Iuri was born in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil.

He has lived in Bloomington since 1997.

He is the founder of Grupo de Capoeira Angola de Acupe, "Grupo Acupe" (the same name as the original group in Brazil where he started studying at the age of 13). Capoeira is described as a cultural and ritual art with a rich history which that includes the ability of people to hide a martial art in dance and music.

Hardest thing to get used to

“For me the hardest thing was the language, the change in diet, the food is different, everything is different, and the weather.”

Personal accomplishments

“My life is pretty much Capoeira, I love Capoeira and I try to develop a method of teaching Capoeira. I’m a master for my students, but my teacher is still alive so he’s the master today. But my hobby really is music. I was born into a family of musicians, my dad’s a musician. I’m a composer, I write songs and play guitar and I love music. And soccer…I can not forget it.”