Tradition, voodoo rituals and mistery
Planning a trip to Brazil, I asked several times whether to enter into the Salvador
Bahia. The time available for two days at most involved a tour de force is not acceptable to me. Two-hour flight to Rio, three hours waiting for the coincidence, another two hours of flight, relocation, resettlement, luggage, another flight after two days ... all to dedicate a day to visit a city .. .
But Salvador is not only a city, "is something more. Visiting it means understanding the whole Brazil, the strength of his spirit, the traditions of his people, the meaning of the word "tropical" or "Afro-Brazilian."
And now that I have visited, I thank the day I decided to stop.
A Salvador can not happen by chance. His visit must be planned and studied in detail. You can not get there without knowing the words "Candomblé" or "Capoeira".
You can not claim to understand it without learning its history. Knowing the origins of his people, the development of religion, the history of buildings and squares, oppression, suffering and blood shed by so many Africans torn from their lands to be imported here as slaves.
Otherwise you could at most appreciate the beauty of its bay, its endless views of the corners, but you will andresti with no enrichment for failing to understand the true reality of the place.
Observe a struggle Capoerira, a celebration of children, a religious procession without understanding the meaning would be a limitation. And all these things with a bit of luck, in Salvador you can see in one day. There are numerous occasions, and when there is no feast day is as if it were.
A
Bahia 70% of the population practice Candomblé, a religion imported by the people coming from Africa during the period of slavery and preserved over the centuries at the cost of great human sacrifices against the persecution. A religion that is based on the forces of nature, where the purpose is to maintain and develop the axé through songs, dances, rituals and traditions: a sacred power that allows it to be in harmony with the world.
A ritual of daily life in
Bahia, something intriguing and mysterious for the visitor.
Another cult maintained since slavery is the Capoeira, a fusion of dance, song and martial arts and wants to be a symbol of freedom.
The fighters are moving in a circle of people that accompany the movement of the singing and clapping hands. The setting and the difficult moves and agility of the fruit of hard training, make it all very fascinating.
Every corner of the city is a discovery of tradition: the stalls of acarajé (pancake stuffed with shrimp), specialty gourmet baiana, the classic "mami", which go around the city wearing the clothes of the era, defying the heat in search of some real in exchange for a souvenir photo.
Tourist alternating fiction and moments of real life, like a capoeira school children will perform in the middle of a square. Unforgettable.
But one thing that can not pass unnoticed is poverty, far superior to other Brazilian cities like Rio. The city is invaded by "ninos de rua" that insistently try to provide an evening meal or some money to bring, hopefully, at home. I say hopefully because often what is used to scrape the purchase of some drugs at low cost, which usually are the most harmful. Therefore, rather than give money, it would be better to buy a meal in one of the many local restaurants in the kilo, not something that would cost more than two or three euros.
Salvador is divided in the city high and low, united among themselves dall'Elevator Lacerda, a spectacular lift in a few seconds can move from one place to another (2 euro cents ...). The old town, the famous Pelourinho, is a World Heritage Site and is located in the upper part. A 3-hour walk takes visitors to all its streets and squares features. But the distractions are many, so three hours are transformed throughout the day.
At the lift opens the Thom Praça de Souza, but above all a fantastic view on the underlying Baia de Todo Santos. After Terreiro de Jesus, one of the most evocative of the old city, surrounded by ancient buildings, and decorated in some places by trees and royal palms, continue towards Praca da If a large square where you will find among others the Cathedral.
And 'here that I met the only rude person in Brazil, a representative of a group of Capoeira Lauta which called for an offer only because I happened to turn our gaze in his direction. Capoeira groups scattered around the city are many, some other less valuable, but with one common feature: real cash at the expense of the tourist. But to see the real you Capoeira suggest following a claim.
From here begins the most enchanting corners of Pelourinho, the Sao Francisco square, a corner with fabulous houses lined by pastel colors and the São Francisco Convent, the most striking of the 360 churches in the city, a triumph of baroque interiors and finely decorated papered walls that seem golden.
A little further and here's the most charming of Salvador, Pelourinho Largo, a long way down and fully paved which gives a great glance, with its bell-towers of the churches that surround the colonial homes reported their former glory. This is the square where slaves were sold and punished by flogging the rebels. The beauty of the place is in stark contrast to his memories, the facts of oppression, torture and injustice.
At the end of the descent, the Pelourinho is continuing with a steep climb that culminates with the Igreja da Ordem Terceira do Carmo with the sculpture of Christ, carved in cedar wood with the drops of blood of Christ formed by about 2000 rubies.
If
Bahia has a limit, this is the fact that you can not make a circular tour, for which, except for some brief alternative, one must go back to the path back to square one.
Here it takes the elevator to reach the Lacerda citado Baixa, where in addition to visiting the market Modelo, huge tourist craft market, there is the magnificent glance of the top.
The Pelourino is so fascinating that it should be seen also in the evening: the pace pressed, the lights and the colors change, the joy is contagious.
Before dinner, go to the theater Senac for a true show of songs and dances of the most authentic North-east, including of course Capoeira (ore 19.00, ingresso real 7 - € 2.50). At the end of the show, the upper floor of the theater houses a restaurant, where you can taste all the specialties of the region into two separate buffet, with ingredients "normal", the other dishes seasoned with a base of "ing" typical of an oil derived from palm
Bahia. Try not abuse it but as it could lead to disorders who are not accustomed (paltry dinner, real 25 - € 9.50 over drinks and service). Many local tour operators sell this package as a trip to the real cost 100 per person, almost a little less than what we spent in five.
Return to the hotel happy for the wonderful day, but also with my heart in my throat and with a strange sense of guilt for poverty really touching, as in few other places to see happen.
There is still a lot to say and to see in
Bahia, such as its beaches kilometers starting at bar in the center until you reach the outskirts, or the Lagoa de Abaeté, where tall white dunes overlooking a lagoon.
Salvador is often combined and reduced to sex tourism, a plague certainly real, but if the purpose of your visit is, if your eyes are here to observe, and your spirit wants to understand the past and the present, there are going to a heart filled with so many indelible memories.
Obrigado!