Luiz Carlos Modesto Lima (M Luizão) was born in Rio de Janeiro, in the Vila Isabel neighbourhood, in 1955. At the age of 14 he started watching street capoeira in Quinta da Boa Vista Park. He met ‘Soldado’ (now Mestre) who took him to the Bonfim academy where he learnt from mestres Deraldo, Zé Grande and Manoel Martins, graduating mestre in 1979.
He took part in the Bonfim group’s shows in the 1970s. He was part of the samba group Os Primitivos (later called Os Sete Mais do Samba and, finally, o Brasão Samba Show). He started teaching capoeira at the end of the 1980s through the Bonfim Cultural Association, which maintains the legacy of Mestre Mario Santos ‘Buscapé’. Today he teaches every Wednesday from 7pm at the Catholic Church in Rua Geremário Dantas 101, Tanque, Jacarepaguá, no Rio de Janeiro.