long run. Some of his innovations might have been adopted by mainstream capoeira, but his insistence on
military hierarchy and discipline increasingly grew out of tune with the times as the military regime’s
legitimacy eroded in the 1970s.^133
Another prominent mestre who struggled to establish a style on its own alongside Angola and Regional was
Washington Bruno da Silva, or M.Canjiquinha (1925–1994). Born in Maciel de Baixo, an impoverished
neighbourhood in the old city centre of Salvador, he learned capoeira from 1935 onwards with Aberrê, the
famous mestre from Santo Amaro and student of Pastinha, and took berimbau lessons with Zeca from the
Uruguai neighbourhood. In his youth, he was an apprentice shoemaker. He wore the yellow and black jersey
of Pastinha’s beloved Ipiranga Sports Club, working as a goalkeeper for its football team. He then earned a
living as a singer in nightclubs (gafieiras).^134 In 1951 he became contra-mestre and started teaching in
Pastinha’s academy. Through a friend, he then managed to be employed on a permanent basis by the
Department of Tourism in Salvador and became the main contact person for folklore and capoeira shows,
always recommended by that institution. This caused anger among some other mestres, keen to obtain
contracts for shows themselves. One of them used all the means of ebó (magical devices used by candomblé
practitioners) to bring down Canjiquinha. The latter, also well connected to ‘people of the Saints’, replied in
kind to undo the spells, and a turf war developed until Canjiquinha eventually succeeded in regaining his
position.^135
M.Canjiquinha became well known throughout Brazil with his participation in capoeira scenes in a half-
dozen feature films, including Barravento (directed by Glauber Rocha) and Pagador de Promessas
(directed by Anselmo Duarte). He also claims to be the first to have introduced capoeira into carnival, parading
with the Mercadores de Bagdã (Merchants of Baghdad), in 1961. His knowledge of Bahian folklore allowed
him to spearhead the combination of capoeira with other manifestations such as samba de roda, puxada de
rede and maculelê for exhibitions in Salvador and elsewhere. He was proud to have performed capoeira in
front of several presidents and other prominent people. A fine singer and musician, Canjiquinha invented two
toques for capoeira play, Muzenza (according to him inspired from a candomblé rhythm) and Samango (for
a violent game).^136
In summary, M.Canjiquinha stood out among all the mestres of his generation as one of the very few who
were not overwhelmed by the personalities and teachings of Bimba and Pastinha. Canjiquinha came to be
perceived as the third of the great mestres from Salvador, a place he certainly deserves in terms of his
influence on contemporary capoeira, even though he was never perceived as having created a new style.
Having learned from Aberrê and taught and toured with Pastinha, he had the best possible credentials as an
angoleiro. Yet, once he had founded his own academy, he neither fully supported the revivalist posture
adopted by Pastinha nor clearly changed sides into the Regional camp.
His cheerful personality made him popular among capoeiristas and he was often invited to major events
in the wealthier Southeast and other regions. Consecration came when M. Brasília and his other Paulista
students dedicated a capoeira folklore festival to him, promoted by the São Paulo Capoeira Federation. The
Trophy Mestre Canjiquinha, created in 1981, further contributed to the spread of his fame. As he confessed
later: ‘I cried because the emotion was too much. Just think, 30,000 people giving me applause’.^137
Canjiquinha’s independent posture with regards to the two doyens of Bahian capoeira struck a cord with
some younger teachers and students in São Paulo, who felt the classic opposition between Angola and
Regional was not useful in their context. Canjiquinha’s fast and upright style convinced them that mandinga
could be expressed in many ways. His personal friendship with a number of Bimba’s students, such as
M.Itapoan and Ezequiel in Salvador, and many more in São Paulo, facilitated the acceptance of his
teachings and innovations outside the strict Angola universe. The Samango, for instance, started to be
played by the capoeiristas in the land of the drizzle (São Paulo). During an excursion to the South, an issue
CONTEMPORARY CAPOEIRA 193