The name “N’Golo” was the suggestion of Ms. Rosemary, Mestre José Carlos’ wife. N’Golo refers to a ritual practiced by African ethnic groups from Angola, which is based on a mating ritual performed by zebras. The young men would perform this ritual, in which he who showed the greatest skill could choose his desired wife. Among the Africans enslaved and brought to Brazil, N’Golo gave birth to Capoeira Angola on the plantation grounds. Aspiring to preserve the traditions of capoeira, and the group N’Golo chose a name that best represents its work and goals.

Currently, the Grupo de Capoeira Angola N’Golo seeks to deliver various aspects of Capoeira Angola to its practitioners, including its philosophy of life; its vitality and balance; its history and theory; the rhythms of the berimbau; and the songs that form the basis of capoeira’s ritual.

The secular traditions of Capoeira Angola as a fighting game were honed on the grounds of the quilombos (fugitive slave communities) during Brazil’s colonial period. Its practice was continued over the centuries. Under slavery, it symbolized black people’s resistance against colonial domination and served as a means by which to maintain their cultural identity. Similarly resisting the yoke of social control during the Imperial and Republican periods, capoeira was practiced in the streets of the major urban centers, especially São Salvador, Bahia, São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro, and Recife, Pernambuco.

Mestre Pastinha was a great practitioner of Capoeira Angola in Salvador, Bahia in the beginning of the last century. He founded an academy where he taught, wrote books, recorded albums of capoeira music, and traveled to various locations in order to spread capoeira. Even in his old age, Pastinha was a difficult opponent for young capoeiristas, for whom a game with the master was a struggle.

Capoeira Angola became organized under Mestre Pastinha’s direction. Many mestres were created in his academy, founded in 1941 on Ladeira do Pelourinho number 19. These mestres have ensured the continuation of his legacy in various areas of Brazil and around the world.

Pedro Moraes Trinidade, or Mestre Moraes, was for a while one of Pastinha’s students. For the majority of time that he trained at the academy, Mestre Moraes received Mestre Pastinha’s teachings through Mestre João Grande, who at the time was administering the classes. In the 1970s, Mestre Moraes arrived in Rio de Janeiro to teach Capoeira Angola. In the twelve years that he lived here, he created the contramestres Lumumba and Peçanha. Moraes also made mestres of Marco Aurélio, Braga, Neco, and José Carlos, founder of N’Golo. These mestres are today engaged in the spreading and preservation of Capoeira Angola.

CLASS INFORMATION

MERCADO DAS PULGAS (click for Map!)
Rua Almirante Alexandrino - Largo dos Guimarães
Santa Teresa, Rio de Janeiro RJ
Mondays and Wednesdays from 7 to 10 PM
Saturdays from 10 AM to 1 PM

Prices: single class R$30 / Monthly R$ 100