Mestre Ulisses started practicing Capoeira in his hometown of Sobradinho (DF) in 1979 with Mestre Bené. In 1980 he became a member of the Grupo Beumar de Capoeira and in 1983 he was one of the founding members of the Grupo União na Capoeira, under the supervision of Mestre Umoi. In 1997 he went to Portugal as a Contra-Mestre, giving regular classes and workshops in various locations, including several social projects with youth in precarious conditions. In 2000 he was graduated as Mestre de Capoeira and in 2003 he created the Associação Sócio-Cultural de Capoeira Preservação da Mandinga, to further develop his work with Capoeira. Since 2005 he has been doing continuous work with school children aged between 6 and 13 in Alcácer-do-Sal and most recently, since 2009, with pre-school children in Odemira. He supervises the group in Berlin developed since 2007 by his disciple, Professor Ganso. After he moved to Europe, Mestre Ulisses participated in many Capoeira events and taught classes in several countries, including Germany, Norway, Italy, Spain, Poland and Sweden. He contributes in a positive way to the work developed by other Mestres and teachers, with whom he further deepens his knowledge. He continuously tries to transmit this knowledge to his students, while learning from every one of them. Within Preservação da Mandinga he also works together with teachers from other artistic movement disciplines with the aim of disseminating their cultural manifestations in several countries, through performances and workshops. He believes Capoeira is a way of self-growth with which is possible to help the people’s development by potentiating their capacities while respecting their limitations.
