AA Black Atlas

BlackAtlas traveled to Selma to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery march. The annual Jubilee Crossing event has something for the entire family…a street festival, educational tours and more. We asked people who stopped by our booth why they came to the event and to tell us what the anniversary of the historic march meant to them.

Here’s a look at what a few people had to say.

After wrapping our trip to the Modern Art Museum of Bahia, we decided to hang out on the pier to catch the sun as it set. The museum’s grounds were full of locals – families, young people, couples – who had the same thing in mind.

This group of young men decided to add a soundtrack to this beautiful moment.

Don’t be alarmed – the ‘explosions’ you hear in the background are just fireworks!

We spent the first half of our second day in Bahia at the beach. Travel Expert-at-Large Nelson George and his director Diane were able to get some great shots of the local beaches, which were packed with families all enjoying the sun and surf. Restaurants dotted the beach, serving up cool drinks and local snacks. The kiwi and pineapple juices and the shrimp filled empanada like appetizer were among the favorites. “Hidden”, a meat baked under a potato like topping and covered with cheese ended up tasting just fine…much better than it looks.

After the beach, we trekked over the modern art museum. Housed in an old sugar factory, the museum is a beautiful mix of old and new and sits at the edge of the water. It’s a perfect place for watching the sun set, which is exactly what we did.

On Monday, we head to the Afro-Brazilian museum which is full of items that link Brazil to it’s African past.

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After an overnight flight, we landed in Salvador da Bahia – the African Capital of Brazil (it has the second highest population of African descendants, behind Lagos, Nigeria) early this morning, ready to explore the area and bring back it’s most interesting sights and sounds for BlackAtlas^SM.

First up, we traveled to the statues of the Orixás. The Orixás are gods of the Candomblé religion which was created in Brazil by enslaved African Priests. They combined their knowledge of religion with their culture and religion to their sets of beliefs, all based around nature.

Next, we headed to the Pelourinho District, home to the last slave market in Brazil. Pelhourinho is Portuguese for ‘whipping post’…the name alone tells you plenty about the history of this area. Carnival ended a couple of weeks ago, yet many of the decorations from that celebration could still be seen.

We stopped to have lunch at Sorriso da Dadá – translated as “Dada’s smile” – an eatery that specializes in Afro-Brazilian foods. The owner, Dada is as known for her beautiful smile as she is her cooking. Though she was traveling when we stopped in, we were able to sample her delicious moqueca, a Brazilian seafood stew.

After lunch, we ran across some young men and women performing capoeira. Not only did we get to watch them battle each other, we also got a little education on the history behind the sport.

We then headed over to All Saints Bay to catch the sunset. At the park surrounding the bay, we noticed lots of couples snuggled up and showing affection – lots of affection.

After the sun set, we wrapped for the afternoon. It’s back to the hotel for a bit of rest…in a few hours, we are heading out to capture Brazil night life, Salvador da Bahia style. I’ll keep you posted.

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