Mestre Cobra Mansa, FICA

A native of Rio de Janeiro, Mestre Cobra Mansa has dedicated the last 30 years of his life to training, teaching, researching, and preserving Capoeira Angola. He began practicing Capoeira Angola at the age of 14. In the 1970’s, he started studying with Mestre Moraes. With Mestre Moraes, he and others founded Grupo de Capoeira Angola Pelourinho (GCAP) in 1982. In 1994 he brought a branch of GCAP to Washington, DC and two years later, he left GCAP to form the International Capoeira Angola Foundation (ICAF) in Washington, DC. Mestre Cobra Mansa now resides in Brazil and continues to travel the world teaching and promoting Capoeira Angola.