Adama

Adama was one of the feared valentões (tough guys) of Recife during the First Republic era, and a skilled capoeirista. According to Oscar Mello, the crime reporter and author of "Recife Sangrento" (1937), Adama handled the knife with surprising agility and was a specialist in the rasteira, one of capoeira's signature leg sweep techniques.

Beyond his fighting reputation, Adama was deeply connected to Recife's Afro-Brazilian cultural traditions. He loved carnival and served as the founder and director of Maracatu "Oriente Pequeno", a carnival group that commanded respect from other organizations due to his fame as a valentão.

Adama was part of a broader network of capoeiristas who dominated Recife's streets in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These valentões simultaneously provoked horror, respect, and fascination among the population. Many served as bodyguards for politicians during elections and walked openly armed through the streets of Santo Antônio, São José, and Afogados.

In 1907, Adama was involved in disturbances on a train returning from a religious festival, alongside Eleutério de Souza and Formigão—fellow valentões of the era. The following year, 1908, proved to be the last for his Maracatu "Oriente Pequeno", as the group entered into conflict first with Maracatu "Centro Grande" and then with Club "Lenhadores".

His illiteracy is documented in the "Livro de Entrada e Saída de Presos" (Book of Entry and Exit of Prisoners), an indication that he spent time in detention—a common fate for capoeiristas during the period of criminalization.

Among Recife's legendary valentões—Jovino dos Coelhos, Nicolau do Poço, João de Totó, and the mighty Nascimento Grande—Adama held his own as one of the "two greatest valentões" of the city, standing alongside the legendary stevedore.