7/3/14
Since we only had half a day to see Cidade Alta and the
Pelourinho, we decided to return the next day and catch what we had missed. We
first stopped at Igreja Nossa Senhor de Bonfim, which is the most important Candomblista
(mix of Afro-Brazilian and Catholic beliefs) church in Salvador. Senhor de
Bonfim means “Lord of the Good End” (aka Jesus) and became synonymous in Bahia
with the African god Oxala. Bonfim is a beautiful 18th century Rococo
church but its most amazing feature is the Room of Miracles! Candomblistas
believe that Bonfim is the guardian of the city and has curative powers. So
there is a small shrine room off to the side of the main chapel that is
reserved for well wishes and requests for miracles. Every inch of every wall,
ceiling included, is covered in photographs, letters, and even wax replicas of
body parts that are in need of a miracle or cure (for Brazilians, this does not
exclude asking for a miracle win by posting a picture of your favorite soccer
team). [Nick: This is much like the relics you leave for La Virgen de Los
Angeles in Costa Rica. I hope people are not actually asking for things as petty
as soccer victories, but I do know that my Mom left a little gold ear amulet at
the church to thank the Virgin for her help in healing my ear, when I had an
ear drum that had to be surgically repaired when I was about 7.] It was
sobering, seeing all those pleas for help and wondering how many of them ever
actually got better. The well wishes don’t end in the Room of Miracles,
however. All over the church, inside and out, wherever there was free space,
believers tie fitas (colored ribbons) to the building in order to make a wish
or bring luck. As a result, the church as a fluttering canvas of color – it was
beautiful! The life-size wax statue of the Pope outside the Room of Miracles
with which you could have your picture taken for a fee, however, was too much! Sadly,
Nick thought it was in poor taste for me to sneak a picture of it (sorry
Martha!). [Nick: It is not that the wax Pope is sacred but that charging for
photos was the way the church was collecting money for restoration. We didn’t
want their photo print-out, but still. However, we left a small donation.]
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| Igreja Nossa Senhor de Bonfim |
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| Igreja Nossa Senhor de Bonfim |
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| Igreja Nossa Senhor de Bonfim |
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| Room of Miracles |
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| Room of Miracles |
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| Igreja Nossa Senhor de Bonfim |
We drove along Salvador’s western coastline (or tried to
until the road became too narrow) [Nick: We went to see a small fort and church
that was centuries old and had a beautiful view of the city.], through what was
clearly a very impoverished part of the city. The road could barely fit one
car; the seawall was crumbling in certain areas; the shoreline was visibly
polluted; and yet, there were still kids playing in the water and fishermen
headed out to find a catch. We were definitely getting looks as to why these
crazy white people were trying to navigate a car down this tiny road. [Nick:
Super steep and made of cobblestones. Reminded me of some streets in Ouro
Preto, but without the charm. Thankfully no car was going down as we came up.]
We eventually made our way back up to Cidade Alta to see a few sites that had
been closed the day before due to the holiday. We took a look inside the
restored governor’s mansion, Palácio Rio Branco, and as we were leaving the Praça
Municipal, Nick was stopped by a reporter from GoTV Sports. They wanted to
interview him, as a Costa Rican, on how he thought the Cup was going and what
he thought of the Sele’s chances for the next match. (I’m telling you: that
height and a bright Costa Rican shirt make him an easy beacon to spot!)
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| Bahian Coast |
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| Bahian Coast |
Next stop: Igreja e Convento de São Francisco and the
most ostentatious use of gold we have seen yet on this trip (and we’ve seen A
LOT of Baroque churches). Gold, gold, gold; gold everywhere. If it wasn’t
already ornately painted, it was covered in gold leaf. This church was massive
and every square inch screamed opulence and religious decadence. The power of
faith is nothing compared to the power of wealth in the Old World Catholic
Church! “Muito impressionante.” The church and convent were built in 1723 by
slaves forced to hand craft every detailed inch of the place but forbidden to
worship inside it or practice their own religion. As a result, the crafty
artisans got their “revenge” by designing cherubs with distorted faces,
pregnant angels, and clearly visible genitalia (the latter of which was
chiseled off or covered up in the 20th century). [Nick: Ouch!]
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| Igreja e Convento de São Francisco |
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| Igreja e Convento de São Francisco |
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| Igreja e Convento de São Francisco |
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| Igreja e Convento de São Francisco |
We took so long checking out the church that by the time
we wandered out into the light, it was already 3pm and most places were closed
between lunch and dinner. We were starving! Clearly, not having a regimented
schedule of 2 soccer games a day throws out entire internal clock off. We
wandered the streets and ended up at Ladeira do Carmo, a narrow plaza where
Michael Jackson had filmed the music video "They Don't Care About Us"
(which I once again have stuck in my head) with the famous local drum corps
Olodum. This was brought to our attention by a life-size cutout of the pop star
hanging out of a balcony above a tv blaring the continuously looped video. It’s
great the crazy things you run into when traveling! [Nick: Ironically, since
that time, the government has pumped a ton of money into that neighborhood and
had several sites declared World Heritage Sites. So today it is clear that lots
of tourists care about them.]
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| The Man Himself |
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