Mestre Amen Santo is an

Afro-Brazilian Afro-Brazilians ( pt, afro-brasileiros; ) are Brazilians who have predominantly African ancestry (see "Black people#Brazil, preto"). Most members of another group of people, Pardo Brazilians, multiracial Brazilians or ''pardos'', may also have a ...

mestre (master) of the

acrobatic Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance (ability), balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sports, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most ...

martial art Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...

capoeira Capoeira () is an Afro-Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics, music and spirituality. Born of the melting pot of enslaved Africans, Indigenous Brazilians and Portuguese influences at the beginning of the 16th century ...

. He has

acted Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development, commonly known as ACTED, is a French humanitarian non-governmental organisation. It is a non-governmental, non-political and non-profit organisatio. ACTED works in 37 countries responding to eme ...

in roles practicing his art in two

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

movie A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

s, '' Only The Strong'' and ''

Kickboxer 4 ''Kickboxer 4'' (stylized on-screen as ''Kickboxer 4: The Aggressor'') is a 1994 American direct-to-video martial arts film directed by Albert Pyun. The film is the fourth entry in the ''Kickboxer'' film series. This was the last film to star S ...

'', and created much of the former's

fight choreography Stage combat, fight craft or fight choreography is a specialised technique in theatre designed to create the illusion of physical combat without causing harm to the performers. It is employed in live stage plays as well as operatic and ballet p ...

. He was born in

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") 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 (sta ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. According to himself in the interview to papoeira.com, he became interested in capoeira when he first saw it as a 6-year-old accompanying his mother to the supermarket. "The first time I saw Capoeira I was 6 years old when I went to the supermarket called Mercado de Aguinelo, where there was a roda that Master Waldemar always made, right in front of this supermarket." He

emigrate Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

d to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

sometime later and began teaching capoeira in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. He is founding director of ''Capoeira Batuque'' group of capoeiristas, and currently oversees the group's schools internationally. The countries his schools are in are Japan, Dubai, Germany and the homeland of Capoeira in Brazil, Headquarters are located in Los Angeles, USA. He is also the father of three children.

External links

Information Page at Capoeira4All
* http://capoeirabatuque.org * http://www.papoeira.com/pt/2018/11/06/entrevista-com-mestre-amen-santo/ Capoeira mestres Afro-Brazilian people Living people Year of birth missing (living people) {{dance-stub