Mestre Paulo dos Anjos, born José Paulo dos Anjos on August 15, 1936 in Estância, Sergipe, became one of the most skilled and versatile angoleiros of his generation. Orphaned young and the eldest of his siblings, he moved to Bahia, worked early to help his family, and first made a name in Salvador as a promising boxer at age fourteen. A year earlier he had encountered Mestre Canjiquinha, and soon Capoeira eclipsed everything else: Paulo began frequenting the rodas of Bahia, including those connected to Mestre Pastinha.

Formed as a mestre by Mestre Canjiquinha, Paulo dos Anjos became widely respected not only for his jogo but also for his voice and musicality—capoeiristaswould say he carried an “orchestra in his throat.” He recorded songs that preserved the cadence and poetry of Capoeira Angola, and he taught alongside Mestre Gato Preto, giving classes on Itaparica Island and across the Salvador metropolitan region.

In the 1970s he moved to São Paulo, where he founded Anjos de Angola in São José dos Campos and, in 1978, won a Capoeira championship at Pacaembu Gymnasium. Although he often felt Angola was misunderstood in that context, his presence helped plant a firmer respect for tradition. Returning to Salvador in 1980, he became a voice in the movement for better working conditions for capoeiristas and dedicated himself to work with underprivileged children, treating Capoeira as an educational path to critical and creative thinking.

From 1987 he was active in the Associação Brasileira de Capoeira Angola (ABCA), balancing his cultural work with public service at Salvador’s town hall. His teaching lineage is extensive—among those who would go on to lead academies and rodas are Virgílio do Retiro, Jaime de Mar Grande, Jorge Satélite, Pássaro Preto, Amâncio, Neguinho, Renê, Alfredo, Djalma, Galego, Mala, Josias, Cabeção, Jequié, Feijão, Vital, and Al Capone, among others.

A staunch guardian of tradition, Paulo dos Anjos resisted the fashions and shortcuts of modern capoeira: “For me, nothing has changed. I continue practicing Capoeira Angola according to tradition.” His jogo—sharp, witty, and deeply musical—kept alive the spirit of his masters while speaking to new generations.

Mestre Paulo dos Anjos passed away in Salvador on March 26, 1999, due to a hospital-acquired infection after surgery. His death was an irreparable loss for Capoeira—especially for the Angola lineage—but his songs, students, and principles continue to resonate in rodas throughout Bahia, Brazil, and the world.