Meet the LC Team
Faisca, Production & Marketing
Faisca found capoeira in college in 1999, and that was pretty much the end of his normal life. He soon became a saught-after teacher at batizados and events, for his explosive style and uncanny ability to explain and break down physical movement. It’s a good thing there are girls who play capoeira, or he may have never met anyone. Luckily he met a capoeirista named Pipoca, proposed, and proceeded to have a roda at their wedding reception. Since then, he has managed to make time for one or two things in his life other than capoeira, namely his daughter and fishing, with a little business on the side.
Pipoca, UI & Development
Pipoca found capoeira in 2000 and knew she’d finally found the reason she’d been practicing back flips all those years. She had little trouble changing from Spanish to Portuguese, tango to samba, parrilla to churrasco, much to the dismay of her Argentine grandparents (though she continues to sport blue and white during soccer season to maintain good relations). Pipoca’s organizational fanaticism coupled with passion for capoeira has found a welcome outlet online. We’re happy she thinks through the details so we can surf through websites with ease. Her attention to detail carries over into her hobbies, which is why you should really see her digital recipe book or taste her gourmet curry and naan some day.
Brent, Production
Brent is as close to a proper nerd as we have on the team. He understands words like “???,” and can spend days staring at a computer screen editing videos without any permanent side effects. We love how his documentary style and ability to instruct through a camera captures the complexities of capoeira in ways we never thought possible, and though he plans to extend documentary film making reach, he enjoys working on capoeira videos too much to break away. When he is not editing, he balances out all that indoor time by hiking with the scouts, playing baseball, and doing a little construction management on the side.
Amber, Marketing
Amber never met a research project she didn’t like. Sometimes we throw her a research question like “How many capoeiristas in Albania have ever traveled to Bahia?” just to keep her happy. She came to us after running her own copy editing company, and grudgingly admits that capoeira is cooler than copy editing. When not working on research or marketing, Amber dances hip-hop, runs, or tends to her two cows and two children.
Mestrando Jamaika, Instructor & Advisory Board
World renowned Capoeira player and instructor Mestrando Jamaika (Mauro Romualdo) found his passion for Capoeira at age seven as a native of Teixeira de Freitas, Bahia, Brazil. By age 15 he was traveling throughout Brazil to train and compete, later winning three consecutive titles in the 1996, 1997 and 1998 Brazilian Capoeira Confederation Championships, all before age 20.
Certified to teach under the title of “Professor” in 1997, Mestrando Jamaika’s exceptional skill and explosive acrobatic talent have since placed him among the most sought-after instructors within the Capoeira community, teaching and performing at workshops and events throughout the US, Israel, Mexico and Brazil for the past 20 years. You might recognize him from roles in various independent films, documentaries and music videos, or as Shockwave’s popular Capoeira Fighter 3 video game character, appropriately named “Jamaika.”
In September of 2004, Jamaika was awarded the title of “Mestrando,” the rank preceeding that of a Mestre or “Master,” by Mestre Loka with Mestres Amen Santo (Only the Strong) and Dem?ius in attendance.
Mestrando Jamaika’s vision has been to bring Capoeira to the masses, ignited by aspiring Capoeiristas met in his travels who have petitioned him to share his skill online for years. Partnering with LearnCapoeira.com since spring 2006, Mestrando Jamaika is excited to finally fulfill that dream, sharing his passion for the unique art of Capoeira with new and experienced Capoeiristas across the global Capoeira community.
