Jan 12
14
Lavagem De Bon Fim – Salvador Bahia Brazil…
The third Thursday in January – the 12th in 2012 it is the annual celebration here in Salvador of the Lavagem de Bonfim.
We knew about this event before we arrived here but were told that it was no big deal..just people walking to the Church – Bonfim to cleanse both themselves and the church – sounded a little bit Catholic and a lot Candomble – the Bahian – African culture.
The view of the crowd at the start of the procession - Lavagem de Bon Fim
A few people that we’ve spoken to over the past few days said they were going and that we’d probably see them there.
They recommended getting to the ‘Elevador’ before 10:00am to see the best part of the procession – and to wear white.
Salvador is built on two levels – the upper level is where most of the old city is located and the lower level where the business district and the port is located. The Elevador – 8 lifts that at one end of the city and a cable car is at the other end of town. These are the only access points for pedestrians to commute between the upper and lower levels.
So, we were up early, dressed and ready to go at 9:00am. We were surprised to see a very long queue at the Elevador when we arrived but it seemed to be moving along quite quickly, so we joined the end and waited. Lots of people were entertaining the queue with their antics…selling caps, overpriced ribbons, beaded necklaces – all souvenirs of the day. After about a 30 minute wait we boarded the Elevador down to the action!
To say the place was PACKED is a bit of an understatement – it was TEEMING with people!!
Sound System that filled the Van!!
There were trucks loaded up with bands and their sound systems blaring so loudly our internal organs were vibrating….People were dancing and singing along with most of the songs dancing along behind the trucks.
African bands with lots of drummers and trombones and trumpeters were playing while their followers were dancing along – some in perfect formation – following the rhythm of the music.
Looking back at the crowd - Lavagem de Bon Fim - Salvador, Brasil
There was a real carnival atmosphere and people were having a great time.
Remember that we joined the procession at around 9:30 am – and people were already drinking beers and vodkas.
Clearly everyone was having a great time and they had a long day ahead of them!
We ambled along with the crowds for a couple of hours until we came across some cabana’s set up on the side of the road that offered snacks and some shade so we took the opportunity to sit down for a while and watch the passing parade.
Can holder anyone?
The parade just kept coming and each time we thought it had come to the end another big truck appeared with more people atop and surrounding it – singing and dancing along the street, so after about 45 minutes we decided to head back rather than walk the remaining 5 kms to the Church. I have no idea what happens when the millions (literally) of people and all the trucks and sound systems arrive at BonFim, but we decided that we would rather get home safely in daylight than take our chances a long way from home to get a taxi back.
The Queen of the Parade 
The walk back to the Elevador was just as much fun – we were going against the crowds and many times we were sandwiched between so many people we couldn’t move forward or backwards! We eventually got back to the start of the parade and were amazed to see even more trucks arriving and filling up with revellers getting ready to set off.
The recyclers were having a busy day – collecting huge bags of empty cans.
There were hundreds of beer and Smirnoff and Capirinha and Capiroska sellers as well as food vendors selling everything from cheese and meat sticks to fairy floss and chewing gum. Everyone was happy and smiling and it was a lot of fun to be able to join in with the revelry when we wanted to and to watch and listen to it all.
All in all a very enjoyable day and as this is considered a ‘small’ event, how much bigger will Caranaval be…
and I wonder how many people will be absent from their J.O.B’s tomorrow….
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