Wish I Were in Brazil
I haven't been to Brazil for 5 years and I'm getting itchy to return to Bahia. Well, yes, forget Rio for now. It's Bahia -- the country's African heart -- where the Portuguese colonists' first mass sugar cultivation resulted in capture and importation of untold numbers of West Africans to serve as their slaves, which means that 80% of today's population are their descendants.
Remains of a 100-year-old sugar mill near Cachoera in Bahia, the location of that plantation. I got to see this and a lot more thanks to inimitable tour guide Joel and his firm Sankofa.
Salvador da Bahia was the original Portuguese capital and the Governor's Palace still functions as a government building. It was pure luck that seagulls soared by just as I shot the photo.
But I can never forget that the meaning of Pelourinho is "slave pillory." Although no plaque designates the spot and no sign commemorates it, this indeed is where literally millions of Africans were exhibited, tortured, humiliated, bartered, sold. (Bahia was the first stop for 40% of all Blacks taken from Africa)
Still mourning the disgusting past of the Pelourinho, I drift into a small cafe run by a socially-active African woman and eat the best feijoada (Brazailian stew) ever; into a tiny wood-floored bar at the end of a long walk (cars are not allowed in most of the Pelourinho) where I hear amazing jazz from a multinational assemblage of men; up the stairs to Reggae Bar that boasts non-stop reggae tapes; and boogie outdoors in "Jesus Square" which every Thursday has free live music for all comers. And there's sooo much more in Salvador da Bahia that I know I haven't yet experienced.
Postively, Carolan
Remains of a 100-year-old sugar mill near Cachoera in Bahia, the location of that plantation. I got to see this and a lot more thanks to inimitable tour guide Joel and his firm Sankofa. Salvador da Bahia was the original Portuguese capital and the Governor's Palace still functions as a government building. It was pure luck that seagulls soared by just as I shot the photo.Played: 17 | Download | Duration: 00:02:42
Music and dance are literally everywhere in Salvador. And Salvador has this miraculous pastel maze of cobblestone streets cluttered with small shops, hotels, cafes, offices, not to mention centuries-old churches. The area is called the Pelourinho.But I can never forget that the meaning of Pelourinho is "slave pillory." Although no plaque designates the spot and no sign commemorates it, this indeed is where literally millions of Africans were exhibited, tortured, humiliated, bartered, sold. (Bahia was the first stop for 40% of all Blacks taken from Africa)
Still mourning the disgusting past of the Pelourinho, I drift into a small cafe run by a socially-active African woman and eat the best feijoada (Brazailian stew) ever; into a tiny wood-floored bar at the end of a long walk (cars are not allowed in most of the Pelourinho) where I hear amazing jazz from a multinational assemblage of men; up the stairs to Reggae Bar that boasts non-stop reggae tapes; and boogie outdoors in "Jesus Square" which every Thursday has free live music for all comers. And there's sooo much more in Salvador da Bahia that I know I haven't yet experienced. Postively, Carolan
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