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A long awaited dream came true last month. I was finally able to go to Brazil! Back in about 2005 I had a realization of how the American education system has failed millions of citizens because until I saw City of God, I had no clue Black people were in South America. In my ignorance, I thought everyone south of the border was Mexican. I was shocked into a quest for more information. They looked just like us! After some good old Internet Exploring (Google was popping back then) I learned that they got to South America the same way we got to North America…The Transatlantic Slave Trade. The only difference is their ships went south and ours went north. By virtue of our colonizers we speak English and they speak Portuguese.
I first heard about a trip to Salvador Da Bahia and Rio De Janeiro back in November 2014 while visiting KRST Unity Center to see Dr. Runoko Rashidi speak on the African Presence on other continents. At the time I was unemployed, but I willed myself onto the trip. I hustled and sacrificed to pay my way and even got by Best Frannn to come along. I told myself I would learn Portuguese and didn’t. I had books and apps and only learned a hand full of words. Instead I made Google Translate would be my guide.
I had only left the country once two years prior and that 11 hour plane ride was quite comfortable. Not this time around. Even though it was an overnight flight, I could not get comfortable and we hit turbulence. Like, scary turbulence. I am a nervous flier as it is one of my life’s fears so that DROP midair did nothing but terrify me to my core. My eyes welled with water and I held on to the arm rest for dear life.
I lived (as you can ascertain from this blog post) and landed in Salvador on November 19th, hungry, irritated, and smelling like a 11 yr. old boy. I hate we arrived at night because I was so excited to be in there, but couldn’t chronicle my first moments due to the darkness. After reuniting with Cletus for the first time in 2 ½ years, eating, and showering…WE HIT THE BAR. Had Amarula on the recommendation of the brother sitting next to me at the bar. Turns out he is an expat living in Salvador! Then I had to get me one of them dranks I had been reading about…my first Caipirinha wasn’t bad at all. Shouts out to the Sheraton Da Bahia!
Day 1
The land of the Beautiful Black People is what I call it. We visited the light house at Porto de Praia. The brothers selling wares were rather aggressive, but hey…it’s what they do. The coastline was so beautiful. I finally got to see the Atlantic Ocean! I had coconut water straight from a coconut and passed by a McDonalds. They love Subway as they are rather plentiful.
The architecture is so rich. They have tile-lined sidewalks and even the building in ruin exude a certain beauty. It was humid, but I figured I would just sweat out my impurities. We visited the Pelourinho with its stunning painted buildings and rustic churches. My second Caipirinha was THE BOMB! 
I also got to Michael there and stopped by Olodum for a T shirt and took a total tourist pic in the Pelourinho where he filmed They Don’t Really Care About Us. #MJTTDIDAB.
It was Dia Da Consciencia Negra (Day of Black Consciousness) in honor of Zumbi Palmares so the brothers and sisters were out in full force. It felt so good to be in a place where everyone looked like me. I saw very few white people.
That night we went to Bale Folclorico da Bahia. Them Orishas were fierce! It was just like a whole bunch of screaming and moving while the musicians and singers did their thing. The bodies of the male dancers was tiiigghhttt! All that melanin! While waiting for the show to start we followed our ears to some music in the building across from us. There happened to be some people doing capoeira and I saw brother (master capoeira instructor with the high top fade) from that episode of Anthony Bourdain. Turns out we were in the Brazilian Capoeira Angola Association /ABCA.
The streets were abuzz with activity post ballet and we were not allowed to do our own thing. After pouting and being pissed that we could not follow the locals up the hill to the sound of the drums we just went to the hotel and had drinks. Totally missed all of the Dia Da Consciencia Negra festivities due to itinerary scheduling, which was what the hell we were there for in the first damn place.
Day 2 was amazeballs! We went out into the countryside to Santo Amaro, Mutitiba, and Cachoeira. In Santo Amaro we visited a market and I ate like I was a kid in Mississippi. I had Acerola 9small sour plums) and green grapes with seeds and I didn’t wash em! Just kissed em up to God and enjoyed. I also tried fresh squeezed sugar cane juice and jack fruit for the first time. Jack fruit’s taste is a weird and delicious mix between a pineapple and a banana. Our photographer cut a coconut in half and showed me how to eat the meat. It was very mild. Not the usual coconut taste I am used to here in the states.
