Started selling painted berimbaus on the Água de Meninos market
M Waldemar: «This painting of berimbaus was invented by me. (...) local capoeiristas, mestres, made berimbaus with bark. The arame was the fence wire, it wasn't steel wire. Later they burned a tyre and got a rusty wire, which broke. I invented opening [the tyre] with manual force so that it [the wire] would be raw. I started to do white berimbaus (...) Later I invented painting them and started to make painted berimbaus. I'm known for this.»
It is well known among Mestres that the first person to paint a berimbau was Mestre Waldemar da Paixão. He himself said: «I invented varnishing [berimbaus]. I made a very good berimbau named Azulão [Big Blue]. Made it with blue varnish.»
He also said: «I was the one who brought berimbaus to Bahia.» This is also true. In 1942 he started to make berimbaus to sell and invented a special painting for these.
Shaffer, 1977
