Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
CANDOMBLÉ IN CACHOEIRA
Cachoeira is known all over Brazil for the intensity of its
candomblé
traditions, with some
terreiros
still conducting rituals in African dialects nobody otherwise speaks, recognizable as variants of
West African and Angolan languages. One of the best-known candomblé events is Cachoeira's
fiesta of
Nossa Senhora da Boa Morte
, which always begins on the first Friday before August
15. It's staged by a sisterhood, the Irmandade da Boa Morte, founded by freed women slaves in
the mid-nineteenth century, partly as a religious group and partly to work for the emancipation of
slaves by acting as an early cooperative bank to buy people their liberty. All the local candomblé
groups turn out with drummers and singers, and although the name of the fiesta is Catholic it's a
celebration of candomblé, with centre stage held by the dignified matriarchs of the sisterhood.
The other great day in the candomblé year is the
Festa de Santa Barbara
, on December 4 in
São Félix, dedicated to the goddess Iansã. There are several other fiestas worth catching, like the
São João
celebrations from June 22 to 24, while five saints' days are crammed into the last three
months of the year; check with the tourist of
ce (see p.218) for exact dates..
Dedicated to the all-female Boa Morte religious society, the
Centro Cultural da
Irmandade da Nossa Senhora da Boa Morte
at Rua 13 de Maio (daily 10am-6pm; by
donation) was being renovated at the time of writing.
3
the concave shape of the Bahia Todos Santos. The Recôncavo arcs out from Salvador
along 150km of bayshore, before petering out in the mangrove swamps around the
town of Valença. It's one of the most lush and tropical regions in Brazil, with palm-
covered hills and colonial towns breaking up the green and fertile coastal plains; you'll
still see some of the sugar cane that made the area so rich, though these days there are
plenty of empty, overgrown fields overtaken by jungle. The twin towns of Cachoeira
and
São Félix
are only a few kilometres apart across the Rio Paraguaçu, spanned by a
single-track
iron box-girder bridge
(built by British engineers in 1885 and opened by
Emperor Dom Pedro himself ). Cachoeira is easily the more impressive, its vibrant
Afro-Brazilian culture, wide, shady plazas and profusion of gorgeous Baroque buildings
evidence of the sugar boom in the eighteenth century.
In a sign of the times, buses now pull in at a tiny rodoviária, overlooked by the grand,
derelict train station worthy of
Belle epoque
Europe. Freight trains still pass over the
bridge (stopping tra
c), and run through the station, but the whole structure is an
abandoned shell. Much of the old town is similarly crumbling away, though restoration
has picked up in recent years as the town develops its tourist potential. Cachoeira
was the birthplace of
Ana Néri
, known as “Mother of the Brazilians”, who organized
nursing services during the Paraguayan War (1865-70) - her birthplace now serves as
the tourist information o
ce. Note that street signs are hard to make out in Cachoeira,
and even shops and restaurants are poorly marked.
Casa da Câmara e Cadeia
Praça da Aclamação • Mon-Fri 8am-4pm • Free
The finest and most spacious square in the town is
Praça da Aclamação
, lined with civil
buildings from the golden age of Cachoeira in the eighteenth century, including the
Prefeitura and the
Casa da Câmara e Cadeira
. Built between 1698 and 1712, this
relatively simple building served as town hall and jail (it was also briefly the seat of
provincial government in 1822). Today it still holds city council meetings. Inside is a
small museum about the history of the building and slavery in the region.
Conjunto do Carmo
Praça da Aclamação s/n • Tues-Sat 8am-noon & 2-5pm, Sun 9am-noon • R$4
The south side of Praça da Aclamação is dominated by the huge bulk of the eighteenth-
century
Conjunto do Carmo
, beautifully restored in 2006: the complex includes the
main church or
Ordem Primeira do Carmo
(now a convention centre), a Carmelite
