Rio de Janeiro was full of nightclubs for all classes of people and musical tastes. American music scouts setup offices in town to help keep their ears to the music. Among the talent working these clubs went the likes of Antonio Calos Jobim and Joao Gilberto — acquaintences at the time, although not exactly friends. Lena Horne, Sarah Vaughan, and Nat King Kole were among the musical presentations at the Copacabana Palace in those days.

Little Joao

Joao Gilberto was the son of a wealthy businessman from northern Bahia. His father played the sax and mandolin and was founder of his town’s marching band. Joao got his first guitar at 14 and soon dropped out of school, formed a band, and began playing at parties and festivals in his home town of Juazeiro. When his father learned that little Joao was not planning to continue his schooling but wanted instead to become a musician (synonymous with being a bum in those days) he cut off all financial support to his son. So began Gilberto’s long history of leeching off of others for support. Over the next 12 years, he would move from one handout to another, staying as long as anyone would support him, until eventually, practically nobody did. To make matters worse, Joao was rather fond of getting high on marijuana and sitting around playing his guitar and singing.

Eu vim da Bahia cantar
I came from Bahia to sing
Eu vim da Bahia contar
I came from Bahia to tell my story
Eu vim da Bahia, mas um dia eu volto para la
I came from Bahia, but one day I’ll return there

Gilberto arrived in Rio with a government job set up for him by his family and a singing gig in a quartet called Garotos da Lua (Boys of the Moon), which played at various clubs in Rio and Petropolis. He worked in the Cinelandia area, ironically, where all the popular music stores were located. Most of his time was spent in the stores and not at his desk. A year later, the Garotos da Lua got a record deal but on the day of the recording session, Gilberto was a no-show. He left the band the next day, after his band humiliated him for the no-show in front of the music store (where some of the band members worked). He was more interested in playing solo anyway and often promoted himself as a solo act on the band’s time. Soon after leaving the band, Gilberto was fired from his job for not even pretending to show up to work.

But Gilberto’s great singing voice, guitar playing, and charming personality landed him plenty of contacts and gigs and he spent the next few years scraping by on radio spots, ad jingles, and sit-ins for bands. As the story goes, one day he was kicked out of yet another friend’s house and made his way to Jobim’s place, then only an acquaintance from the club circuit. When he knocked on the door, Jobim’s wife answered with the message, “Tom (Jobim) told me to tell you that he is not home.” Gilberto later left Rio to play in Porto Alegre with some moderate success, but that success never quite translated to Rio de Janeiro and he left again to spend time with his sister in Diamantina, Minas Gerais. It’s said that he hardly left her house, but spent every waking hour sitting and playing the guitar.

Antonio Brasileiro

Meanwhile, Tom Jobim, the boy from Ipanema, had married young (at age 22) and was practically the opposite of Gilberto, concerned mostly with his domestic responsibilities and paying the rent. He worked as a pianist at night in any gig that would pay, from dive bars to the Copacabana Palace. He played frequently at the clubs on Beco das Garrafas (Bottle Alley), so called because residents threw bottles from the windows at the patrons as they made their way into the clubs. The alley was famous for its high class prostitutes, jazz and swing music, and bohemian clientele. It was known by the musicians as Beco Joga Chave Meu Amor (Throw Your Keys My Love Alley). Jobim had acquired a decent amount of local recognition as a songwriter and piano player. He connected with poet and song writer Vinicius de Morais, a government official who was to become his song writing partner and later ambassador to France. By the time Gilberto returned to Rio, Jobim had already achieved quite a bit of success as a musician and song writer.

Collaboration

Gilberto returned a bit more disciplined and determined and his playing had changed a matured. His great singing and playing got him into professional gigs and recording sessions and his unique guitar style attracted some attention. People said it was like Samba without the tambourines. One day, an important producer gave him an address on a piece of paper and told him to get in touch with this person to do some collaboration. The name on the paper was Tom Jobim. Their first recording together was Jobim’s Chega de Saldade with Gilberto’s Bim Bom on the B side. Slow to gather momentum in Brazil, the record got the attention of American scouts and within a year, Gilberto and Jobim were being produced in the United States. Gilberto’s first royalty check from Verve/Polygram Records was around US$25,000 for his collaboration with Stan Getz.

Information cited from Chega de Saldade: a historia e as historias da Bossa Nova, by Ruy Castro, Sao Paulo, 1990.

