Mestre Zeca do Uruguai — The Old Masters of the Lower City
Ribeira • Massaranduba • Bonfim • Uruguai — Salvador

In the history of Salvador’s Lower City, where sea wind and street rhythm shape the roda, Mestre Zeca do Uruguai stands as a quiet architect of style. While the legends of Besouro, Cobrinha Verde, and Gato Preto often take center stage, Zeca’s contribution runs like an underground stream—steady, essential, and felt in the way many capoeiristas still listen to the berimbau.

Those who knew him remember a short, sharp, straight-talking man—“cunning, truthful, sure of himself”—a docker with a big mustache and a presence that could hush a corner. Zeca’s school wasn’t a sign over a door