Mestre Cobra Mansa
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Cinézio Feliciano Peçanha (born 1958 in S. João de Meriti, Rio de Janeiro suburb, Brazil) Mestre Cobra Mansa, more commonly known as Cobrinha, is a mestre or master of Capoeira Angola. He is one of the founders and the guiding light of an organization known either as FICA (in Brazil, which is an acronym for Fundacao International de Capoeira de Angola) or ICAF (in English, which stands for the International Capoeira Angola Foundation, which is literally the translation for the words which make up the acronym FICA). The word "fica" in Portuguese means "you stay" (second person declaritive) which isn't necessarily significant, but because it has a meaning it is slightly more catchy in Portuguese than ICAF is in English. FICA/ICAF is the largest Capoeira Angola organization in the world, consisting of many local affiliates, chapters, and training centers incorporated as not-for-profits in the United States which charge nominal annual membership fees, as well as having locations in many other countries.
Mestre Cobrinha is well known in the world of Capoeira. He was a student of Mestre Moraes, and he comes from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Prior to his life becoming dedicated to Capoeira Angola he has stated that he both worked in Circuses, as a policeman, and that he studied Capoeira Regional.
[edit] History
At some point in the past Mestres Cobrinha and Moraes had a philosophical difference of opinion about the direction of the school where they were both authority figures, the Grupo Capoeira Angola Pelorinho or GCAP. The result of this was the departure of Mestre Cobrinha and some other members of GCAP and the creation of FICA.
Cobrinha had moved to the United States and opened a school in Washington DC around 1994 which was solely dedicated to Capoeira Angola and where he lived and taught until 2004 when he officially left the United States to make his home in Bahia, Brazil in order to create a space dedicated to teaching Capoeira Angola close to its home in Salvador, Bahia, the cradle of Capoeira Angola.
[edit] His style
Mestre Cobrinha is well known as a mestre of Capoeira Angola. He is known for his deep knowledge of the historical and cultural underpinnings for Capoeira Angola, as well as for his dynamic and aggressive style of play in the roda.
