"Salvador da Bahia" a Salvador da Bahia Travel Page by NedHopkins

Salvador da Bahia -- or Salvador, State of Bahia -- bills itself as 'the most African city in the Americas.'
That's true if you exclude the Caribbean: Port-au-Prince, Haiti, for one, looks and feels a great deal more like a West African town.

Still, Salvador's claim has merit:
+ Four out of five Salvadoreans claim some 'African blood.'
+ The superb local cuisine, featuring a generous use of dende oil, is derived from Africa.
+ Many customs, including religious practices akin to vaudon ('voodoo'), are derived from Africa.

None of that is surprising. Salvador was Brazil's first national capital (1549-1763) and was the entry-port for most of the slaves brought to Brazil for over three centuries.

Located on a bay as beautiful as Rio de Janeiro's, with some of the country's most beautiful colonial architecture, Salvador also has year-round sun, friendly people, great music, and a well-developed tourist infrastructure.

All the same, see my 'Warnings and Dangers.' In 50 years of foreign travel -- on five continents -- Salvador is the only place I've been assaulted.

INTERESTING TRIVIA

Visitors are always enchanted by the colorful buildings in the old city, the Pelourinho. They generally assume the many hues reflect an artistic sensitivity.

The reason for the colors is prosaic.

In colonial and early imperial times, buildings did not have numbers. Government officials -- notably tax collectors -- identified their targets as 'the red house on the north side of such-and-such street.'

It was therefore illegal to have any two buildings on the same block painted the same color.

Artful tax-dodgers did sometimes arrange to have their homes painted a different color the night before the tax collector was due to visit.