SALVADOR'S CARNIVAL: THE BIGGEST PARTY ON THE PLANET!

Considered Brazil’s “Capital of Happiness,” the friendly and welcoming residents of Salvador de Bahia – known simply as ‘Salvador’ – are deservedly proud of their northeast capital city, blessed as it is with a historically-rich past, gorgeous beaches, and one of the best Carnival celebrations in the world.

According to the Guinness Book of Records, the carnival or Carnaval of Salvador da Bahia is the biggest party on the planet. For an entire week, almost 4 million people celebrate throughout 25 kilometers (16 mi) of streets, avenues and squares. The direct organization of the party involves the participation of over 100,000 people. Its dimensions are gigantic. Salvador receives an average of over 800,000 visitors.

The cover was done by 4,446 professionals in local press, national, and international. The carnival was broadcast to 135 countries through 65 radio stations, 75 magazines, 139 producers of video, 97 newspapers (21 international), 14 tv stations, and 168 websites.

Rei Momo: The King of Carnival, Momo, is handed the keys to the city in the morning, on the Thursday before Fat Tuesday, and the party officially begins. Camarotes: These grandstands line the street in the neighborhoods of Campo Grande, Barra Avenue and Ondina. Watch the show from here without being trampled by the crowd. Trios Eléctricos: Outfitted with deafening sound systems, these 60-foot-long trucks carry a kick line of gyrating, scantily clad dancers along with the city's best-loved performers, among them Ivete Sangalo, Daniela Mercury, Cláudia Leitte, Chiclete com Banana, Carlinhos Brown, and others.

Rei Momo (flickr by turismobahia)

 All pictures are from flickr turismobahia

Camarote

Ivete Sangalo, on her trio elétrico

Ivete Sangalo, another day

Trio elétrico

Chiclete com Banana trio elétrico

Bel Marques, band singer

 The music played during Carnaval includes Axé and Samba-reggae. Many "blocos" participate in Carnaval, the "blocos afros" like Malê Debalê, Olodum and Filhos de Gandhy being the most famous of them. Carnival is heavily policed. Stands with five or six seated police officers are erected everywhere and the streets are constantly patrolled by police groups moving in single file.

"bloco afro"

Bloco Filhos de Gandhy

Filhos de Gandhy

Malê Debalê

Olodum

Olodum

Bloco afro Malê Debalê

Bloco afro Malê Debalê

The Osmar Circuit: goes from Campo Grande to Castro Alves square, The Downtown Circuit, in Downtown and Pelourinho, and The Dodô Circuit; goes from Farol da Barra to Ondina, along the coast. The Osmar circuit is the oldest circuit. It is also where the event's most traditional groups parades. In Dodô, where the artist box seats are located, the party becomes lively toward the end of the afternoon and it continues until morning.(search: wikipedia.org)

Salvador is considered the Afro-Brazilian capital of the nation and with over 80% of the population claiming African ancestry it is no surprise how extensively African culture and traditions have integrated into local folklore and history. Aside from regional Salvadorian cuisine and art, Afro-Brazilian customs can best be appreciated during Carnival week. Salvador holds one the nation’s premier Carnival celebrations that features samba parades, lavish parties, and much more.

Brazil - World Cup 2014!

The Brazuca, offical ball for the 2014 World Cup!

The World Cup 2014 will open in the Itaquera Arena in São Paulo, and it will end in world-famous Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro, but between these two bookends are 29 days and 62 games, 6 of which will be disputed in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil.

Welcome to History!

The World Cup in The Land of Saints & Magic!

Salvador World Cup 2014!

The Brazil last hosted the World Cup in 1950. The final game was between Brazil and Uruguay, and Uruguay won. Brazil went uncharacteristically silent that day, the 16th of June, at 4:50 p.m.

But the noise is back and, sixty-four years later, so is the Cup! And for the first time ever Salvador is one of the host cities! It's the World Cup in Brazil's Cultural Capital, plus the month-long June festival season leading up to the Festa de São João (a festival regional to this part of Brazil), with partying and dancing (to a style of music known as forró) as only the Brazilians know how to do it, plus the beaches, plus the unique (Afro-Brazilian) cuisine, plus a second Carnival during part of the Salvador World Cup season (Salvador's "normal" Carnival is the largest in the world, bigger than Rio's). 

