Tag: Sao Joao

Salvador de Bahia – The culture capital of Brazil

The state of Bahia is located in NE Brazil & its capital of Salvador is the historical capital of Portuguese Brazil. The city is perched high above the bay & celebrates its predominant African heritage with its colored colonial architecture, narrow cobbled streets, incredibly delicious food, nonstop samba music & drums, & proud fun people. I’m writing this after having visited 4 states in Brazil & 3 different locales within Bahia & I can say without a doubt that the Bahia people certainly seem to be the most proud, banding around its Bahia statehood. It definitely feels like a special unique culture & has an electric fun energy. Nowhere is it better on display than Salvador. I felt it as well in Morro de Sao Paulo & Boipeba, no doubt, but I returned for my second stay in Salvador after my jaunt to the islands, to find the locals setting up for Sao Joao festival. It was still a few days away but the city was already bursting with color, the drum beats were never louder as all day long, small drum corps held impromptu street marches to get everyone on their feet dancing, & the main town square in the Pelourinho neighborhood was littered with tables & an even-larger-than-normal stage had been erected for the bands that play nightly as the crowds gathered for music & dancing. Celebrating Sao Joao in Bahia is definitely high on my list of future trips.

Just 2 blocks from my pousada & on a steep hill was a plaza featuring this stunningly ornate blue church surrounded by multi-colored buildings & buzzing with people. While not the main square, it was my fave as I wandered through several times a day. A bit obsessed.



São Joao decorations. My pousada owners said São Joao was just as big as carnival for locals & maybe more so bc it didn’t attract as many tourists.


[caption width="4032" id="attachment_2793" align="alignnone"] The main square with lots more churches

Caju, or cashew, fruit juice is my fave new addition to the traditional caipirinha

I LOVED this lady. I typically steer clear of folks dressed in costume as they’re preying upon tourists who just want to snap a quick selfie. I was minding my own business taking a photo when this lady did a sneak attack & started talking to me before I realized I was ensnared. She started telling me about her “traditional dress” & I apparently was feeling a bit saucy as I told her, in my embarrassing Spanish-Portuguese mix, that her traditional dress didn’t seem very practical bc it was so big. She paused, as it was clear she wasn’t accustomed to being challenged & especially by a smart-ass gringo, looked me up & down & then burst into laughter. She tried to convince me, I remained skeptical. She refused to take any money from me, gave me tips on Salvador to-do’s & made me send her this cool photo I took of her. She was fabulous.
These guys were practicing capoeira in the main square. It’s a Brazilian martial art that incorporates dance, acrobatics & music. I was watching them, mesmerized, when I made the mistake of creeping a little too close to try to capture it on video. Then they went into “tourist performance” mode posing for pics & trying to get me involved which was a whole lot LESS cool than the actual art form they were practicing before.
The elevator, the most famous of transport options between the upper city (historical center) & lower city (port & market but not much else).
Moqueca, a famous Bahia stew, made with seafood, tomatoes, onions, peppers, garlic, cilantro, palm oil, coconut milk & served with the traditional hot sauce called piri-piri (it’s actually hot!!!), rice & farofa, a toasted cassava-flour mixture served all over Brazil with many different meals. Delicious!