Remembering M Pastinha on November 13

    

Mestre Pastinha passed away on this day (November 13) in 1981 in the city of Salvador da Bahia, Brazil.

Let us remember him and celebrate his memory today - and every day - in our rodas and trainings all over the world. He lived his life to preserve what we enjoy today.

Here is a little memory of Pastinha, written by his great friend, the famous Bahian author, Jorge Amado. This comes from Amado's Bahia de Todos os Santos, a unique tour book of the city of Salvador that was published in 1941. Enjoy!

Mestre Vincente Pastinha is more than seventy years old. He is a small light-skinned man, of frightening agility, and uncommon strength. When he begins to “play”, everyone watching thinks, that poor old man with frizzy white hair will fall down in two minutes, knocked over by a young adversary or lack of his own breath. But, oh! There is much more to him than meets the eye! None of this happens. The adversaries come, one after the other, one young man, then another, then another, students or friends of Pastinha, and he beats them all and never tires, he never loses his breath, not even when he dances the “samba of Angola”.

The Escola de Capoeira Angola of Mestre Pastinha, is located on the ladeira do Pelourinho, in the square, on the first floor. From Thursday to Sunday they “play” in the school. But usually on Thursdays, the game is weaker, it is the new students who are training. On Sunday, the well-known capoeiristas come and the party starts in the afternoon.

If you visit Bahia, you should not miss the extraordinary show that is Mestre Pastinha playing capoeira to the sounds of the berimbau in the center of his school. And when he is not playing, he does not rest. He takes a berimbau and leads the singing. For me, Pastinha is one of the important figures of popular life in Bahia. It is imperative to meet him, to talk to him, to listen to his stories, and above all, to see him “playing”, confronting young and vigorous adversaries and knocking them down one by one…

… we should talk about the School of Waldemar, on the Liberdade Highway, where, beyond meeting the mestre of the school, you will meet Traia, a thin, quiet caboclo, made of muscle, a great mestre of capoeira. To watch him play is truly an aesthetic pleasure. He looks like a dancer and only Pastinha himself can compete with him in the beauty of his movement, in agility, in the speed of his blows. When Traia cannot be found at Waldemar’s school, he is nearby at the School of Sete Molas, also in Liberdade. At these schools, the visitor can acquire lovely berimbaus, helping in the development of our national fight…

… But oh! I hope that you never get into a fight with one of these capoeiristas, because however strong you may be, I would not bet on you to win because I am certain that in one minute you would be laid out on the floor, at the disposition of a shining razor blade…

You may however become friends with either one of these and watch a presentation. These capoeiristas are very fine people…

Ie! Viva Pastinha!