The son of José Señor Pastinha and Eugênia Maria de Carvalho, Vicente Ferreira Pastinha was born on April 5th, 1889 in Salvador-BA, Brazil. Mestre Pastinha was exposed to capoeira at the age of 8 by an African name Benedito. An older and stronger boy from Pastinha's neighborhood use to beat him up often. One day Benedito saw the aggression then told Pastinha to stop by his house that he was going to teach him few things. The next encounter with that boy, Pastinha defeated him so quickly that the older boy became his admirer. Mestre Pastinha had a happy and modest childhood. During the mourning he would take art classes at the Liceu de Artes e Ofício school where he learned to paint; during the afternoons he would play with kites and practice capoeira. He continued his training with Benedito for three more years. Later, he joined a sailor school by his father wish, which would not support the capoeira practice. At the school, he use to teach capoeira to his friends. At the age of 21, he left the sailor school to become a professional painter. During the spare time he would practice capoeira stealthily, since it was still illegal at that time. In 1941, by Aberrê (Patinha's ex student) invitation, Pastinha went to a Sunday roda at "ladeira do Gengibirra" located at bairro da Liberdade, where the best masters would hang out. Aberrê was already famous on these rodas, and after spending the afternoon there, one of the greatest master of Bahia, mestre Amorzinho, asked Pastinha to take over the Capoeira Angola. As a result, in 1942 Pastinha found the first Angola school, the "Centro Esportivo de Capoeira Angola", located at the Pelourinho. His students would wear black pants and yellow t-shirt, the same color of the "Ypiranga Futebol Clube", his favorite soccer time. He participated with the Brazilian delegation of the "First International Festival de Artes Negras" in Dakar, Senegal(1966), bringing with him Mestre João Grande, Mestre Gato Preto, Mestre Gildo Alfinete, Mestre Roberto Satanás and Camafeu de Oxossi. Pastinha worked as shoe shiner, tailor, gold prospector, security guard (leão de chácara) at a gambling house (casa de jogo) and construction worker at the "Porto de Salvador" to maintain him financially so he could do what he loved the most, be an Angoleiro. Betrayed by local authorities false promises and with no support, Pastinha was left abandoned in a city shelter (abrigo D. Pedro II - Salvador), blind and very sick. He dedicated his entire life to capoeira angola, and in April 12th, 1981, he played his last capoeira game. Mestre Pastinha, the father and protector of Capoeira Angola, died at the age of 92, in November 13th, 1981.

 Information on other important Capoeira mestres: http://capoeiranyc.com/mestres.html

Zumbi was the last of the leaders of the Quilombo dos Palmares, in the present-day state of Alagoas, Brazil. A quilombo was a refuge of runaway slaves. Quilombo dos Palmares was a self-sustaining republic of Maroons escaped from the Portuguese settlements in Brazil, "a region perhaps the size of Portugal in the hinterland of Bahia" (Braudel 1984 p 390). At its height, Palmares had a population of over 30,000. Forced to defend against repeated attacks by Portuguese colonial power, the warriors of Palmares were expert in Capoeira. An African known only as Zumbi was born free in Palmares in 1655, but was captured by the Portuguese and given to a missionary, Father Antonio Melo when he was approximately 6 years old. Baptized Francisco, Zumbi was taught the sacraments, learned Portuguese and Latin, and helped with daily mass. Despite attempts to "civilize" him, Zumbi escaped in 1670 and, at the age of 15, returned to his birthplace. Zumbi became known for his physical prowess and cunning in battle and was a respected military strategist by the time he was in his early twenties. By 1678, the governor of the captaincy of Pernambuco, Pedro Almeida, weary of the longstanding conflict with Palmares, approached its leader Ganga Zumba with an olive branch. Almeida offered freedom for all runaway slaves if Palmares would submit to Portuguese authority, a proposal which Ganga Zumba favored. But Zumbi was distrustful of the Portuguese. Further, he refused to accept freedom for the people of Palmares while other Africans remained enslaved. He rejected Almeida's overture and challenged Ganga Zumba's leadership. Vowing to continue the resistance to Portuguese oppression, Zumbi became the new leader of Palmares. Fifteen years after Zumbi assumed leadership of Palmares, Portuguese military commanders Domingos Jorge Velho and Vieira de Mello mounted an artillery assault on the quilombo. February 6, 1694, after 67 years of ceaseless conflict with the Cafuzos, or Maroons, of Palmares, the Portuguese succeeded in destroying Cerca do Macaco, the republic's central settlement. Palmares' warriors were no match for the Portuguese artillery; the republic fell, and Zumbi was wounded. Though he survived and managed to elude the Portuguese, he was betrayed, captured almost two years later and beheaded on the spot Novenber 20, 1695. The Portuguese transported Zumbi's head to Recife, where it was displayed in the central praça as proof that, contrary to popular legend among African slaves, Zumbi was not immortal. It was also done as a warning of what would happen to others if they tried to be as brave as him. Remnants of the old quilombos continued to reside in the region for another hundred years. Today, November is celebrated, chiefly in Rio de Janeiro, as a day of national pride. The day has special meaning for Afro-Brazilians, who honor Zumbi as a hero, freedom fighter and a symbol of freedom.