Mestre Zé-do-Lenço (José Alves) — Salvador, Bahia

In the late 1950s, a young man from Irará named José Alves arrived in Retiro, Salvador, at a time when the neighborhood still carried the echo of Mestre Espinho Remoso. During the 1930s and 40s, Espinho had turned Jaqueira do Carneiro into a Sunday anchor for the community, drawing capoeiristas like Mestre Valdemar da Pero Vaz, Zacarias Boa Morte, Gigantinho, and Ferrugem. After Espinho’s passing in 1960, Retiro lost that weekly heartbeat.

José Alves stepped into that gap the hard way. In 1962 he began training with Espinho’s sons, Raimundo and Valdir, in the same Jaqueira do Carneiro. Classes ran on Thursdays and Saturdays in an old house that had no electricity. They rigged a line from a neighbor so the training could happen, and more than once the night ended in scuffles. José was not yet a standout fighter, but he played pandeiro and brought a berimbau with a tin gourd, which meant the roda could start and the circle could hold.

Retiro was not always welcoming. On training days some neighbors would mutter, “Here comes the master of the mess. No one will rest for hours.” Even so, the group grew. A meeting gathered José Alves, Raimundo, Cecílio, Ubirajara, Ivo, Carlinho, Enoque, and others to choose a leader and a nickname. Near the Retiro slaughterhouse worked a butcher and sambista known as José do Lenço. Friends noticed how José Alves’s ginga danced like that man’s samba. The joke stuck, the name stuck, and soon the neighborhood was calling him Mestre Zé-do-Lenço.

Through Mestre Diogo—afoster son of Espinho Remoso—Zé-do-Lenço and the others received guidance that tied them back to Espinho’s school. From that connection grew a living tribute remembered as the Relíquia Espinho Remoso. Zé-do-Lenço’s role was not only to train. He helped restore a neighborhood roda, protect a musical tradition, and carry forward the names that built Retiro’s memory.

Lineage and companions
Espinho Remoso’s pupils included Loriano, João Catarino, Dario do Pandeiro, Barbosa da Boca do Rio, Buiu, Diogo, Florzinho, Florisvaldo, Moisés, Valdomiro, Chico Zoião, Firmino, Valdir, and Limão. Zé-do-Lenço learned among them and then helped the next circle stand.

Legacy
In Retiro’s story, Mestre Zé-do-Lenço is the hinge between the era of Espinho Remoso and the generation that refused to let the berimbau fall silent. He turned a nickname into responsibility and a small, improvised classroom into a community again.