What does a capoeira mestre have to do with Carmen Miranda? Read this passage about Mestre Canjiquinha from the book “Capoiera Angola - Ensaio Sócio Etnografico” by Waldeloir Rego to find out:
Canjiquinha (Washington Bruno da Silva) was born in Salvador on September 25, 1925. He was a student of the famous capoeista Raimundo Aberrê, from Santo Amaro de Purificação.
In regards to his knickname, he explains that is was given to him by his friend named Dálton Barros, in 1938 because of a samba-batuque called Canjiquniha quente, written by Roberto Martins, sung by Carmen Miranda with the band
Conjunto Regional de Benedtio Larcerda, and recorded by Odeon in 1937… and this was the only thing that he knew how to sing, which he would do constantly. And for this his friend took the initiative to give him this knickname.
Canjiquniha is young and agile, he is a talented singer and musician. He sings like few others and with a vast repertoire and even has a great facility for improvising, and of all, it is he who has most contributed to the adaptation of other types of songs into the folklore of capoeira. Many of the songs mentioned in this book were collected from Canjiquinha.
Of all the Bahian capoeiristas, he was the most invited to participate in exhibitions, trips around Brazil, and he even acted in the movies, in both short and feature length films… As a mestre de capoeira, he worked on the feature films: “Os Bandeirantes”, “Barravento”, “O Pagador de Promessas”, “Senhor dos Navegantes”, “Samba”, and many short films.
Careful with the songs that get stuck in your head! You may just end up with a new capoeira knickname.
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