joão grande and joão pequeno are featured in numerous films of capoeira including one in which they demonstrate the knife techniques of the art. in 1966 joão grande travelled to senegal with mestre pastinha to demonstrate capoeira at the first world festival of black arts in dakar. he was awarded his diploma of capoeira from pastinha in 1968 making him a full-fledged master of capoeira angola. he subsequently toured europe and the middle east with viva bahia, a pioneering group that performed afro-brazilian folk arts such as capoeira, samba, maculelê, candomblé and puxada da rede.