Salvador

Salvador is a city on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Brazil and the capital of Bahia, at the entrance to the Bay of All Saints. Capoeira, the candomblé religion and acarajé, a fritter of black-eyed peas fried in palm oil, are part of its Afro-Brazilian culture.

Tomé de Sousa founded the city in 1549 as the first capital of Portuguese Brazil. It was built on two levels, with the government buildings and churches of the upper town on a cliff above the port and warehouses of the lower town. Sugar and tobacco from the plantations of the Recôncavo, the fertile land around the bay, passed through its port for two centuries. Salvador remained the capital of Brazil until 1763, when the seat moved to Rio de Janeiro. In the 20th century the oil fields and the petrochemical complex of Camaçari, north of the city, brought new industry to the region.

The Port of Salvador on the Bay of All Saints exports pulp, fruit and chemicals and receives cruise ships at its terminal in the lower town. The Camaçari Industrial Complex, on the northern edge of the metropolitan area, makes plastics, fertilizers and chemicals. The cacao and coconut farms of the Bahia coast send their harvest through the city.

Pelourinho, the old upper town with its colored colonial houses and Baroque churches, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Lacerda Elevator, an Art Deco tower of lifts, carries passengers between the upper and lower towns. The Church of Our Lord of Bonfim is known for the colored ribbons tied to its railings as wishes. The Carnival of Salvador fills the streets with trios elétricos, trucks carrying bands and loudspeakers, and draws crowds for a week each year.