Written by Mestre Barrão, this passionate song talks of the transformative power of capoeira - the beauty and strength not only of the art itself but also that which it imbues in it's practitioners. As the head of Grupo Axé Capoeira, Mestre Barrão is world renowned for his skill and teaching. He is a prodigious composer whose music is rooted in the authentic traditions of Brazil, just watch him play atabaque to see a man who feels and works with strong Axé!

Noite de saudade is a very beautiful capoeira song, incorporating capoeira instruments and the violin together. It was written by contra mestre Zé Baixinho of Grupo Mundo Capoeira as a tribute to Antonio Jacaré, perhaps Mestre Jacaré, a mestre who was doing capoeira in Belo Horizonte in the 70s (can anyone confirm this?).

This is a soulful capoeira song created by Mestrando Charm of Grupo Abada Capoeira. Mestrando Charm, aka Jorge Gomes Martins, has been training capoeira since 1976. He was recognised as a Mestrando in Grupo Abada in 1997. He teaches capoeira in Goiania, Brazil.

Mestre Tony Vargas was born and raised in Engenho de Dentro, an area in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He is a mestre of Capoeira in Grupo Senzala. He is well known for his deep voice and skill in capoeira. Here is a very nice song of his, Noite sem Lua:

Contra Mestres Casquinha and Xuxo of CDO wrote the verses to go with this beautiful song. Watch the tutorial with clips of Casquinha himself in action, learn the lyrics, discover more of capoeira's rich mythology and become a better musician yourself.

A patuá is a sacred amulet, magical protection to achieve the famed 'corpo fechado' (protected body) and stay safe in capoeira. As Casquinha tells us a patuá can be anything that is sacred - his berimbau, his friends and the songs that accompany him on life's journey.