'Bahia' is one of the 26
states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the
Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after
São Paulo,
Minas Gerais and
Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size. It is also an important state, in terms of history and culture, in Brazil's
Northeast Region. Bahia's capital is the city of
Salvador, or more properly, São Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos, and is located at the junction of the
Atlantic Ocean and the
Bay of All Saints.
Pronunciation [1] (the H is not pronounced, and the stress is on the second syllable). The name is an archaic spelling of the Portuguese word meaning "bay" and comes from "a baía de Todos os Santos" (All Saints' Bay), first seen by European sailors on November 1 1501, All Saints' Day.
History
The
Portuguese Pedro Álvares Cabral landed at what is now
Porto Seguro, on the southern coast of Bahia in
1500, and claimed the territory for Portugal. In
1549, Portugal established the city of
Salvador, on a hill facing the Bay of All Saints. The city and surrounding captaincy served as the administrative and religious capital of Portugal's colonies in
the Americas until
1763. The Dutch held control of Bahia from May
1624 through April
1625.
Charles Darwin visited Bahia in
1832 on his famous Voyage of The Beagle.
The state was also the last area of Brazil to join the independent confederation; Some members in the elite remained loyal to the Portuguese crown after the rest of the country was granted independence. After several battles, mostly in
Pirajá, the province was finally able to expel the Portuguese on
July 2,
1823, known as Bahia Independence Day, a great popular celebration. In the state there is an ongoing discussion about the exact moment of Brazilian independence, because for almost all "baianos," it really happened in Bahia with the battles, and not on
September 7, when the Emperor, Pedro I, declared independence.
Bahia was a center of
sugar cultivation from the 16th to the 18th centuries, and contains a number of historical towns, such as
Cachoeira, dating from this era. Integral to the sugar economy was the importation of a vast number of
African
slaves; more than 37% of all slaves taken from Africa were sent to Brazil, mostly to be processed in Bahia before being sent to work in plantations elsewhere in the country.
The former State's Government palace.
The oldest
Roman Catholic cathedral and the first
medical college in the country are located in Bahia's capital, which also has one of the highest percentage of churches of any capital city in Brazil. The Catholic
Archbishop of
São Salvador da Bahia,
Geraldo Majella Agnelo, is the
Cardinal Primate of Brazil.
'Also see wikipedia articles and respective discussions':
★
Empire of Brazil
★
Brazilian War of Independence
Demographics
Local people with typical clothes of
African origin
According to the 2005 PNAD census, the racial makeup of the State was:
[2]
:
''Source: IBGE (PNAD)[2].''
Bahia in the centre of the
Afro-Brazilian culture.
[4] Most of the population is descendant of
Black African
slaves, who were mainly
Yoruba speakers from
Nigeria and
Benin.
[5]
Geography
The state's geographical regions comprise the
Atlantic Forest or ''mata atlântica''; the ''
recôncavo'' region radiating from the Bay (the largest in Brazil), the site of sugar and tobacco cultivation; and the ''planalto'', which includes the fabled
sertão region of Bahia's far interior.
Bahia is bordered, in counterclockwise fashion, by
Sergipe,
Alagoas,
Pernambuco,
Piauí, and
Maranhão to the north,
Goiás and
Tocantins to the west, and
Minas Gerais and
Espírito Santo to the south.
The
São Francisco River, Brazil's second longest river system, runs from the Atlantic Ocean along the state's northern border with
Sergipe and
Pernambuco down through the planalto into the neighboring southern state of
Minas Gerais.
The state has the longest coastline in Brazil; the northern coastline running from Salvador forms the ''Linha Verde'' (Green Line).
Bahia contains the longest known cave in the Southern hemisphere,
Toca da Boa Vista, which has 84km of mapped passages.
Economy
The state has the biggest GDP of North/Northest of Brazil. Bahia is the main producer and exporter of
cacao in Brazil. In addition to important agricultural and industrial sectors, the state also has considerable
mineral and
petroleum deposits. In recent years,
soy cultivation has increased substantially in the state.
★ Chemical and Petrochemical
Bahia's Petrochemical Pole is the largest integrated complex in the Southern Hemisphere, and is the result of R$10 billion in investments, accounting for a third of the state's exports and for nearly half of the industrial production value.
★ Mining
Bahia is one of the richest states in minerals in the country, ranking third in Brazilian mineral production. The State's main products are gold, copper concentrate, magnesite, chromite, rock salt, barite, manganese, ornamental rocks, precious stones, talcum, phosphates, and uranium.
