Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/299622
(carnival) john w. banagan/getty images, daniel wood s u m m e r 2 0 1 4 | g o i n g p l a c e s 35 The South American bulge of northeast Brazil once fit – in a time of drifting continents – into the concavity of Africa's west coast. Sim- ilarly today, the exiled descendants of former African slaves, comprising 85 per cent of Salva- dor de Bahia's 2.5 million population, have retained a close attachment to the shape-shift- ing gods of their ancestors. Concealed beneath the modern veneer of Brazilian Catholicism, Salvador is – in its deities and attitudes – the most Africanized city in the western hemi- sphere. Africa is, literally, bred in its bones. On my first evening in Salvador, I climb the lanes toward the city's hilltop Pelourinho district, only vaguely aware I'm entering a place of tragic history. In 1501, Amerigo Ves- pucci – the man who gave the Americas his name – arrived here. And in the following decades, the Portuguese established in Bahia's hinterlands vast sugar plantations that fuelled, in time, both the need for five million African slaves and a 250-year-long period when the city was the wealthiest and most elegant in South America. All around me in this World Heritage Site is evidence of such tropical glory – for Pelourinho contains the most colourful examples of colonial architec- ture in the Americas. Hundreds of buildings, most dating to the 17th and 18th centuries, are painted in sherbet-toned pinks, char- treuse, salmon and turquoise. But the cobble- stones underfoot are the exact place where the blood of generations of black Africans ran, for it is here that healthy slaves were auctioned, and the rebellious were pilloried and whipped. Halfway up the slope to the historic centre of Salvador, I hear from behind me the sound of drums, marimbas, rattles and whistles, and tur n to see an impromptu street band approaching. Loud, infectious and fiercely danceable, the rhythms of Africa move through the Pelourinho neighbourhood like a breeze off the nearby Bay of All Saints. The band passes, its drumming diminishing, and I hear from my right these words: "Señor? Enchilada?" Two women, sitting on an adja- cent step, smile. Enchilada? I think. When I look up to see what restaurant they're touting, I suddenly realize what they're offering isn't on any menu. ey laugh at my confusion. When I arrive at the cathedral-enclosed Terreiro de Jesus plaza, a different band is play- ing at an outdoor café called Cantina do Luna. Hungry and hot from the uphill climb, I decide it's the perfect place to indulge in genuine – versus touristic – Afro-Brazilian culture. A sign Bahia Bound Located more than 1,000 kilometres northeast of Rio on Brazil's Atlantic coast, the city of Salvador de Bahia has at its core the historic 550-year- old district of Pelourinho. Dozens of inexpensive pousadas and several high-end hotels, including the elegant Convento do Carmo, a restored 16th-century convent, occupy the clifftop location. Pelourinho also contains dozens of restaurants, many with outdoor balconies overlooking the city's huge Bay of All Saints. Other adventures in or near Salvador de Bahia: • Each February, the city's streets are taken over by the largest party on earth as millions of people participate in its week-long music and madness-filled Carnival. • The highway north along Brazil's Coconut Coast parallels endless palm-lined beaches. These are punctuated by former tropical fishing villages turned resorts such as Praia do Forte and Arembepe, where the hedonistic, sun-loving nature of the Bahian people is on display. • The highway east from Salvador passes through the rolling Recôncavo region where remnants of old slave- worked sugar plantations lie abandoned. The restored 17th-century town of Cachoeira, a two-hour drive inland, is the centre of traditional Candomblé worship and the home to the all-female religious order, the Sisterhood of Good Death. –D.W. (l-r) The cobblestone lanes of Pelourinho regularly erupt with drumming, parades and masked figures; a hawker sells slices of fresh fruit at an open-air market; dressing up for the festivities calls for voluminous hoop skirts, layers of jewellery and massive turbans. p32_39Brazil.indd 35 14-04-10 2:26 PM