My name is Jose Rojas, I am a Chilean musician and was a student of Bira Santos in two moments of my professional life in 2003 and 2006. I can say that Bira is not only a very good teacher, but he is also a person that has always cared about my specific musical training in teaching the rhythms and dances of Orixás in an integral way. This is because together with musical material, Bira always gave me important information about the overall vision, values, history and concepts related to the religion of the Orixás, allowing me to understand more deeply his convictions. I had the opportunity to live with him while I was taking his percussion classes where I could see his generosity with the people who, like me, came to where he was with the religion to learn his music. Bira took me to the most important candomblé houses and I met many of his friends and musicians, his religious family and his terreiro. I saw how Bira played the drums for the Orixás and how he was respected wherever he went. I recommend Bira’s classes and hope that people continue to be interested in learning about the art and life of the Orixás. For all those who are called by the “beat” and want to know more about the Afro-baiana musical culture I believe Bira Santos is one of the more generous and integral teachers of music of the Orixás of his generation.
March 4, 2018