Salvador de Bahia!

SALVADOR DE BAHIA (Salvador is the capital of the Bahia state)

"If you like your homeland, don't come to Bahia"

The above quote is from Dorival Caymmi, one of the most important composers in Brazil. Effectively she is warning all those who love their homeland that it may not be such a good idea to go to Bahia (ie Salvador) as all that love of home will be re-energised into Bahia!

A large percentage of the Brazilians I met have a longing to either live in or visit Salvador. It is like a Brazilian Utopia or Mecca and having been there now on three different occasions I am beginning to appreciate why. It is a city steeped in history and culture while also being famous for its music, dance, beaches, musicians and probably considered the party capital of Brazil!

The city is located in the North East of Brazil above Rio which is circa 2/3 hours flight away. Rio may be the most famous place worldwide for Carnaval but all Brazilians eyes focus on Salvador for Carnaval. They attract the cream of the crop of the musicians and Brazilians from all over the country invade the city for a crazy week of partying! In truth Salvador is famous for partying all year round! There always is something going on like a festival, a street party, a pre-Carnaval event and it has been said that Carnaval is a 365 day event in Salvador!!!



The stands for Carnaval are being put up a few weeks in advance.



             Crowds flock for a pre-carnaval event



A pre-carnaval event with a band playing on top of a trio-electrio (aka truck)


Salvador is famous for its African influence, where a lot of pagan African traditions are common. Their local dish is Acaraje which is a like a street snack always served by a black lady in a traditional white dress. Acaraje is pastry dish made of Brazilian fritters with black-eye peas and chickpea flour. Please don´t ask me to explain that!!! Other ingredients in the snack include shrimp, tomatos and onions. I have had a few and by and large I like it but it is a bit like Guinness as there are good and bad Acarajes depending on where you get served!



                 Bahian Lady prepares Acaraje   


The Brazilian slave dance called Capoeira is commonly practiced here. Capoeira stems from an African traditional way of fighting and in typical Brazilian spirit they have now merged it into a dance. It is similar in some way to marital arts where two people meet face to face on their honkers circa 5 feet in distance from each-other and in short pretend to attack each-other accompanied by a musican playing a stringed instrument next to their moves. It is incredibly difficult art-form and only practiced by those well versed in the art as you need to have incredibly flexible and have great rhythm to make the required moves while also to avoid the oncoming dance moves towards you. In short, it is an art form that incorporates martial arts, dance, gymnastics and music. It is an incredible fusion of movement, flexibility and speed. Click on this link for a live view of Capoeira.......................................
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H0D8VaIli0

                                           An image of Capoeira. Pretty impressive!!!!!!!!!


Salvador´s African influence is evident in the high percentage of darker skinned people who live there. I don´t say "darker skinned" to avoid being racist but in Brazil you get everything from very black skin to very white skin and lots of different variations in between. The country is probably the most integrated country race wise in the world and as a result you meet lots of different skin types and looks. The dark skinned girl is called a mullata and many men only aspire to hook up with a mulatta and it is common to hear a Brazilian guy say at Carnaval time "Boa Mulatta" replacing the customary "Boa Calvador" (boa means good by the way!).

Salvador is famous for its beaches. There are numerous beaches in the heart of the city and many more on the outskirts of the city and surrounds. The ones in the city even though my most standards are really nice are not a patch on the quality of the beaches outside of the city. I spent a day in my friends Lucas`s Uncle and Aunts house in an area called Praia do Forte, which is a beautiful beach resort. The beaches in the city are always busy and have a real buzz and character to them. Whatever you want on the beach you can get! The beach culture in this country is so much stronger than any other I have ever seen. The beach is a way of life in Brazil and you will always see people drinking beer on the beach, or eating the huge variety of snacks on offer, or playing ball, or volleyball, or just posing in their speedos or g-strings!!!! I picked out this quote from a fellow gringo which explains it well.........

"It's impossible to stay in Brazil without spend some time on the beachs: you can choose a quiet deserted place but all the brazilians love to stay on beaches with 'barracas' ( beach bars) drinking fruit shakes (vitamins) or "bem gelada (ice-cold) cerveja", eating fish or shrimps, playing beachvolley, football, fishing, doing capoeira, surf, windsurf or kitesurf......sport is a way of life on the beach as well as the music that you can hear everywhere."



The beach in Salvador..........everything is available here



                 More of the Brazilian beach culture



                  Brazilian Artists on the beach!




A lady selling beer on the street at the entrance of the beach. It`s very common for Brazilians to drink on the street whatever the hour! If only we could do this at home!


Salvador is also famous for music. As mentioned before all the best musicians come here to play at Carnaval but I get the sense for Brazilian muscians that you know you have made it when you have played Carnaval in Salvador. Brazil has an incredible variety in genres in music and pretty much every city has a particular type of music that is unique to its city. Salvador is famous for Axe Music which incorporates various Afro-Caribbean beats. Salvador is also where samba-reggae originated. On top of this you get numerous street bands as well and it all adds up to an incredible mix of sound and dance, which probably is the main reason why the city is such a party location.



          Greeted by music at the airport



An impromptu street band playing the streets with an audience behind following them!


