Mestre Zé Baiano

José Joaquim Andrade Filho was born on January 8, 1947, in the small town of Paripiranga in the interior of Bahia, son of José Joaquim Andrade and Antônia Francisca de Jesus. As a child in the rural northeast, he played "pernada"—a traditional leg-sweeping game related to capoeira—though formal capoeira training would come later.

At thirteen years old, he migrated to the industrial city of Americana in São Paulo state, where he worked as a bricklayer's assistant. In 1965, he moved deeper into São Paulo, and in 1972 he had his first real contact with capoeira. The following year, 1973, he began formal training in Capoeira Regional under Professor Lobão (Everaldo Bispo de Souza) in São José dos Campos—a pioneering capoeirista who co-founded the first capoeira academy in Vale do Paraíba in 1971.

But Zé Baiano was drawn to something deeper. As he later wrote: "Interested in its historical side, I sought out the origins of Capoeira de Angola." This quest led him, in 1984, to a fateful meeting with José Gabriel Góes—Mestre Gato Preto—the legendary angoleiro from Santo Amaro da Purificação who held the title "Berimbau de Ouro da Bahia" and had been immortalized in Jorge Amado's novels.

With Gato Preto, Zé Baiano "perfected his knowledge of Capoeira Angola and all it involves: singing, rhythm, game, bateria formation, social coexistence, and the foundations of Capoeira Angola." In his own words: "I keep alive the traditions passed to me by Mestre Gato." This was not merely technical training—it was complete cultural transmission from one of the last living links to the old masters of the Recôncavo Baiano: Besouro, Cobrinha Verde, Pastinha, and Waldemar.

On December 27, 1986, Zé Baiano was formally graduated in Capoeira de Angola by Mestre Gato Preto, receiving the title of mestre in the traditional lineage.

In 1980, he relocated to Caraguatatuba on the coast of São Paulo after securing employment at CESP (São Paulo Energy Company). That same year, he established the Escola de Capoeira Angola Rei Zumbi (ECARZ), naming it in homage to Zumbi dos Palmares, the legendary quilombo leader. The school would grow into an international organization with branches in Sorocaba, Porto Ferreira (SP), Niterói (RJ), Virgem da Lapa (MG), and internationally in Finland, Japan, and South Korea.

Zé Baiano has trained hundreds of students over nearly fifty years. The IPHAN registry documents the school's current structure: 4 masters, 5 contra-mestres, 5 professors, and 13 trainees, with approximately 300 students graduated to date. Under the guidance of Mestre Gato Preto, he personally trained six students to professor level, four of whom remain with him at ECARZ.

His teaching goes beyond capoeira. The escola presents traditional roda de capoeira alongside samba de roda de lavadeira, reflecting the interconnected Afro-Brazilian cultural traditions of the Recôncavo. As he explains, capoeira represents "education, art and culture" as an integrated whole.

Zé Baiano has traveled extensively, bringing the traditions of Gato Preto to Portugal, England, Finland, France, Germany, Korea, and Japan. He has collaborated with Mestre Shimamoto in Japan, Mestre Siri in Finland, Mestre Formiga in Rio de Janeiro and Niterói, Mestre Jaime in Sorocaba, and Professor Lagartixa in São José dos Campos.

In 1996, he was honored with the title of Cidadão Caraguatatubense (Honorary Citizen of Caraguatatuba) by the Municipal Legislature. In 2005, he released a DVD titled "Tributo à Mestre Gato" in Caraguatatuba, honoring his late master. In 2016, he received official documentation from the Brazilian Culture Ministry and Finland facilitating cultural exchange. On December 8, 2017, the Municipal Legislature of Caraguatatuba held a solemn session to present him with the Título de Mérito Cultural (Cultural Merit Title) through Legislative Decree 359, recognizing his decades of service to the "valorization, protection, and memory of Caraguatatuba's culture." He also received the "Troféu Abril para Angola" award honoring cultural preservation.

Mestre Gato Preto died on August 6, 2002, in Salvador. But his legacy continues through Zé Baiano, who has dedicated his life to preserving the knowledge passed to him. Mestre Zé Baiano continues teaching capoeira de angola at his home in Caraguatatuba, perpetuating the work of "a very talented berimbau player and a capoeirista with great agility" for future generations.

His son, Professor Cezinha, also teaches at ECARZ, continuing the family tradition.