Thiago Samambaia grew up in a family embedded in Afro-Brazilian culture and Brazilian popular music. Since his teenage years Thiago has made capoeira into a social, political and cultural tool to rescue youngsters in fragile situations, especially those in the favela of “Cabana do Pai” in Belo Horizonte, MG.

Thiago studied Physical Education and later graduated in Sports Physiology at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG).

In Germany Thiago created the Capoeira collective “Capoeira de Besouro” developing several works concerning Afro-cultural awareness, including capoeira, candomblé and samba de roda.

In 2020 Thiago performed in Ricardo de Paula´s “Ori Cleanse” as part of the “Mimimi Space” at Hebbel am Ufer Theater (HAU4).