Sidney Santos de Jesus
Date of birth: April 1, 1962
Marital Status: Single
Educational Background: High School
Graduated in Basic Chemistry Qualification
Languages: Portuguese
Born in Santo Amaro da Purificação/Bahia, I had direct contact with capoeira since my childhood, having officially started in capoeira in 1989, training with Mestre Macaco in Santo Amaro. Due to my dedication to capoeira in 1995 I started teaching capoeira, not only in the Recôncavo, but in other cities in Bahia and also in other states. I graduated Mestre de Capoeira on December 21, 2013, by Mestre Carcará de Santo Amaro and had my graduation confirmed on the spot by the Mestres: Mestres Felipe, Gary, Messias and Dimas.
Founder of the Grupo de Capoeira Tradição Quilombola, which proposes to rescue the traditional capoeira of Santo Amaro, as faithful as possible to what was practiced by the old masters of the city. Through a seven-year partnership with UNILAB, the group absorbed several African students who now make up the group, which promotes cultural and intellectual exchange between Africans and Brazilians who are in different neighborhoods and realities of Santo Amaro and São Francisco do Conde .
In 2014 I started the OBRE project (Orquestra de Berimbaus do Recôncavo) at UNILAB Campus dos Malês in the city of São Francisco do Conde\ Bahia and at Colégio Estadual Senador Pedro Lago in the city of Santo Amaro \Bahia. The project lasted 02 (two years) and was the bridge for the continuity of this partnership with the University, remaining at the institution giving capoeira training. Still at UNILAB, I started a new project that took the name of Philosophical and Practical Foundations of Capoeira and Samba, adding classes in Maculelê and Toque of the various instruments of Popular Culture: Atabaque, Berimbau, Pandeiro, Agogô. In addition to teaching how to play, the project included classes in making these same instruments. In this process of Sharing the Construction of Knowledge about the various instruments, we brought other mestres from various Capoeira groups, Old Mestres such as Mestre Messias (now deceased) from São Brás district of the Municipality of Santo Amaro and Mestre Felipe Santiago de Santo Amaro, today the Oldest Capoeira Master in the World in activity, 96 years old. We promote several Capoeira events, in which African and Brazilian students graduated, attracting and involving residents of the Baixa Fria Region (São Francisco do Conde) and also in the City of Santo Amaro, absorbing young people from the periphery and downtown.
In 2015 I was in Germany, invited to teach theoretical and practical classes of Capoeira, in several academies in Berlin.
In 2017, I participated in the Training and Qualification course for Cultural Agents held at UFBA, which promoted the qualification of Cultural Agents.
In 2019, we approved the Orquestra de Berimbau project in the Notice published by the Santo Amaro judiciary.
In 2020 I received the "Berimbau de Ouro" Award, dedicated to Capoeiristas and non-capoeiristas who stand out in the Popular Culture sector.
Also in 2020, we were covered by the Aldir Blanc law, which provided for support to cultural groups and associations.
In 2018 I was invited to participate in the International Conference on Culture, Diaspora, Emancipatory Challenges for Contemporary Africa that took place on the island of Praia in Cape Verde\ Africa, having space to speak and being the only Capoeira representative at the event. On this occasion, we visited several high schools conducting practical and theoretical classes talking about Capoeira and also about Popular Culture in Brazil, which was for me a moment of great joy and emotion in being part of this great cultural meeting on African soil.
Following this walk and struggle for popular culture, having come from the union and political struggle, my aspiration is to increasingly research the Popular culture of my territory, share knowledge and invest in the formation of political awareness among us, cultural agents, so that we can have autonomy in our cultural making.
I am a father, grandfather, companion, teacher, student and Santo Amaro who finds in capoeira space to live and express the dream of freedom and rise of the black people, in the appreciation of their culture and their lives.
