Miss Bevan and I recently visited Salvador, the capital of the state of Bahia (ba- eee -a). This was a really interesting and beautiful place. In the past slaves were brought to Bahia
from the west of Africa to work in sugar cane plantations. Some of the slaves were not treated very well by the people in charge of them and they were forced to work without being paid. Have you heard of slavery before? Do you know of any other places where slaves from Africa were taken?
Lots of people in Bahia did not want the slaves to be forced to work, so they tried to help them. The asked the government and slave owners to stop bringing slaves to Brazil. After many years the slaves were freed, and many continued to live in Bahia. Nowadays there are lots of things we can see in Bahia which originally come from West Africa.
Acaraje (aka-ra-jay)
Acaraje is made from peeled Black eyed peas, which are rolled into a ball and fried in Dende oil (a very thick oil from West Africa). It is cut open (like a jacket potato) and filled with several different sauces (some spicy ones!). Then it is covered in prawns. Miss Bevan and I tried lots of these and they were delicious!
For more information about African culture in Bahia see Regions of Brazil
The Pelourinho (a large square) is a very famous place in Salvador. The African slaves were bought and sold here.
It is also famous more recently because it was the setting for Michael Jackson's video for the song "They don't care about us". Miss Bevan and I visited the blue house (below) which Michael stands outside in the video. The owner of the house was very proud that his house was now famous. He showed us a door handle that Michael Jackson had used!
Watch the video here:
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/sy-13406409/michael_jackson_they_dont_care_about_us_official_music_video/
The drum group from the video is called Oludum and are very famous in Brazil. I have bought thier CD and will play it for you when I come back!
from the west of Africa to work in sugar cane plantations. Some of the slaves were not treated very well by the people in charge of them and they were forced to work without being paid. Have you heard of slavery before? Do you know of any other places where slaves from Africa were taken?
Lots of people in Bahia did not want the slaves to be forced to work, so they tried to help them. The asked the government and slave owners to stop bringing slaves to Brazil. After many years the slaves were freed, and many continued to live in Bahia. Nowadays there are lots of things we can see in Bahia which originally come from West Africa.
Acaraje (aka-ra-jay)
Acaraje is made from peeled Black eyed peas, which are rolled into a ball and fried in Dende oil (a very thick oil from West Africa). It is cut open (like a jacket potato) and filled with several different sauces (some spicy ones!). Then it is covered in prawns. Miss Bevan and I tried lots of these and they were delicious!
For more information about African culture in Bahia see Regions of Brazil
The Pelourinho (a large square) is a very famous place in Salvador. The African slaves were bought and sold here.
It is also famous more recently because it was the setting for Michael Jackson's video for the song "They don't care about us". Miss Bevan and I visited the blue house (below) which Michael stands outside in the video. The owner of the house was very proud that his house was now famous. He showed us a door handle that Michael Jackson had used!
Watch the video here:
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/sy-13406409/michael_jackson_they_dont_care_about_us_official_music_video/
The drum group from the video is called Oludum and are very famous in Brazil. I have bought thier CD and will play it for you when I come back!
No comments:
Post a Comment