For me capoeira is where I forget the bitter things of life, it is where I retrieve my greatest happiness, where I always feel an inner peace and greater joy in my life. Capoeira connects my body and soul, it is where I give myself the joy of every day, using capoeira as an instrument of peace and friendship, always looking to make it my tool to meet new friends.

I believe that the capoeirista, when he discovers his potential to be a great artist, must find his inner change and gradually develop his own originality, he must find a deeper way to be unique.

How did I decide to train capoeira?

Well to answer that question I will lead you on a journey into time, exactly in the year 1987, to my hometown, Guaratinguetá a small town in the state of São Paulo, Brazil.

The Cordão de Ouro capoeira group, in association with the town administration was working with needy children in the area where I lived. I remember having had seen a capoeira presentation before in my school and I was amazed with what the capoeiristas (the people who do capoeira) could do their body. One day my mother arrived in our house after the market and told me that there were some people registering to learn capoeira at the local samba school. I was super excited and I went straight way to sign up, a few weeks later I had my first capoeira class. It's been 23 years since that first day and I still enjoy capoeira as much as I did back then, in fact my love for capoeira only got greater.

A few words about myself

My name is Rodrigo Gonçalves, in the world of capoeira people know me as Contra-Mestre Casquinha. I was born in a small town in São Paulo state. My start in capoeira has not been the easiest, as with many of the lower-class children in Brazilian families, our income wass not the best so I had to work since the age of 11 to help my family.

My mother sewed cloth bags to do my pants so I could train. I always believed in capoeira as a place to recharge my energies to always be able to see life in a more lively and healthy way. At 18 I went to work on a cruise ship that made a trip round the coast of South America and Europe. I spent two years working with capoeira shows, music and dance, it was a wonderful experience. Then in 2000 I went to London in England where together with my friend Mestre Poncianinho I got a job doing classes, capoeira shows and dance. Since then I have worked in many kinds of shows and the show business industry including films such as Vanity Fair, 28 weeks later, 66, the famous BBC One ident / MasterCard / Nike / Addidas / Hugo Boss / Calvin Klein, the Urban music show, Trust with Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, and many others. These days I travel every year to many countries to give workshops and teach the art of capoeira.