For all its great things, Salvador does have a sinister element to it. It is probably the most likely place for a gringo to get robbed. The main tourist area where all the historical buildings lie is called Pelorinho. I know "the little big man" (aka John Whooley) stayed there many moons ago. Pelorinho is now very dangerous for tourists but for some unknown reason they all seem to stay there. I met 3 French guys who told me that everybody in their hostel was robbed (and some on 2/3 occasions) in the 2/3 weeks they stayed in the area. Luckily, I had no such issues but I stayed near the beach in a really nice barrio called "Barra". Sometimes at night you did feel you needed eyes in the back of your head but then again nothing happened to me!

This part of the trip for me was very different to my travel experiences up to this as it was to be the start of a circa 4 week spell of hanging around with friends from Brazil. I hardly encountered any gringos in this time!

I got to hang around with my good friend Lucas, who a lot back in Dublin will know well, especially those from the Castle. I had a great time with Gigongo (Lucas nickname over here....he will hate reading that!!!!!!!!) and his family really made me feel very welcome, which I am very grateful for. Everybody in his family made me feel part an extended part of the family from his parents, his sister, his cousins (one called Felipe who is a rare Brazilian rugby fanatic by the way), his uncle, his aunt, his neighbours and last but by no means least "minha avo" which translates in English to "my (his) grand-mother"!



Lucas and me at a music festival doing our Dara Lernihan impression. We had a good few beers that night!!!!!!!



       Lucas later that night after a few too many!!!!


I have now left Brazil but I can safely say that you can't beat the warmth and the friendliness of the Brazilian people. Nothing I have experienced elsewhere is even close to compare. In general Brazilians are so open and so sharing. If you stay in a house they really want you to enjoy the experience and they never leave you to fend for yourself. Whatever they have in their house is available to you and they are actually disappointed with you if you do not take advantage of their hospitality. There are so proud to have you and the most important thing to them is your company and your friendship and they never ever ever ever consider what you may be costing them etc........ They really know how to live life and rarely think in an individual manner and are fantastic for including everybody socially and making people feel comfortable and at home. Lucas` family really epitimised this and I can't thank them all enough for their great hospitality. Me personally and we in Ireland have so much to learn from them!



             Mise and "Minha Avo"!!!!!!!!!




Myself, Lucas and his Father Sid who is a big Flamengo football fan with the Flamengo flag!




Lucas and his family...........his auld man doesn´t look so pleased to be in this picture!!!

I was also lucky to meet in Salvador my good old Brazilian buddy Anderson, who I made in Ireland but who is now back residing in Brazil. Fair aduse to Anderson, as in typical Brazilian fashion, when he heard I was visiting Brazil and was unable to make his city, he decided to travel to meet me in Salvador, which he took 3 flights to get to! Thanks bud! I know a few of ye have met Anderson and when in Dublin we use to serenade him with the Man United "Anderson chant"! Anderson spent c 3 years in Dublin, where he openly admits he had a great time. He even admits to crying the entire flight when leaving Ireland, so maybe we are not that bad after all!!!!! Interestingly, he is in the process of opening a travel agency and a hostel in Rio in the heart of Copacabana. He shared some of his ideas with me and they are very impressive so touch wood we will all be heading to Anderson's pad for the World Cup in 2014!!!!!!!!!!



         Catching Anderson off guard with this shot!



            Anderson pulling a few shapes!


One other great thing I will say about Lucas and his family is how they immediatly accepted Anderson as a long lost friend and even the little (or maybe not so little) things like collecting him at the airport when arriving and then bringing him to airport for his flight home while staying in the airport until he got through customs. Class people but then again this is Brazil and this is par for the course in most cases!!!



Myself and Anderson in the airport before he heads home

Lucas really showed me around the city and we got to go to a big outdoor concert with tons of the best Brazilian artists. I was fortunate to see "Maria Gadu" live who is one my favourite singers. We also went to a local derby footie game between Vitoria and Bahia. Vitoria is the team of Lucas' family and fortunately they won 3-0 on the day! The locals will not mind me in saying that neither of the teams would be among the best in the country but the passion for both teams is evident in the stadium and throughout the city. You see at least 40/50 people a day wearing their teams jersey.



                Crowds outside the ground



Me outside the ground having a bit of craic with the Team mascot! Lucas` Uncle is to the left getting a giggle out of it!



The Vitoria fans put up their local banner before the game starts!




                   The banner being taken down




               Vitoria fans celebrate a goal!




Inside the ground with one man and his dog............a well dressed dog at that!



Lucas´ father shares his Flamengo flag with mise!


I got some Portuguese lessons in Salvador but with me spending all my time with Lucas, I was lazy in practising my Portuguese. I got lessons from Flavia who was vey helpful and set me on the road to slowly start picking up the language. I really am struggling with the pronunication but am starting to get a little handle on it now! I met Flavia at a couch-surfing event, where I also was lucky to make good friends with Gabriella and Gustavo. Again more cool Brazilians who I am still in touch with it. Lucas also introduced me to a few of his friends including Paulo and Rafael and again dead sound guys who I am still in contact with.  It is so easy to meet cool people in this country as they are plentiful!



Flavia, mise and a mad header we met outside the bar where I took Portuguese lessons!



The Mercado Bar where I met the couch-surfing group and took Portuguese lessons


I spent two weeks in Salvador and had a super time. I won't hesitiate to go back to experience the wonderful variety of Salvador culture in beaches, music, dance, party, football, great food and cool people. Not a bad combination for a place to visit and I would encourage anyone reading this to do the same

Until next blog,

James.