Mestre Mala

Mestre Mala was one of the original co-founders of the Associação de Capoeira 3 Amigos in 1974, alongside Mestre Mau (Marcelino dos Santos) and Mestre Bom Cabrito (Mário Rodrigues Ferreira do Rosário). This association followed the Angola lineage and was significant for being a space where the elderly Mestre Cobrinha Verde felt at home on Sundays.

The Associação de Capoeira 3 Amigos also co-founded the Grupo Folclórico Filhos de Oxalá in 1974, along with Mestre Zeca (José Souza Góes, known as Gatinho, son of Mestre Gato Preto). Mestre Mau proudly asserted that this was possibly "the only academy in Brazil and in the world where the most authentic capoeira de Angola survives."

Mala appears in group photographs from the 1990s alongside prominent Bahian angoleiros including Mestres Boa Gente, Boca Rica, Curió, Gildo Alfinete, Bigodinho, Mário Bom Cabrito, Pelé da Bomba, and Moa do Katendê. These photographs, from the collections of Lucia Correia Lima, Serginho Junior, and Ney Cruz, document his continued presence in Salvador's Angola community.

The source article listing the most significant capoeira masters originating from the Angola style includes Mala alongside luminaries such as Cobrinha Verde, João Pequeno, João Grande, Bom Cabrito, Gato (Preto), Waldemar, Marcelino (Mau), Virgílio, Bobó Babosa, Canjiquinha, Curió, and Caiçara.