Salvador Carnaval at dawn
THE CAPITAL of the Bahia state in north east Brazil is a world away from the riches of Rio and the glitzy commercialism of the capital.
Revellers danced to the sound of drumming through almost all of the city’s streets night and day.
Salvador’s Carnaval dwarfs Notting Hill Carnival many times over and is distinct from Rio celebrations in that it is a street carnival for the people, rather than a pre-eminence on a Sambadrome where it can be difficult to get involved in a spectacle watched from the stands amid the bright lights and international TV cameras.
The city, once called Bahia, is the oldest in Brazil and was the country’s capital for two hundred years, evident through its large collection of colonial architecture in the old town centre, called Pelourinho.
Rio became the nation’s capital in 1763 after Guanabara bay’s strategic importance grew out of the gold trade and sugar cane industry
Salvador was founded in 1549 when was Portuguese became permanently occupied there.
Beautiful, buildings painted in pastel colours and with beautiful decoration surround the cobbled streets and squares where more traditional costume and music were to be found.
It was here that I was hypnotised by a macabre street entertainer kicking and flicking with a stick what appeared to a rabid cat bound in rags, much to the initial horror of passing women and children.
The artist, dressed in a gothic clown outfit, which appeared to be thematic of costumes in the old town, made a small fortune selling gadget which he blew to make the sound of a shrieking cat.
One of Salvador’s innovations are the trio elétrico, meaning The Electric Sound Wagon, which are, practically speaking, live bands (which are ubiquitous in Salvador, and Brazil for that matter) on stages, on top of a 15 ft tall wall of 100,000 watt speakers, carried by monstrous juggernauts.
The idea was invented in 1950 when a trio of musicians tore the seats from a ford car and wired up guitars to the battery and a set of speakers. The old model T fords eventually evolved to around the scored of giant lorries that were seen in this year’s Carnaval.
The trios are surrounded by blocos that parade through the streets of the old town and along the beach road from Barra to Ondina.
The blocos are roped off, inside of which are dancers wearing distinct tee shirts, while scores of stewards force their way through the crowds, rather like a mobile dance club.
People outside the blocos are called pipoca or human popcorn, because they get bounced around so easily.
The food, culture religion, and wonderful music of Salvador flows from its roots in west Africa and Bahia’s slavery legacy.
Most of the music of the African blocos is based on a tribal style of drumming and emanates from the black, poorer communities of the city.
One of the most famous Afro blocos is Olodum, while another worthy of note is the funky, high tempo Timbalada bloco.
One peculiarity, and a pillar of Carnaval, is the bloco called Filhos de Ghandy, the Sons of Ghandhi.
They are particularly notable for their white and blue Indian attire and head dress. Yet members are reported to join the group less out of reverence for the great Indian leader than because their dress is thought to be attractive to women.
The group spray people with perfume along route and play a calming and beautiful rhythm called ijexá.
The city is also thought to be the birthplace of Capoeira, the Brazilian balletic and acrobatic martial art passed down by the descendants of African slaves, regularly, if not sometimes violently, practised Salvador’s streets.
The other characteristic of Carnaval is the barracas which turn the city into thousands of parties with their own sound systems, fuelled by countless street vendors carrying polystyrene box coolers full of ice and beer or stalls selling killer strength caiprinhas or batidas made with cachaça and crushed fruit.
For more information please email Andy.
Revellers danced to the sound of drumming through almost all of the city’s streets night and day.
Salvador’s Carnaval dwarfs Notting Hill Carnival many times over and is distinct from Rio celebrations in that it is a street carnival for the people, rather than a pre-eminence on a Sambadrome where it can be difficult to get involved in a spectacle watched from the stands amid the bright lights and international TV cameras.
The city, once called Bahia, is the oldest in Brazil and was the country’s capital for two hundred years, evident through its large collection of colonial architecture in the old town centre, called Pelourinho.
Rio became the nation’s capital in 1763 after Guanabara bay’s strategic importance grew out of the gold trade and sugar cane industry
Salvador was founded in 1549 when was Portuguese became permanently occupied there.
Beautiful, buildings painted in pastel colours and with beautiful decoration surround the cobbled streets and squares where more traditional costume and music were to be found.
It was here that I was hypnotised by a macabre street entertainer kicking and flicking with a stick what appeared to a rabid cat bound in rags, much to the initial horror of passing women and children.
The artist, dressed in a gothic clown outfit, which appeared to be thematic of costumes in the old town, made a small fortune selling gadget which he blew to make the sound of a shrieking cat.
One of Salvador’s innovations are the trio elétrico, meaning The Electric Sound Wagon, which are, practically speaking, live bands (which are ubiquitous in Salvador, and Brazil for that matter) on stages, on top of a 15 ft tall wall of 100,000 watt speakers, carried by monstrous juggernauts.
The idea was invented in 1950 when a trio of musicians tore the seats from a ford car and wired up guitars to the battery and a set of speakers. The old model T fords eventually evolved to around the scored of giant lorries that were seen in this year’s Carnaval.
The trios are surrounded by blocos that parade through the streets of the old town and along the beach road from Barra to Ondina.
The blocos are roped off, inside of which are dancers wearing distinct tee shirts, while scores of stewards force their way through the crowds, rather like a mobile dance club.
People outside the blocos are called pipoca or human popcorn, because they get bounced around so easily.
The food, culture religion, and wonderful music of Salvador flows from its roots in west Africa and Bahia’s slavery legacy.
Most of the music of the African blocos is based on a tribal style of drumming and emanates from the black, poorer communities of the city.
One of the most famous Afro blocos is Olodum, while another worthy of note is the funky, high tempo Timbalada bloco.
One peculiarity, and a pillar of Carnaval, is the bloco called Filhos de Ghandy, the Sons of Ghandhi.
They are particularly notable for their white and blue Indian attire and head dress. Yet members are reported to join the group less out of reverence for the great Indian leader than because their dress is thought to be attractive to women.
The group spray people with perfume along route and play a calming and beautiful rhythm called ijexá.
The city is also thought to be the birthplace of Capoeira, the Brazilian balletic and acrobatic martial art passed down by the descendants of African slaves, regularly, if not sometimes violently, practised Salvador’s streets.
The other characteristic of Carnaval is the barracas which turn the city into thousands of parties with their own sound systems, fuelled by countless street vendors carrying polystyrene box coolers full of ice and beer or stalls selling killer strength caiprinhas or batidas made with cachaça and crushed fruit.
For more information please email Andy.
