Moa Vive (Brazil)

Born Romualdo Rosário da Costa, Moa do Katendê (1954-2018) was a leading capoeira master from Bahia, Brazil and a driving force behind the re-Africanization of Salvador’s carnival. He was the founder of the drumming ensemble Badauê, which was credited with reviving the Afro-Brazilian ijexá rhythm within Brazilian popular music in the late 1970s. Moa was killed in 2018 following a dispute about that year’s presidential election. Brazilian producer Átila Santana developed a tribute project based on recordings Moa made in his home studio in 2011, seven years before his death. Santana invited prominent Bahian artists to reinterpret nine of Moa’s compositions. The project was released in 2021 as Moa Vive!

Featured Song:

“Omin” features Moa’s own vocals alongside guest artist Sued Nunes, a singer-songwriter from Sapeaçu, Bahia, who studied history at the Federal University of the Recôncavo da Bahia and was nominated for Best New Artist at the 2025 Latin Grammys. The song is dedicated to Omin, an Afro-Brazilian spiritual guide and Moa do Katende’s aunt, and invokes the orixás Oxum, Yemanjá, and Iansã. “Omin, where are you? / In my Ilê, praying / Calling on Malembe and Zambi / May Axé always prevail.”

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