MESTRE SUASUNNA - Reinaldo Ramos Suassuna

Mestre Suassuna, or Reinaldo Ramos Suassuna, was born on July 4th, 1942 in Ilheus, Bahia. He was 12 years old when his mother, thinking that he was too skinny and frail, forced him to play capoeira. He began his training in Ilheus and nearby Itabuna with the ancient capoeiristas since there weren’t many Mestres (masters) at that time. The only ones he would hear about were Mestre Pastinha and Mestre Bimba, both from Salvador. He went to Salvador and became a student of Mestre Bimba, the creator of Capoeira Regional.

In the mid 60’s, he left Bahia and went to Sao Paulo to expand capoeira, along with Mestre Brasilia, Joel and Pinatti. He founded ACRESP (Academia Capoeira Regional de Sao Paulo) with their help and built a reputation as an awesome capoeirista. He went on to partner with Mestre Brasilia in 1965, placing their academy behind an existing one. Through hard work and perseverence, it gained recognition, and on September 1st 1966 Academia de Capoeira Cordao de Ouro was founded.

Cordao de ouro is the name of an ancient capoeirista known for his his mythical ability to avoid capture. Cordao de ouro(gold chain) is the nickname of besouro valente, a folk hero in salvador, bahia.