Local Favourites – Jesus

By Dan Hutton on January 23, 2012 in People

Bondi Beach resident Gilson de Jesus is a former two-time Brazilian capoeira champion and is the owner of Capoeira Bondi. Jesus has lived here for seventeen years, after coming here to perform at the South American Festival. He is originally from Bahia, the most festive and colourful state of Brazil! Jesus shares his local favourites with The Beast…

Favourite Beach: Bondi, of course!

Eatery: I’m into Italian food, so I eat at Gelbison if I’m in the mood. I always prefer to cook and eat my own Brazilian food, including feijoada, which is a bean dish, and mukeka, an afro-Brazilian fish stew. I eat this with brown rice. Yum!

Watering Hole: I don’t drink any alcohol, so my watering holes of choice are those that serve coconut water.

Sporting Team: I’m a big fan of football and my favourite team is Flamengo, the best Brazilian football team from Rio de Janeiro. Those guys can really play!

Music: I’m into lots of different types of music. I love music with rhythm – Samba, Latin, Brazilian Bossa Nova and Carlos Santana. I also like Bob Marley and Janis Joplin.

Person: Tereza, my wife. We seem to get better with time.

Weekend Activity: Practice and play capoeira instruments, swim at the beach and the Bergs, cook and hang out with my family. Sometimes I join other masters and students to play capoeira.

Quote: “Life is beautiful, but it’s not easy!”

Favourite Thing About Your Work: I feel happy when I see my students learn and enjoy the benefits of capoeira.

Final Word: Capoeira incorporates many rich and wonderful things: acrobatics, dance, self-defence, music and spirituality. If you’d like to know more about capoeira please call me on 0449 624 391.