Photographs of one of the more important but unknown progenitors of
the Gracie legacy have been unearthed.
In 2008, Reila Gracie was the first to discuss a secret, one hidden
under lock and key for more than five decades by the Gracies, in
her book, “Carlos Gracie: The Creator of a Dynasty.” In this
publication, Reila identified a woman simply named Ms. Belinha, who
played a major factor in how the Gracie family came together and
grew into what it is today. Many years later, Rickson
Gracie addressed the subject in his own book, titled “Breathe:
A Life in Flow,” which came out in 2021. While most believed that
Margarida Gracie gave birth to the legendary BJJ masters Rorion
Gracie, Relson Gracie and Rickson
Gracie, that is not the case.
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Per both Reila and Rickson’s books, Margarida could not have
children. Armed with this news, Helio’s brother Carlos had quite
the suggestion to proliferate the family name. Carlos already
created a massive family of his own, as the father of 21 children,
and he convinced Helio and Margarida that they needed to assist him
in building a so-called “dynasty of fighters.” After a search, they
turned to one woman in particular: Belinha, their housekeeper. She
agreed to participate, and ended up birthing Rorion in 1952, Relson
in 1953 and Rickson in 1958. All three grew up believing that
Margarida was their biological mother.
After Margarida’s passing, Helio married Vera, with whom he had six
more children: Rolker, Royler
Gracie, Royce Gracie,
Rerika, Robin and Rici. At that time, Belinha left the Gracie clan
and continued on with her life, and she kept her identity private
and lived in absolute secrecy. Even as the story came out in Reila
and Rickson’s books, a photo of Belinha had never been published,
until now.
When honoring her grandmother, Kauan Gracie, the daughter of
Rickson, posted on Instagram a pair of
photographs of her family this past week. One photograph, she
appeared as a baby alongside her brother, Rockson, as well as
Rickson and his wife Kim, plus grandmother Belinha. Kauan wrote the
words “don’t forget your origins, my friend…don’t forget your
family” in her caption, alongside hashtags like #GracieRoots and
#VoBelinha. The other image contained Helio and Belinhna standing
together many years ago.
Today, little is still known about Belinha, beyond that she is
roughly 90 years of age and still prefers to keep her privacy.
Residing in Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, she was able to build
her own life by getting married and starting a new family. Although
honoring her desire for privacy is paramount, it is impossible not
to ponder her impact on the world of martial arts, had she instead
resigned after hearing that indecorous proposal from her employers
those 70 years ago. A refusal would mean she would not have given
birth to the man who exported the challenges of Vale Tudo to the
United States and created the UFC in Rorion, the main
representative of the Gracie family in the 80’s and 90’s in
Rickson, and the one who brought Gracie Jiu-Jitsu to Hawaii in
Relson. The sport would not be what it is today without them, and
they all have Belinha to thank for this.