The Northeast - Embassy of Brazil in London

The Bahian capital of Salvador is steeped inhistory. From 1550 the first African slaves werebrought here from what is now Nigeria, Angola,Senegal and Mozambique, among other areas, and thecity became the first slave market in the New World. Asa port the city grew rich on the back of their toil –particularly through the trade in sugarcane, cotton andtobacco. As a symbol of the era the city has animpressive number of the finest colonial churches inthe country, with astonishingly decorated interiors thatshowcase the best artistic talent of the past.Today, Salvador is a large, modern city, but manyareas are still recognisably colonial. In spite of itsmodern urban development the city has managed topreserve several outstanding Renaissance buildings,and its historic centre has become a Unesco WorldHeritage Site.A special feature of the old town is the brightlycoloured houses, often decorated with fine stucco work– they surround the photogenic Pelourinho square, forexample. A protected site for tourism, culture andcelebrations, the Pelourinho is home to a large numberof carnival groups such as the Bloco Pierrot, picturedabove in the Largo do Cruzeiro.Carnival in Salvador is a hugely popular annualcelebration that takes place on an enormous scale:around 2 million revellers fill 25 kilometres of streets,6