Vadiação, a 1954 Documentary of Capoeira in Bahia

Rolha Capoeira

1 minute read

YouTube channel Raridades da Capoeira recently shared Vadiação, a short but fascinating documentary of capoeira produced in 1954 in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. The film’s opening credits mention (in Portuguese) “director A. Robatto Filho”, “berimbaus and singers of Mestre Bimba”, “game players of Mestre Valdemar”, and the names Caribé, Paulo Jatobá, Manoel Ribeiro, and Silvio Robatto as “collaborators”.

Footage of capoeira from this period is indeed rare and it’s wonderful to see it preserved digitally for today’s capoeiristas to enjoy and study.