poor, black teachers. He also suggests that, in Rio, with its multiple previous traditions of capoeira—in
contrast to other regions of Brazil—‘the bed was already made’ for capoeira and Senzala to expand in the
astonishing way it did.^23 Soon the group became too large to accommodate everybody. In 1974, Senzala
fragmented into individual academies directed by the senior teachers who had been awarded the red belt,
but they still maintained an overall link between each group. A number of important figures subsequently
left Senzala to create their own organizations: M.Camisa established Abadá, M.Boneco, Paulão and
Paulinho Sabiá founded Capoeira Brasil, and M.Jelon Vieira created his group in the United States (see
Figure 7.5).^24
Capoeira in São PauloSome sources suggest that capoeira might already have existed in nineteenth-century São Paulo, since
municipal laws outlawed its practice (see Chapter 3). During the wave of repression of the 1890s, a group
Figure 7.3 Mestre Camisa (left); a throw in contemporary capoeira (right), the Senzala group, Rio de Janeiro, 1980. Photos
by Sidney Waismann.
Figure 7.4 High kicks were a hallmark of Senzala group (left); full contact in contemporary capoeira (right), Senzala
Group, Rio de Janeiro, 1980. Photos by Sidney Waismann.
172 CONTEMPORARY CAPOEIRA