Miguel Camisa Preta

Alfredo Francisco Soares, known as Miguel Camisa Preta ("Michael Black Shirt") or simply Miguelzinho, was one of the most famous capoeiristas and malandros in Rio de Janeiro during the early twentieth century. Nicknamed the "príncipe dos bambas" (prince of bambas), he left his mark on the history of capoeiras, malandros, and tough guys who populated the bohemian streets of the "Cidade Maravilhosa".

His criminal career is documented from 1902 until his death in 1912. During this period, he embodied the transition from the old capoeira gangs of the Empire—the Nagoas and Guaiamús who had been suppressed after 1889—to the new generation of malandros who continued capoeira traditions in the early Republic despite criminalization. Researchers have studied his trajectory to understand the continuities and ruptures that marked the role of capoeiras as central figures in electoral fraud during republican Rio de Janeiro.

In the 1909 elections for the Municipal Intendence Council, Miguel worked as a cabo eleitoral (electoral agent), a role that capoeiristas had filled since the days of the Empire when gang federations allied with Conservative and Liberal parties to manipulate elections. This political function—using violence and intimidation to influence voting—was a key survival strategy for capoeiristas after the 1890 criminalization.

Miguel's great friend was the capoeirista Leão do Norte ("Lion of the North"), described as a "tough capoeira from the streets". Around 1911, police officer Elpídio Ribeiro da Rocha killed Leão do Norte. Miguel swore vengeance. The two men confronted each other at least twice before the final encounter. In one previous confrontation, Miguel was shot in the leg and both men ended up at the police station. After recovering, Miguel disappeared from public view for about a year.

On the dawn of Friday, July 12, 1912, Miguel was at Rua Núncio in downtown Rio de Janeiro (today the intersection of Avenida Tomé de Souza and Visconde do Rio Branco), talking with a merchant named Antônio Júlio Xavier. Cabo Elpídio Ribeiro da Rocha appeared, accompanied by Manoel Tibúrcio Garcia. According to the newspapers A Gazeta de Notícias and A Noite, both officers promised the malandro they would not shoot if he raised his hands. As soon as Miguel raised his arms, Elpídio shot him in the head. With his body on the ground, the cabo fired four more shots—into his head again, his left hand, shoulder, and abdomen.

That was the end of the most famous tough guy, bohemian, capoeirista, and malandro who inhabited the streets of Rio de Janeiro at the beginning of the twentieth century. But his story did not end with his death.

Miguel Camisa Preta became a spiritual entity in Umbanda, worshipped in various corners of Brazil. In his "falange" (family of entities), he introduces himself with various names depending on the location: Miguelim do Morro, Mané Soares, and others. Some practitioners distinguish between Malandro Miguel, Malandro Camisa Preta, and Malandro Miguel Camisa Preta as separate entities; others connect him to Zé Pelintra as a spiritual descendant. His mission in the spiritual realm is said to involve helping those struggling with addiction and those caught up in trafficking—using his street wisdom for redemption rather than perdition.