ABOUT US
We Live To Help Train You
Owner and head instructor at Capoeira Besouro, Mestre Batata, came to Los Angeles in 2002 and has been teaching here ever since, in addition to traveling and teaching workshops and seminars around the world. Capoeira Besouro teaches a contemporary style of capoeira, teaching students to play capoeira with capoeiristas from different backgrounds, be it Angola or Regional. While many capoeira schools today remain loyal to one style of capoeira, many other schools teach a more contemporary style of capoeira to their students, which combines philosophies from both traditional styles of capoeira. It is the goal of Mestre Batata and Capoeira Besouro to teach its students capoeira which understands the fundamentals of both traditional types of capoeira, but teaching a contemporary capoeira which enables students play in any roda they might encounter.
Capoeira Besouro’s Venice studio offers a beautiful, sprung wood floor and plenty of free parking on-site and on the adjacent side-streets. We welcome students of all ages and abilities to come and try our classes. We hope to see you in class!
MEET THE OWNER
Mestre Batata
Mestre Batata has been studying the art of capoeira since he was child growing up in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and has been teaching capoeira for over thirty years. He became a master in 1995. Mestre Batata started learning capoeira at the age of eight in Rio de Janeiro, taking classes and playing in street rodas. Eventually he joined Capoeira Besouro as a graduated student and started teaching capoeira in his community in Rio.
In 1991 Mestre Batata left Rio de Janeiro for Vitória, Espirito Santo where he founded the Associacão do Grupo Capoeira Besouro Espírito Santo. He dedicated his life in Vitória to working with at-risk youth growing up in the favelas and on the street, using capoeira as a means to keep the children away from drugs and in school. Through various social programs and projects, Mestre Batata positively affected the lives of thousands of youth in Brazil.
Today, he has graduated over thirty instructors, professors, contra-mestres and mestres who continue to work with youth in their communities, passing on the values instilled by Mestre Batata. Mestre Batata has been residing in Los Angeles, California since 2002, though he continues to have an active role with his group and students in Brazil. In California, Mestre Batata along with students and friends of Capoeira Besouro, started a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation, Ginga Arts to work with at-risk youth here in Los Angeles, as well as support capoeira programs for at-risk youth in Brazil.