★ Automotive
In Bahia, the automotive sector has gained prominence since the creation of the Northeast Ford Complex in Camaçari (2001), and has become one of the most promising sectors of the Bahian economy. This enterprise, which was developed with the aim of generating 5,000 direct jobs and 55,000 indirect ones in 2005 has surpassed that expectation by registering 8,500 direct job positions and 85,000 indirect ones since its development.
Nowadays, Bahia produces about 10% of all vehicles produced in Brazil, occupying the third position in the national rankings. The Bahian automotive sector, led by Ford was in 2005 the third largest contributor (14.6%) to the Bahian GDP. It is important to highlight that Bahia had a 4.8% overall increase in its GDP, double the national performance, according to the Superintendency of Economic and Social Studies of Bahia (SEI)/Secretariat of Planning and IBGE.
★ Other Market Segments:
Agribusiness;
Footwear;
Call Centers;
Informatics, Electronics, and Telecommunications;
Nautical;
Paper and Pulp;
Textiles;
Plastic Transformation; and
Tourism.
Tourism: Bahia's long coastline, beautiful
beaches and
cultural treasures make it one of Brazil's chief tourist destinations. In addition to the island of
Itaparica, the town of
Morro de São Paulo across the Bay on the northernmost tip of the southern coastline, and the large number of beaches between
Ilhéus and
Porto Seguro, on the southeastern coast, the littoral area north of
Salvador, stretching towards the border with
Sergipe, has become an important tourist destination. The
Costa do Sauípe contains one of the largest resort hotel developments in
Brazil and South America.
Bahian Culture
As the chief locus of the early Brazilian slave trade, Bahia is considered to possess the greatest and most distinctive African imprint, in terms of culture and customs, in Brazil. These include the
Yoruba-derived religious system of
Candomblé, the martial art of
capoeira (especially the style of
capoeira de Angola), African-derived
music such as
samba (especially samba's Bahian precursor
samba-de-roda),
afoxé, and
axé, and a
cuisine with strong links to western Africa.
Bahia is the birthplace of many noted Brazilian artists, writers and musicians. Among the noted musical figures born in the state are
Dorival Caymmi;
João Gilberto;
Gilberto Gil, the country's Minister of Culture;
Caetano Veloso and his sister
Maria Bethânia (Gil and Veloso being the founders of the
Tropicália movement (a native adaptation of the hippie movement) of the late 1960s and early 1970s, which ultimate gained international recognition);
Gal Costa;
Luis Caldas;
Sara Jane;
Daniela Mercury;
Ivete Sangalo;
Carlinhos Brown and
Margareth Menezes.
The city of Salvador is also home to internationally famous groups known as "blocos-afros," including
Olodum,
Ara Ketu,
É o Tchan, and
Ilê Aiyê. Additionally, groups such as
Chiclete com Banana also are based in Bahia. The first well-known rock'n roll singer in Brazil was also from Bahia. Born
Raul Seixas, he was known as "Maluco Beleza" or "Peaceful Lunatic" (To be "beleza" in this sense means to be either "in peace" or "high").
During the 19th century, one of Brazil's greatest poets, the Bahian
abolitionist poet and
playwright Castro Alves, a native of the ''recôncavo'' city of
Cachoeira, penned his most famous poem, ''
Navio negreiro'', about slavery; the poem is considered a masterpiece of Brazilian
Romanticism and a central
anti-slavery text.
Other notable Bahian writers include
Gregório de Matos, who wrote during the 17th century and was one of the first Brazilian writers, and Fr.
Antonio Vieira, who during the colonial period was one of many authors who contributed to the expansion of the Portuguese language throughout the Brazilian territory.
The major Brazilian fiction writer of the 20th Century,
Jorge Amado, was born in the southeastern Bahian city of
Itabuna, and resided for many years in
Salvador. His major novels include ''
Gabriela, Cinnamon and Cloves''; ''
Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands''; and ''
Tieta, the Goat Girl'', all of which became internationally renowned films. More recent writers from Bahia include the fiction writers
João Ubaldo Ribeiro and
Jean Wyllys, winner of
Big Brother Brasil 5 in
2005.
In the visual and plastic arts, one of the best known Bahian figures was the multigenre artist and
Argentinian native Hector Julio Páride Bernabó, also known as
Carybé (1911-1997). Fine examples of his work are visible in the
Afro-Brazilian Museum in Salvador.
