Mestre Imagem do Cão

Imagem do Cão (Image of the Dog) was a Bahian angoleiro who was among the wave of capoeiristas who migrated from Salvador to Rio de Janeiro in the 1950s. His story is one of the least documented among the founders of what would become contemporary capoeira in Rio, yet his name is permanently inscribed in the founding moment of one of the city's most important early groups.

By the time Onça Preta arrived in Rio in the late 1950s, Imagem do Cão was already established in the city, part of a small community of Bahian capoeiristas who had preceded the larger migration. On July 21, 1960, he joined forces with five other Bahian angoleiros - Mucungê, Dois de Ouro, Baleado, Onça Preta, and Roque - to co-found Grupo Filhos de Angola (Sons of Angola) in Rio de Janeiro.

This group represented a cultural movement that pioneered capoeira teaching in Rio's favelas, particularly in the Southern Zone. While Mestre Roque established his academy in Pavão/Pavãozinho and became the most visible leader, Grupo Filhos de Angola was a collective effort by these six Bahian migrants who brought their traditional Angola style to a new city. The group participated in tournaments and competitions that helped disseminate capoeira, including the Berimbau de Ouro (1967), and performed in folkloric exhibitions such as "Uma Noite na Bahia" (A Night in Bahia).

Like his fellow co-founders Baleado and Dois de Ouro, Imagem do Cão remains a figure whose life details are largely lost to history. His full name, birth and death dates, teachers, students, and later activities are undocumented. What survives is his connection to a transformative moment in capoeira history - when Bahian angoleiros established the roots of what would become contemporary capoeira in Rio de Janeiro.

His apelido, meaning "Image of the Dog" or "Dog's Image", follows the tradition of capoeira nicknames that could reference physical appearance, personality traits, or memorable incidents.