Little is documented about his family background, except that his mother, Maria Eugenia Ferreira, was a black woman from Bahia, and his father, José Pastiña, was a Spanish pedlar.

As a somewhat frail ten-year-old, he faced bullying from a larger boy in his Rua da Laranjeira neighborhood.

Witnessing his predicament, an elderly African neighbor named Benedito, native of Angola, offered to teach him capoeira.

His musical talents also flourished under the guidance of the renowned musician Anacleto Vidal da Cunha.

[4]Pastinha made a living through various jobs, including shoe cleaning, newspaper sales, carpentry, and working as a casino bouncer.

He frequently recalled that he carried a small sickle that could be affixed to the berimbau, effectively turning the instrument into a formidable weapon should a street fight arise.

A group of old mestres held regular rodas in Gengibirra area, in black neighbourhood Liberdade, to preserve traditional style.

Rodas was led by Mestre Amorzinho, a civil guard who offered protection from police harassment.

[8] Accourding to Pastinha's account, one of his top students, Aberrê, visited Gengibirra and impressed the mestres there with skills, so they ask him for teacher.

"[8]In his memoirs, Noronha offered a slightly different version of the episode, suggesting that it was only after Amorzinho's death that the other mestres decided to pass the leadership to Pastinha.

Like Bimba, Pastinha formalized capoeira practice by establishing structured classes within a dedicated "academy".

From about 1950, Pastinha adopted the colors of his favorite soccer club, Ypiranga, yellow and black, which became the hallmarks of the Angola style he taught.

[11] Pastinha worked as shoeshiner, tailor, gold prospector, security guard at a gambling house and construction worker at the Porto de Salvador to support himself financially so that he could do what he loved the most, to be an Angoleiro.

Pastinha, old, sick and almost totally blind, was asked by the government to vacate his academy for renovations, but the space was never returned to him.

[13]For Pastinha, capoeira Angola is more than a simple sport but a philosophy and a sacred legacy he ardently aimed to protect.

"[13] In Capoeira Angola, lineage represents the chain of teachers (mestres) and students that define one's role in the community and shape a school's teachings.