We had lunch at Fazenda Santa Cruz in Muritiba. It turned out to be a farm with a bed and breakfast and this bomb ass passion fruit liquor (btw, fresh passion fruit tastes like meat to me. Yucky!) It was so peaceful up there and you could see the river, dam and town below. It felt unreal. I just sat in the grass and took it all in. The breeze and sunlight felt good on my skin. I could have stayed there forever. I also felt the kiddie spirit and did a half successful cartwheel. That place solidified it for me…I got get back to Bahia! We then went over to Cachoeira to visit a cigar factory. I was not amused, but I sat in their courtyard and took in nature and kept an eye on a busy lizard. I also had a great google translate conversation with our photographer. In my head I was replying back on my Jackee Harry 227 voice (Maaaaaarrryyy). Macking is hard when you don’t speak the same language and he is on the job. He found some option on my phone that allowed you to type letters with all of them accents and stuff! What stood out for me is that when asking how he identifies himself he replied that he was brown then said something about being a negão (nigga). I decided not to go into Sista Souljah mode and inform him that not all Black Americans call themselves niggas, but I digress. He was handsome.
We then visited Irmandade da Nossa Senhora da Boa Morte (The Sisterhood of Our Lady of the Good Death). It was cool to see the pictures of the sisters on the wall, but hot as all get out. I almost drank from the water fountain. We did some kind of ritual and exited. Our group was really concerned about a fire in the hills that was approaching a house. No one in the town seemed to care about it though. As I was walking back down the hill to our bus I was overwhelmed with emotions. I had to hold back tears. They were good tears. I felt at peace and rooted. It was such a moving experience being in Bahia. I have never felt that here in the states. Just sitting and being and breathing was spiritual.
We finally went out! We went to Sao Jorge and had Caipirinha’s and shots of Cacahca. From now on I am chasing shots with strawberries. We also met middle-aged spread Rico Suave white Brazilian dude. Mad I didn’t get a chance to dance to the live Samba band. That was my only drunk night in Salvador!
Day 3 was kewl! Visited the Dique de Tororo and Bonfim Church where some brothers outside the church blessed me (said some stuff in I would assume Portuguese, put white stuff on my wrists and forehead, through seeds on my head and hit me with some branches) then told me to pay up. I gave 12 Reis. It was cool though. We also visited a master tile maker who is 75 and very damn proud of it. I also learned about Anastacia. As the legend goes she was a slave in Brazil. Her owner made her wear a mask, as a punishment for repeatedly refusing his advances. She was raped and made to wear the iron mask for the rest of her life, only removing it once a day for her to eat. 
Salvador was rounded out by kicking it in the Pelourinho with the locals. Everybody wears flip flops and popcorn is plentiful from street vendors. Tried acaraje and did not like it. The okra was okra-y and I wish it were warmer. The funniest thing is that we kept getting strange looks when people heard us speaking English. We met some cool sistas while in line to get acaraje and had an extensive google translate convo with them. We are now Facebook friends and have exchanged numbers for WhatsApp. Now I have connections for my next visit.
Day 3 was a rush. I was determined to get to the beach. I had bought 3 swimsuits! We played frogger and walked down to what we thought was the beach but as close as we could get was the grounds of the museum of modern art. It would not have been wise to walk into the barrio/favela to access the beach, even at 9am so we sat at what looked like an old fort on the museum grounds and just took in the view (a barrio built into the mountain right beneath the hwy, ocean, and fishermen). I got bit by some Bahian ants and am still itching a week later. I also saw two little monkeys on a terra cotta roof. At first sight I thought they were squirrels, but one turned its head and I saw the cutest little monkey face!!!! 
The food was so fresh there. The pineapples were white and smaller. The butter was like…butter. I even liked the black eyed peas I tried. It really made me realize how much man made food we may be eating here in the states. I will most definitely be going back to Salvador soon! Maybe in 2016.
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