Game of Freedom: Mestre Bimba and the Art of Capoeira

Capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian art that blends music, dance, acrobatics and fighting, was outlawed in Brazil in 1890, two years after the country abolished slavery, and those who practiced it in the streets risked beatings and jail. Manoel dos Reis Machado, known as Mestre Bimba, fell in love with the game as a boy in Salvador, Bahia, and grew up to create his own style, open a school in 1932 and help win capoeira recognition as a national sport. Duncan Tonatiuh tells his story in clear prose and his signature artwork, inspired by pre-Columbian codices, and closes with an author's note and glossary. It was a 2024 Orbis Pictus honor book.