Manuel dos Reis Machado, commonly called Mestre Bimba (born November 23, 1899, Salvador, Brazil - February 15, 1974) was a mestre (a master practitioner) of the Afro-Brazilian martial art capoeira.
Machado is said to have had two birth certificates, dated 1899 and 1900, respectively. 1900 is the date most commonly used.
The son of Luiz Cândido Machado and Maria Martinha do Bonfim, Manuel was born at the Bairro do Engenho Velho, Salvador. The nick...
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Manuel dos Reis Machado, commonly called Mestre Bimba (born November 23, 1899, Salvador, Brazil - February 15, 1974) was a mestre (a master practitioner) of the Afro-Brazilian martial art capoeira.
Machado is said to have had two birth certificates, dated 1899 and 1900, respectively. 1900 is the date most commonly used.
The son of Luiz Cândido Machado and Maria Martinha do Bonfim, Manuel was born at the Bairro do Engenho Velho, Salvador. The nickname "Bimba" came up due to a bet between his mother and the midwife during his birth; his mother bet that he was going to be a girl and the midwife bet he would be a boy. After he was delivered, the midwife said... it's a boy, look at his bimba (male sexual organ).
He started learning capoeira when he was 12 years old, with a Capitão da Companhia Baiana de Navegação (Navigation Captain) from Estrada das Boiadas (present day Bairro da Liberdade) in Salvador, called Bentinho, even though in those days capoeira was still being persecuted by the...
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