Profesor Espantalho
Eugene King, also known as Profesor Espantalho, was born in San Francisco and raised in Mexico. He returned to San Francisco in 1994 when he began training with Mestre Preguiça. He began teaching capoeira in 1996, and has traveled the world for capoeira to locations including Mexico, Canada, and Brazil. Espantalho teaches physical education and dance for the Mount Diablo Unified School district. For fun, he enjoys dancing, making capoeira instruments, and spending time with his daughter.
Instrutor Baqueta
Born and raised in San Francisco, Armando Ibarra, Instrutor Baqueta, has over 20 years of training in Martial Arts. He has been studying for over a decade with Omulu Capoeira under the direction of the legendary Mestre Preguiça. Capoeira helped him shape his focus by always having the need for self improvement and discipline. He accomplished this in a short time by training 6 days a week committing at least 6 hours to his practice. His dedication to the art of Capoeira and Afro-Brasilian culture has cultivated a deep commitment to arts programming for youth. As a teenager he was an assistant instructor at various SF Park and Recreation Centers, Mount Diablo High School and held his own classes at MAS summer program at Mission Culture Center and Manhattanville College. "Baqueta" has trained nationally and internationally in New York, Boston and Brasil. Currently, he teaches multi-level youth and adult capoeira classes in San Francisco. He hopes to inspire a healthy lifestyle and confidence while introducing his students to various aspects of Brasilian culture such as language, music, singing, and acrobatics bridging the martial art with history and polyrythyms.