Marcelo “Professor Côco” Fagundes
Co-founder & Artistic Director, ACBX
Marcelo Fagundes, better known as Professor Côco, was born in São Paulo, Brazil and began training capoeira at the age of nine in Curitiba, Parana. He began to teach children at the age of 16 under Jorge Luiz de Freitas A.K.A. Mestrando Piriquito Verde’s supervision. This program served as the foundation for the development of a teaching methodology emphasizing on the adaptation of traditional games to capoeira lessons, thus allowing teachers to engage students more fully. This program served as the research lab to better understand the psychology of children and to teach the many disciplines of capoeira more effectively. This pivotal work yielded the publication of a series of books by Mestrando Piriquito. These books have become invaluable resources for capoeiristas who teach children, in and outside of the ABADÁ-Capoeira organization.
After years of teaching and traveling throughout Brazil, Professor Côco relocated to Mexico in 2003 where he founded the ABADÁ-Capoeira Guadalajara chapter. In 2009, he participated in an artist residency with ABADÁ-Capoeira San Francisco, training under renowned martial artist Mestranda Marcia “Cigarra” Treidler.
Professor Côco’s passion for capoeira, charisma and engaging teaching approach shine through his work. Since his early beginnings, Professor Côco has nurtured creativity to teach capoeira programs and explore new ways in which capoeira can positively impact his students.