World Cup games will be played in Salvador on June 13th, 16th, 20th, 25th, July 1st and July 5th. Between games there's going to be a lot going on, with monster screens set up in Pelourinho (the Old Town) to broadcast games being played in other cities. (Search: salvadorcentral)

FIFA'S World Cup 2014 Schedule is Here!

Itaipava Arena Fonte Nova (Salvador-Bahia-Brazil). Photo: salvadorcentral

Inside Itaipava Arena Fonte Nova Photo: salvadorcentral

Things you must to know:

• Salvador is the capital of the Brazilian state of Bahia.
• Bahia is where Brazil (as a national entity) began, where the first Europeans landed.
• Salvador was founded before Rio de Janeiro. It was Brazil's first capital (until 1763).
• Bahia is where samba was born. It (samba) later moved to Rio with Afro-Bahians looking for work (much as the blues moved from the American South to northern cities with Afro-Americans looking for work).
• Salvador is home to THE LARGEST CARNIVAL in the world.
• There will be a second Carnival held during the period of the World Cup games (dates of this Carnival to be announced).
• June in Bahia is a traditional month of festivals, culminating in the festa of São João on June 24th (the BIG party is on the eve of the festa, the 23rd). The music for this/these festas is forró, funky accordion-based Brazilian hillbilly music to which Brazilians dance like Fred Astair and Ginger Rogers. Although São João is the really big one, the festas continue till the festa of São Pedro on the 29th.
• Salvador is surrounded by beaches, and these beaches are one of the primary focuses of social life in Salvador (tie not necessary), where people go to hang out, drink coconut water and ice-cold beer, eat, dance, meet...

The Festa de Yemanja, Salvador - Brazil

Photo Credit: Pelos Olhos de Fredrico Neto

The Festa de Yemanja is a cultural festival in honour of the Sea Goddess Yemanja who is considered to be the Queen of the ocean and patron of fishermen.

February 2nd. One of Salvador's most beloved (and beautiful) street parties, and another exemplar of melding of the sacred and profane in Salvador. The morning of the 2nd is announced with the sound of fireworks (at 5:00 a.m.), and the devotees wearing white clothing make a large procession to Yemanja's shrine in Rio Vermelho to give offerings, which often include flowers and perfume. These offerings are taken to the waters edge in baskets and taken out to sea by the local fishermen, at 4 p.m. or so and will make their way 6 miles out into the waves where they place the gifts' baskets floating upon the water. 

The offerings are left in the Casa do Peso (the weighing house used by the local fisherman). The Offerings which do not return to shore are deemed accepted.

After the offerings have gone out to sea there are great festivities which often include music and dancing.

Pictures bellow credit to Frederico Neto

All Saints Bay

Salvador - All Saints Bay

On November 1st, 1501, the expedition commanded by the Italian navigator Américo Vespúcio, by order of Pedro Alvares Cabral saw a "big and beautiful bay", which was named All Saints Bay because of the date: All Saints’ Day. That was the official birth of the biggest bay of Brazil.

Set in one of the most beautiful national sceneries, with its calm and crystal clear waters, involved by a historical atmosphere and the Atlantic forest contrasting with large mangroves, sandbanks and coral reefs, the bay is the starting point of the state that borrowed its name and keeps attracting tourists from all over the world with its enchants and magic.

