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Salvador
is the Bahia's capital, is the most historic city -
its 1549 founding marked the beginning of longstanding Portuguese
occupation - and also offers picture-perfect beaches and some of the
country's most electrifying nightlife.
Carnival
Salvador is, in many ways, the antithesis of Rio, with several
focuses around the old city centre: the parade is only one of a
number of things going on, and people follow parading schools and
the trio elétrico, groups playing on top of trucks wired for sound.
Samba is only one of several types of music being played, and, if
it's music you're interested in, Salvador is the best place to hear
and see it.
Capoeira
As in the USA, there was also slavery in Brazil. The slaves were put
to work in the plantations where sugar and tobacco were the main
crops and the demand for slave labor was great. During the history
of the slave trade, it is estimated that more than two million
slaves were brought to Brazil from Africa.
These slaves came from different regions of Africa and thus had
different cultures. They were distributed in three main ports: Bahia,
Recife, and Rio de Janeiro.
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The Bahian sound
Although Rio is the traditional capital of Brazilian music, for
some years now it has been overtaken, in vitality and originality,
by Salvador , the capital of Bahia. Bahia in general, and Salvador
in particular, have always produced a disproportionate number of
Brazil's leading musicians including Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil,
Gal Costa, the Caymmi family and João Gilberto, but in recent years
their status has progressed from important to dominant. The main
reason is the extraordinary musical stew provided by deep African
roots, Caribbean and Hispanic influences
coming in through the city's port, and a local record industry that
quickly realized the money-making potential of Bahian music. They
didn't invent lambada, for example, but it was Salvador record
producers who transformed it into a global hit. Tellingly, all over
Brazil (except in Rio, naturally), it is now more common to hear the
Salvador Carnaval hits than samba during Carnaval.
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The new Bahian sound, an exhilarating blend of Brazilian and
Caribbean rhythms, is exemplified by groups like Reflexus , and
singers like Luis Caldas , Margareth Menezes and Daniela Mercury .
Its guiding light is the percussionist and producer Carlinhos Brown
; a great performer and songwriter in his own right, he is also the
éminence grise behind the rise of other prominent Bahians like
Marisa Monte.
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