Sports
Soccer is the most popular sport. The two most popular soccer teams are
Esporte Clube Bahia (Bahia Sport Club) and
Esporte Clube Vitoria (Victory Sport Club). In 2007, Bahia plays in the Brazilian Serie C, while Vitoria plays in the Brazilian Serie B. Bahia has won the premier national soccer competition twice: The
Taça Brasil in 1959 and the national league (
Campeonato Brasileiro) in 1988. Bahia is also one of the original founders of the Clube dos Treze (Club of the Thirteen). Vitoria was the national league runner-up in 1993.
In the sport of
boxing, Bahian native
Acelino "Popó" Freitas is the current world champion (
WBC) in the lightweight class.
Indigenous Populations
There also are
indigenous tribes, such as the
Pataxó, who reside on the southern Atlantic coast and in the state's interior, and
Tuxá, who reside on the edge of
São Francisco River in northern of Bahia.
Other Important Cities
Beyond the capital, other important cities in the state include:
the old island city of
Itaparica, on the island of the same name, in the Bay of All Saints;
the industrial city of
Camaçari in the Salvador region, with the biggest petrochemical pool in Latin America;
the ''reconcôncavo'' cities of
Cachoeira,
Santo Amaro,
Nazaré, and
São Felix;
the resort towns of
Arembepe and Conde on the north coast;
Ilhéus, where
Jorge Amado spent his childhood, and nearby
Itabuna;
the resort town of
Morro de São Paulo, in the
Valença region;
the southern coastal cities of
Porto Seguro, now a major tourist destination,
Santa Cruz da Cabrália, and
Prado;
Juazeiro, the twin city of
Petrolina in
Pernambuco, on the São Francisco River;
Feira de Santana;
Jequié;
Ipiaú;
Vitória da Conquista, in the southeast part state;
and
Lençóis and
Palmeiras, in the
Chapada Diamantina region.
See also:
★
List of municipalities in Bahia (BA), Brazil (all cities and municipalities)
Famous Bahians/Baianos
'Baianos', as natives and residents of Bahia are popularly called in Brazil, have made extensive contributions to Brazil's history, culture, music, literature, education, science, and technology. Some important contemporary Bahians include:
★
Raimundo Sodré, singer/composer noted for his adherence to traditional Bahian musical forms such as samba-de-roda, and traditional forms of Brazil's Nordeste, such as the baião.
★ Jason Singh - gamer, played The Myth of Soma as Bahia. biggest idiot on the game.
★
Maria Bethânia, singer, sister of Caetano Veloso
★
Carlinhos Brown, composer, percussionist, singer, and member of
Timbalada and
Tribalistas
★
Luis Caldas, singer
★
Gal Costa, singer
★
Elomar Figueira de Mello, composer, and singer
★
Dida, internationally acclaimed soccer and goalkeeper
★
Acelino "Popó" Freitas, WBC champion
★
Gilberto Gil, singer, composer, environmentalist and Brazilian Minister of Culture (
2003-); founded the musical movement
Tropicália with Caetano Veloso
★
João Gilberto, singer and composer, considered with
Tom Jobim (
Antonio Carlos Jobim) as one of the founders of
bossa nova
★
Adriana Lima, fashion model and
Victoria's Secret Angel
★
Goya Lopes, fashion designer
★
Margareth Menezes, singer
★
Daniela Mercury, singer
★
Luiz R. B. Mott, anthropologist, leading
gay rights activist, and founder of
Grupo Gay da Bahia, the oldest LGBT and human rights groups in Brazil
★
Ivete Sangalo, singer
★
Pitty, rock/hardcore singer.
★
Caetano Veloso, singer, composer, activist, and author, founded the musical movement
Tropicália with Gilberto Gil
★
Tom Zé (Antônio José Santana Martins), singer-songwriter, member of the
Tropicália movement
★
Raul Seixas, rock singer-songwriter
★
Glauber Rocha, (1938 — 1981) was the best brazilian movie maker, also great writer and actor.
External links
★
Official homepage ★
★
IBGE Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística ★
★
Geographical guide to Brazil
★
Bahia-Online.net
References
1. The presented pronunciation is in Brazilian Portuguese. In European Portuguese the pronunciation is: //.
2. Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística
3. Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística
4. http://www.galenfrysinger.com/salvador_bahia_lower.htm
5. http://travel.nytimes.com/frommers/travel/guides/central-and-south-america/brazil/bahia/frm_bahia_2852010001.html
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