Because of the rich nature that surrounds the bay, the Government created the All Saints Bay Environmental Protection Area, which comprehends the waters and the 54 islands that belong to the cities of Salvador, Madre de Deus, Candeias, Simões Filho, São Francisco do Conde, Santo Amaro, Cachoeira, Saubara, Itaparica, Vera Cruz, Jaguaripe, Maragogipe and Salinas da Margarida, a total of 800km² (497.1 miles) of nature in all its splendor, with good touches of history. (Search: GovernoBahia)

It is the largest navigable bay in Brazil and one of the most favorite spots for nautical sports, due to its regular breezes, medium annual temperature of 26 °C (79 °F) and sheltered waters. All Saints Bay (Baía deTodos os Santos) offers various leisure options, with hundreds of vessels of all different types, especially saveiros, schooners, motor boats, jet ski that criss-cross its crystalline waters on maritime excursions to the islands, and boat races. Major popular events and sport activities occur throughout the year, beginning on January 1, with the Procession of Bom Jesus dos Navegantes greeting the New Year.

The islands of the bay are a separate attraction. Some are privately owned, others were declared a state heritage and transformed into Environmental Protection Areas or ecological stations. Other islands are the patrimony of 12 municipalities located around the bay. Only a few are uninhabited and many have small communities where the natives live on fishing and tourism. All have common characteristics, such a calm sea, dense vegetation, especially coconuts and bananas, as well as vestiges of the Atlantic Forest. Of the 54 islands, the most important are Itaparica, Madre de Deus, Maré, Frades, Medo, Bom Jesus dos Passos.

Itaparica Island

 MARÉ ISLAND - PHOTOS BELOW

BONFIM FESTIVAL - SALVADOR - BRAZIL

The best time to visit the Brazilian city of Salvador, the capital of Bahia, is in the summertime, between the months of December and March. At this time the city is on fire with religious, folk, and popular festivals all filled with music, food, drinks, água de cheiro (perfumed water), flowers, dancing and happiness. Almost every weekend in this time frame there is either a lavagem (ritual washing of a church which culminates into a party) or a Candomblé `beating of the drums' (a ceremony in the Nigerian Yoruba religion of Candomblé). The three most popular festivals are: the Lavagem of the Church of Nosso Senhor do Bonfim, the Festa of Yemanjá (Yoruban Goddess of the Ocean) and of course, Carnaval.                   (Pravina Shukla)

SALVADOR CITY - CAPITAL OF BAHIA - BRAZIL

São Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos, in English: "City of the Holy Saviour of the Bay of all Saints"] is the largest city on the northeast coast of Brazil and the capital of the Northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia. Salvador is also known as Brazil's capital of happiness due to its countless popular outdoor parties, including its street carnival. The first colonial capital of Brazil, the city is one of the oldest in the Americas. For a long time, it was simply known as Bahia, and appears under that name (or as Salvador da Bahia, Salvador of Bahia so as to differentiate it from other Brazilian cities of the same name) on many maps and books from before the mid-20th century. Salvador is the third most populous Brazilian city, after São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The metropolitan area of the city, with 3.5 million of people, however, is the seventh most populous Brazilian urban agglomeration, and the third in Brazilian Northeast Region.

A 100m cliff runs along the entire bayshore, dividing the city into Cidade Alta, up on the cliff, and the Cidade Baixa down by the bay.

Elevator that connects Cidade Alta and Cidade Baixa (up and down city)

  

Marina

 

 

Rio Vermelho

Rio Vermelho district

 

Bonfim Church

Itaipava Arena Fonte Nova (soccer stadium)

Barra at night

 The city of Salvador is notable in Brazil for its cuisine, music and architecture, and its metropolitan area is the wealthiest in Brazil's Northeast. The African influence in many cultural aspects of the city makes it the centre of Afro-Brazilian culture. This reflects a situation in which African-associated cultural practices are celebrated.

Bahia Crafts

Outside of this area, there are many beach districts that stretch from the tip of the peninsula northeast along the Atlantic coast. The Barra neighborhood at the tip of the peninsula is the main alternative jumping-off point to Pelourinho, and a little further to the northeast are the hip neighborhoods of Rio Vermelho and Amaralina, which feature a nightlife less geared to the foreign tourism industry. A decent bus ride beyond these is the neighborhood of Itapuã, which has an energetic beach side nightlife and relatively few foreign visitors. Northward from there are kilometers and kilometers of gorgeous beaches, all accessible by bus.

