Hello Dear Friends/Oi Meu Caro Amigos(as)

Today I set out to do a little research to find out what's the story behind this Brazilian city. It seems it's always been different from the others. And although Rio de Janeiro, and Sao Paulo are always in the newspapers, Salvador da Bahia is the very first city ever established in Brazil. I couldn’t believe all the interesting facts I found out about this city’s past. Not to mention it helped explain alot of the unique quality it holds. So I figured I’d share a few cool details of my background check on Salvador da Bahia.

Way back in 1501 the European explorer Amerigo Vespucci landed on a triangular-shaped peninsula sitting within the vast Atlantic Ocean (this guy did a lot of traveling, too). It was named Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos, (Saint Savior of the Bay of all Saints).

The Bay being large in size with many accessible ports, lead the city to wealth and great status. It became the first colonial capital and the largest in the New World. Its ports became busy with export in agriculture, which its tropical soil and climate produces to this day. And unfortunately at the time it also became a mass trade depot of Africans from it’s neighboring continent. Both the native–Indians and the Africans were obligated to practice Catholicism, a religion that still dominates the region alongside Candomble.

This is the religion created in Africa by the Yoruba speaking tribes, primarily in the western region. It was a spiritual practice preserved by the slaves and the many generations that have followed long after. The Afro–religion is very much alive today, and can be seen and heard all over Salvador da Bahia in it’s purest form or merged with other practices. There is an evident diversity in the city's culture. When you visit Salvador you'll marvel at its rich mix of people, traditions, food, music, art, sports and much more.

Upon your arrival you'll first notice the colonial European architecture lining the streets with its vivid and striking African influences. It's no wonder why it is also known as, “Roma Negra/Black Rome”. They claim to have 365 churches built just within this one city. Now that's a lot of bells tolling! But you won’t mind them because you’ll be too consumed in discovering the wonders of Salvador da Bahia.