Ana, Deolinda e Isabel, Capoeristas

Since the nineteenth century, capoeira has also been a feminine space. Many women appear in police reports and newspaper complaints in cities such as Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Recife and São Luís. In 1878, the Jornal do Comércio reported that some “Black women” had been “arrested for being capoeiras.” Isabel Maria da Conceição and Ana Clara Maria Andrade, along with Deolinda, an enslaved woman, were detained after challenging the police authorities during a “fierce fight.” The news report presents them as “experts in capoeiragem” and “fearless.” In Rio de Janeiro, these and other women were certainly part of the two large groups of capoeiras, the Nagoas and the Guaimaus.