The historical centre of Salvador, frequently called the Pelourinho, is renowned for its Portuguese colonial architecture with historical monuments dating from the 17th to the 19th centuries and was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985. The former features Pelourinho, the old city center that packs historical sites, colonial architecture, museums, restaurants, bars, hostels, artisanal shops, and music/dance/capoeira academies into a convenient, albeit tourist-swarmed, set of winding cobblestone streets. The latter features a commercial center with lots of bus traffic coming in from all over Salvador.

The bayshore coast north beyond Pelourinho features a more tranquil atmosphere and a locally patronized, though less scenic, beach life. The interior of Salvador is where the "new city" has developed, full of residential neighborhoods, shopping megaplexes, and knotted highways, all of which can be quite alienating without actually having a friend to show you around.

Pelourinho

Pelourinho

Local residents enjoy sharing their exotic dancing and music skills with tourists. Residents are also considered some of the friendliest people on the planet.Tourist are welcomed with open and friendly arms by the majority of local residents.

Salvador is located on a small, roughly triangular peninsula that separates Todos os Santos Bay from the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The bay, which gets its name from having been discovered on All Saints' Day forms a natural harbor. Salvador is a major export port, lying at the heart of the Recôncavo Baiano, a rich agricultural and industrial region encompassing the northern portion of coastal Bahia.

Salvador, Brazil has a tropical climate including rainforests and lush vegetation.

Brazil is a country of social inequality, but in few places this is as evident as on Salvador. The social segregation is also evident, with large number of upper middle class and upper class citizens living in gated communities, which contrast with the huge slum-like neighborhoods located on elevated areas.

CARNIVAL

One of the main attractions in Salvador is the carnaval. Salvador's giant Carnival, the biggest of the world, according to the Guinness book of records, lasts for one week and is extremely popular with Brazilians and tourists alike. In 2013, the event happens on February 7th - 14th and consists of parades,live entertainment, music, dancers and vendors. The main parades follow three circuits: one in the historic center Pelourinho (with mainly traditional groups in costumes), one on Campo Grande, where most bands play samba, and in recent years the most popular one in Barra / Ondina, where modern Brazilian Axé music mixes with percussion and all kinds of rhythms and styles, and the bands parade between "Camarote" boxes on one side and the beach on the other. Options to participate are either by watching from the camarote boxes, or purchasing an "abadá" shirt to join a group that accompanies one of the bands throughout the parade. One can expect to have a lot of fun if they vacation in Salvador, Brazil during Carnival. Salvador also has many other attractions that tourists will find enjoyable. these include golf courses, museums and even an old 17th century fort. Anyone wishing to visit Salvador Brazil will find their trip to be entertaining, fun and full of wonderful memories.

Go to the beach

Visiting a Salvador beach is a highlight for many tourists. One of the main central Salvador beaches is Porto de Barra. It was originally the site of the first settlement of european newcomers to Bahia. It can get very crowded on weekends. The northeast region of Salvador concentrates most beaches with good water quality. Flamengo and Stella Maris are the most popular beaches among tourists and upper class locals. They have excellent tourist infrastructure and rough waters excellent for surfing. Jaguaribe, Piatã and Itapoã, with calmer waters, are mostly frequented by locals and can become quite crowded at weekends. They are a good option with you want to mix with the local population, but don't bring anything besides your clothes, sunglasses, sunscreen, and some cash, as muggings are quite common.

The other beaches of Salvador aren't suited for bathing, but still can be good for walking, cycling, or taking pictures. Farol da Barra has a beautiful view (specially during the sunset), but it's difficult to walk due to the rocks. "Farol" means lighthouse, and this beach is known for its lighthouse as well as being popular with surfers. A much safer choice is nearby Plakaford. Here the calm waters and soft sandy beaches are welcoming for families and children. In the city south, there is an array of beautiful beaches that include Tinhare and Boipeba.

Fonte: http://wikitravel.org/en/Salvador e http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvador,_Bahia

 

Itapuã lighthouse

Barra lighthouse

Itapuã beach

 

Lagoa Abaeté (lake)