Ubirajara (Bira) Guimarães Almeida (born 1943), known as Mestre Acordeon, is a native of

Salvador Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to: * Salvador (name) Arts, entertainment, and media Music *Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music ** ''Salvador'' ( ...

Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

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, and a ''

mestre Mestre () is a borough of the comune of Venice on the mainland opposite the historical island city in the region of Veneto, Italy. Administratively, Mestre forms (together with the nearby Carpenedo) the Municipalità di Mestre-Carpenedo, one ...

'' of the Brazilian martial art

Capoeira Capoeira () is an Afro-Brazilian martial art and game that includes elements of dance, acrobatics, capoeira music, music, and spirituality. It likely originated from enslaved Mbundu people, of the Kingdom of Ndongo, in present-day Angola. The ...

. His international reputation as a teacher, performer, musician, organizer, and author is built upon fifty years of active practice, as well as research into the origins, traditions, political connotations, and contemporary trends of Capoeira. Mestre Acordeon has traveled extensively to promote Capoeira outside Brazil.Almeida, Bira ''Capoeira: A Brazilian Art Form'', 2nd Ed.

North Atlantic Books North Atlantic Books is a non-profit, independent publisher based in Berkeley, California, United States. Distributed by Penguin Random House Publisher Services, North Atlantic Books is a mission-driven social justice-oriented publisher. Founded ...

, 1993.

Biography

Acordeon was a student of

Mestre Bimba Manuel dos Reis Machado, commonly called Mestre Bimba (; November 23, 1900 – February 5, 1974), was a Brazilian capoeira ''mestre'' and the founder of the '' capoeira regional'' style. Bimba was one of the best capoeiristas of his time, undefe ...

in the late 1950s, and began teaching Capoeira himself in the early 1960s. In 1966, he founded the Grupo Folclorico da Bahia that performed the show ''Vem Camará: Histórias de Capoeira'' in th
Teatro Jovem
in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. The show presented an approach to Capoeira that influenced a new generation of young capoeiristas and affirmed the concept of grupo de Capoeira and today’s '' capoeira regional''. He won three Brazilian Capoeira National Championships in the 1970s. At the end of 1978 Mestre Acordeon came to the

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and soon introduced Capoeira to the West Coast. 1979 became a turning point in the global growth trajectory of Capoeira. Since then, and for the past four decades Mestre Acordeon has been the guiding light to a generation of Capoeira practitioners who followed him north to make a good living abroad through their art. Mestre Acordeon maintains th
United Capoeira Association
(UCA) with several associated schools. He also has created th
Capoeira Arts Foundation
in

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California *George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer to ...

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which sponsors UCA an
Projeto Kirimurê
a social program for children in the neighborhood o
Itapoã
in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Mestre Acordeon's most recent endeavor was reminiscent in its audacity of his original journey to bring Capoeira to the West Coast of the United States nearly forty years ago. At the age of 70, on Labor Day 2013, he, his wife Suellen Einarsen also known as Mestra Suelly and nine of his disciples embarked on a 14,000 miles bicycle journey from Berkeley to his home town of Salvador de Bahia in Brazil. Their purpose was to raise funds and awareness fo
Projeto Kirimurê
via making a documentary and a music CD about Capoeira's development in the Americas and about the year long journey. A
www.b2bjogacapoeira.com
you can find
trailer
of the so far completed work. Mestre Acordeon still spends much of his time traveling the world to teach Capoeira. Each year thousands of Capoeira students in all the world travel long distances to get a chance to learn from him.

Works

Acordeon has recorded 9 CDs, and produced 3 DVDs. He is also the author of articles and books about Capoeira, including: * ''Agua de Beber, Camará: A bate Papo de Capoeira'', * ''Capoeira Arts Café: An Academia de Capoeira.'' * ''Capoeira: A Brazilian Art Form''

Recognition

He has received honors in support of his practice, teaching, and research of Capoeira. Among them, in the Fall of 1994, he became the first "artist" to receive the Tinker Visiting Professorship at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

. In 2008, in recognition of his thirty years of continuous work on the West Coast, the City of Berkeley proclaimed October 18 as ''Mestre Acordeon Day''.Miao, Daisy.
Berkeley festival to celebrate Capoeira master
.
Oakland Tribune
'. Oct 12, 2008

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Almeida, Bira 1943 births Living people Brazilian folklorists Capoeira mestres People from Salvador, Bahia Musicians from Salvador, Bahia