Maxuel Moreira Santos was born on July 13, 1978 in Eunapolis, Bahia, Brazil. He then lived in Arraial Dajuda in the municipality of Porto Seguro in southern Bahia, where he began practicing Capoeira at the age of five with Mestre Railson. 

 

In March 1997 he arrived in Chile to begin teaching Capoeira in Las Condes Cultural Centre.  At the beginning of the first week he began with two students, but a few days later there were five and at the end of the month, twelve. He then began teaching at the Municipal Theatre Ballet School and then in other places. 

 

In 1999 he organized the First International Meeting of Capoeira in Chile where he baptized nearly 300 students. He became a professor of physical education at the University of Chile to students studying medecine, as an elective class. He performed on television and brought Capoeira to Diego Portales University and Central University. He also set up social work in the slums of Santiago, to promote the social integration of their inhabitants, especially children.  In 2001 he organized the Third International Meeting and opened the first Capoeira Academy of Chile. Since then, Maxuel has organized over twenty Baptisms and festivals in Chile. He also organized the First Seminar Capoeira University with the support of the University of Chile, Central University and Diego Portales University. He managed to gain recognition of Capoeira as a sport in Chile by the National Sports Institute. 

 

In January 2006, Maxuel starting teaching in Paris, France. In 2007 he organized his 1st International Capoeira Sul da Bahia Meeting in France, with many guests like the Masters Mao Branca and Railson and some twenty Mestrando, Teachers and Instructors worldwide and about two hundred spectators The same year, he received the rank of Contra-Mestre of Capoeira, at the 3rd International Festival Capoeira Sul da Bahia Arraial d'Ajuda, Brazil. 

 

In 2010, he opened the first Capoeira Academy in France to accommodate his students in a space dedicated entirely to this art and activities connected to it. He organized his 9th International Capoeira Festival and Batizado in France in 2015, with 300 participants including 178 children.  

 

Currently the work developed by the Mestre Maxuel in Chile is maintained by his students, Professors Eddu, Alena, Francisco, Toro, Maicol, Remo, Malandro, and Fernado and many instructors. In France, his students Professor Michelle, Instructor Michou and Monitors David, Erwan, Stéphane and Laurence teach classes under Maxuel's supervision in Paris, Professor Passarinho teaches in Boulogne-sur-Mer and Professor Cedric KALONJI (Kunta Kinte) teaches in Lille.  In Washington D.C., classes are taught by his student Professor Roberto Tapia (Bucho).  Mestre Maxuel will be teaching in Philadelphia as of September 2015.