Something about
Salvador da Bahia
This is just a quick overview. You'll find more details, links and images on the other pages in this site
HOT TIP
Salvador marked its 450th birthday in 1999, and Brazil celebrates the 500th anniversary of its official discovery by a Portuguese fleet on April 22, 2000. Led by Pedro Alvares Cabral, those European explorers landed in Bahia. Salvador and the resort city of Porto Seguro in southern Bahia - on the Discovery Coast - are the twin centres of the commemorations.
Location
Continent: South America
Country: Brazil
Region: Northeast
State: Bahia
Latitude 13 degrees South
Longitude 38 degrees West
The city of São Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos (aka Salvador, Salvador da Bahia, or just Bahia) is situated on an arrow-head peninsula between the Atlantic Ocean and
Todos os Santos (All Saints) Bay.
Climate
Tropical Climate with an average temperature of about 77 degrees Fahrenheit
Very humid (like a steam bath at times, but you'll get used
to it)
Lowest Temperature Ever: 50 degrees Fahrenheit
Highest Temperature Ever: 100 degrees Fahrenheit
Winter months: Same as the Northern-Hemisphere Summer (and vice versa)
Hottest period: December through February
Rainy season: May through August (sometimes starts the day after Carnaval)
History
Originally called
the "city of Bahia", Salvador was founded in 1549 by Tomé de Souza, the
first governor-general of colonial Brazil, and remained the nation's capital until
1763. Over half of all the Africans brought to the New World as slaves
landed in Brazil, beginning in the early 16th century, and the port of
Salvador was one of the main gateways for the slave trade.
During colonial
times, the city was invaded by the French and the Dutch (who actually occupied Salvador for about a year in the early 17th century), and frequently
attacked by pirates from as far away as the Barbary Coast. A chain of forts
was built to protect the coastline, including the "Sea Fort." Bahia won
its independence from Portugal nearly a year later than southern Brazil, which
is why it has its own independence day: July 2nd (it also celebrates September
7th along with the rest of the country).
Culture
The African element in Salvador's culture is very pronounced. This is true
in its music, dances, religion, cuisine and arts and crafts. The chief African cultural influences are Benin Yoruba and Bantu.
People
Salvador has about 2 million inhabitants. According to the most recent
population census, it is the 3rd largest city in Brazil after the megacity
of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Most of Salvador's residents are
of African descent. The famous mixture of races so characteristic of Brazil
- European, African and Amerindian - is ever present.
Religion
It has been said that Salvador has 365 Catholic churches, one for each
day of the year. That's probably not true, but there are thousands of houses
of worship of all sorts of denominations, from Jewish temples to Candomblé
terreiros. The main religions in Salvador are Catholicism, Candomblé,
Protestantism, and Spiritism. The most characteristic feature of
Salvador's religious life is known as syncretism. Ardently fought by purists,
it is a natural part of life for most to worship African divinities and
Catholic saints, and sometimes both at once.
Street Festivals
-
Conceicão da Praia (December 8th)
-
Boa Viagem (January 1st)
-
Cleansing of Bonfim Church (Second Thursday in January)
-
Ribeira (First Monday after Bonfim)
-
São Lazaro (Last Sunday in January)
-
Iemanja (February 2nd)
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Itapoã (Thursday - 2 weeks before Carnaval)
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Pituba (Thursday - 1 week before Carnaval)
-
Carnaval (Week before Ash Wednesday)
-
June Festivals (throughout the month, culminating on the Feast of St. John on the 24th)
Other Attractions
Apart from its natural beauty -- the view of All Saints' Bay from the Upper City, near the Lacerda Lift will take your breath away -- Salvador boasts a Historic District that UNESCO has declared a Treasure of Humanity. Originally a wealthy neighbourhood, it gradually decayed into a zone of tenements and brothels until its recent restoration.
Although some have mixed feelings about this "gentrification," the Historic District (particularly Pelourinho) is now a favorite watering spot for tourists and Bahians alike. Something like an open-air mall with pastel-colored row houses and sloping cobblestone streets. After shopping for souvenirs, handicrafts, art works, and much more, you can relax at the numerous bars and restaurants. Don't miss the Olodum band's performances at "Terça-Feira da Benção" ("Benison Tuesday") and the daily concerts and shows, ranging from Afro-Bahian Carnaval rhythms to Bossa Nova.
Food and Drink
-
Acarajé
-
Golden-brown fritters. Batter made from black-eyed peas is deep fried in
palm oil. Then, it is split open and filled with your choice of
vatapá, hot sauce, salad and or dried shrimp (for an extra charge).
Best eaten hot, but go easy on the hot sauce!
-
Abará
-
Prepared with similar batter to Acarajé, but wrapped in a banana leaf and steamed instead of being fried in palm oil.
-
Vatapá
-
A thick and tasty golden paste made from palm oil, bread crumbs, ground cashewnuts, dried,
ground shrimp and other goodies. Don't go too heavily on this exotic treat
till your stomach is used to the palm oil.
-
Caruru
-
Stewed okra seasoned with dried shrimp and palm oil. The main dish served at the eponymous feasts for Cosme and Damião (Cosmas and Damian) the twin saints whose cult is merged with that of the Ibeji, twin Yoruba deities who are patrons of children everywhere.
-
Moqueca
-
Stew made with coconut milk, palm oil, and any type of seafood (shrimp,
fish, crab, stingray, shark, oysters, or a mixture of any of these ingredients).
-
Mariscada
-
Stewed seafood - just about every kind you can think of.
-
Xinxim (pron. Sheen-sheen) de galinha
-
Stewed chicken flavoured with palm oil and peanuts
-
Sarapatel
-
Something like chitlins, and very spicy.
-
Caipirinha
-
A strong, tasty drink made from cachaça, crushed limes and sugar.
What's cachaça? The local white lightning. What vodka is to Russia. If you don't believe me, ask Baryshnikov!
-
Caipirosca
-
Same thing, made with vodka.
Apartments
For information on renting and buying flats in Salvador and the metropolitan region, check out A Tarde Online's Classificados section (in Portuguese).
Beaches
Until the Bahia Azul project has thoroughly cleaned up the waters along
the Atlantic coast and the bay area, I don't recommend swimming at any
of the urban beaches south of Itapoã (near the airport). Driving
north up the Costa dos Coqueiros on the Linha Verde (Green Line) route, however, you'll find lots of lovely resorts and hideaways: Praia do Forte with its rhea birds
and giant sea turtles, and more, until you reach the shifting sand dunes of Mangue Seco (the setting of Jorge Amado's novel Tieta) near the border with Sergipe. |
