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Location: Chicago, Illinois, United States

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

In Salvador, Bahia, Brazil



It’s Sunday, and more then anything else, this is family day at the beach for those who call Salvador home. That means a mixture of the richer hue that makes up Brazil. By richer, I mean in melanin, because Brazil is definitely not a “melting pot” no more then the US is. Brazil is a rich chocolate cake with a thick layer of mocha and a thin layer of vanilla cream on top. It’s thin, but it is clearly on top. As George Bush noted to Brazilian President, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, "Do you have blacks, too?". Yes Mr. President. Brazil has “Blacks Too”. An overwhelming number of Brazilians are of African decent and Brazil has the largest number of people of African decent in the Western Hemisphere (Your Cerebral Injection for today). And if Brazil has a lot of Blacks, then Salvador is C.C. (Chocolate City).

But I digress… It’s Sunday and that means a day at the beach. Brazilians are into family. That means all the kids, a few neighbors, their kids, grandma, grandpa, aunts and uncles and anyone else that can squeeze in the car or on the bus is here at Ondina Beach or any number of beaches that cover the coastline. They come prepared. Not just umbrella and towels, but with furniture, pots of excellent smelling food, dishware, radios and a recognition that this is a really going to be a good day. It’s similar to a family day at Coney Island, North Beach or Haines Point if we were in NY, CHI or DC.

They know how to do up the water sports too. You see, the coast is rocky and full of boulders and cliffs. Some people go out and work the waves, but the experts know that there are natural pools among those rocks. About knee to waist high and perfect for lying back and relaxing. Add this to a nearly perfect (hot) climate year round and you can spot folks lounging in these natural pools anytime, 24 hrs each day. So families arrive early and stay until late. Soccer (football) games are ongoing, home made kites fill the air and music comes at you from every direction. Of course the kids are all texting each other, but that is simply what a Family Day is now and going forward. Why call someone who is 100 feet away when you can write them a message. Marconi would be so proud and Edison confused.

I am also at Ondina Beach to see the Fat Girls Statues. Now before those cards and letter (or threatening text) start. This is a series of three statues that represent the women of Brazil (If not by proportion). The furthest from the beach is a Native American looking back toward the mountain and the land she called home, a European on one leg as if feeling the sun from Europe, and an African looking back with a longing for Africa. It is big and powerful but can be overlooked as you drive by. But it is worth stopping for.

Well it is hot, and my sandals are now stuck to the pavement. My sunscreen has runoff and my water bottle is boiling, so I am heading back to my hotel. Don’t do Brazil with out seeing Salvador and Bahia. If Rio is the pulsating heart, then Salvador is definitely the Soul.

See you on the plane…

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If it is Tuesday…it’s Olodum in Pelourinho

If it is Tuesday…it’s Olodum in Pelourinho


I arrive on a Tuesday. Stressed out from my economy seat and not so consumerable meal. I checked in to my hotel and went to sleep for a few. You do this because on Tuesday night, we follow the beat of the drums to Pelourinho, the old section of Salvador, Bahia in Brazil. Highways and sidewalks with modern high-rise buildings give way to cobblestone streets as the drumming grows louder and you no longer hear it, you feel it. The people begin to move with a singular rhythm. The colonial churches and buildings guide you to small streets and alleys and there you are, In the midst of a thousand of new friends who were also drawn and can feel the beats of AFRICA.


Olodum is the Drumming that takes place on Tuesdays and has since 1979. Back then it was "Terça da Bença" (Tuesday of Blessing), originally designating the day Saint Francis of Assisi, would distribute food to the needy. Later it became the day when bands would practice. Now the streets of Pelourinho fill with people dining, drinking and dancing. It is truly a street party on the grandest, but purest scale.

As a bit of history, The Grupo Cultural Olodum was founded in 1979 by the dwellers of the Maciel-Pelourinho district of Salvador. It has grown to include any number of street marching bands. Clubs with bands and corner groups fill in the chorus. But back then they were working to get their percussion section into Carnaval. Blacks were not always part of this celebration known Worldwide. The name Olodum, like the drum, the rhythm and the people all are African. Olodum is from Olodumaré "the God of all gods” in the Nigerian Yoruba religion of Candomblé which is another reason why you must visit Salvador and Bahia. All this and so much more is alive in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil’ where the African Diaspora LIVES.

See you on the plane...

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