The Tuiuiu is mosly black and white: its white body is offset by a black head and neck. Between these two colors is a strip of bright red at the base of its neck. Its red and black neck is not colored by feathers; rather, these are the colors of its naked skin, which stretches to accommodate the great quantities of small animals and fish that pass down its gullet. The Tuiuiu lives in groups, but generally mates for life, creating from one to three chicks each season from late July to September. It creates large nests out of interlaced sticks in the tops of tall trees and even goes back to the same nest each season to remodel and expand it.

It’s easy to spot Tuiuiu in the Pantanal during their mating and incubation period, which corresponds to the dry season in the Pantanal. Often, they stand up in their nests, keeping a lookout or hang around in groups near small ponds and lakes. They are rather sensitive and don’t let visitors get too close, so be sure to bring a good pair of binoculars to get an up-close look.

When I went back to Harvard last April I did the same thing. The cab drivers in Cambridge are mostly Haitian: I can understand their Creole but I respond in French. Downtown on Market Street In San Francisco, people who I have never seen me before open up a conversation with me in French. It happens almost every time and has been some what of a joke. I lost my wallet one time with five hundred dollars in it. It was returned to me by a French speaking Swiss University girl. When she returned to Geneva I sent her a purse in gratitude. None of our conversation was in English. I don’t know why this happens, since I do not wear the French flag on my sleeve.

One of the reasons that my father left the Ville, I later learned, was because the Ku Klux Klan imposed a secondary boycott and he could not get food or supplies for his restaurants. We landed within walking distance of the University of Chicago, which had a tremendous influence on all our lives. My oldest sister graduated from there in 1942 or earlier. Woodlawn is next to Hyde Park; my brother Andrew is now a neighbor of Obama and Rahm Emmauel.

In Chicago we were visited by many foreign students, among them, Mario Wagner Cunha from an elite Brazilian family. Papa Doc got his medical degree there. We had many Haitian visitors and kept open house of sorts. Cooking is one of my hobbies. My father had ten children; how he managed to maintain a haute cuisine in St. Louis and Chicago is a still a mystery to me. It takes twelve hours to make French pastry the way we made it. I do not make crepes with Grand Marnier every day. We traveled; we must have been fairly comfortable. At least up to the Depression.

I went to school with Luis Labouriaux, a Carioca of Creole-French descent. Later on we were in the graduate school at Michigan together. We became as close as brothers. When I went to Rio, Dona Judith formalized what was already extant. Luis knew her before she knew herself. Luis would have been her godfather except that he did not take Catholicism seriously. Their custom is transitive. Whenever my brother Andrew came to Rio with me, he was treated the same way. Dona Judith tried to marry him off too. She regarded my children as her grandchildren.

Some things sink in on me perhaps later than they should. Those students at the University of Chicago at that time came through what I now call an elite filter. To put it another way, there were no poverty stricken peasants running up and down the Midway. When Dona Judith introduced me into her circle, I did not realize that it was “the circle!” At her coming out party (quinceanera) she and her sister were introduced to the emperor. Joe Sixpack does not usually find himself in the presence of an emperor. (I knew that Diva was a Brandao; I did not realize it was the Brandao.) One does not casually call on an Archbishop (her uncle) as I did. She named her second son Giordano Bruno in defiance of the Church. Giordano did not fare as well as Galileo; he was burned at the stake for his beliefs.

For a long time after the war I struggled with raising my family either here or in Brazil. I wanted to spare them American racial prejudice. I have a passport with all my children on it. That decision was made for me when the military took over in Brazil. I stayed here and sent them through the American school system. You can blame me for the results. I was overjoyed when Brazil returned to democracy. I was in Sao Paulo in the crowd on that very day! I did not overtly become a Lusophile; I was dragged into it by events. I was prepared to send my sons to Rio rather than put up with the Vietnam War draft.

We are now more than ever intimately bound up with Brazil; it is in the warp and woof of our existence.

AXE
Bernard

The Beach

Barra is a busy beach just about every day of the year. It is situated in front of one of the most active areas on the coastline for hotels, bars, and restaurants. During the day, the Barra beach is a place to kick back and get some sun on the sand. You won’t be there but two minutes before you’ll be interrupted by someone selling something: roasted peanuts, sunglasses, sunscreen, and roasted cheese. The water in Barra and all of the beaches of Salvador is mercifully pollution free, due to a major clean-up program initiated by the mayor. The city installed sewage treatment facilities in every beach from Bonfim to Itapuan and you can swim anywhere on the Salvador coast, with the exception of Boca do Rio (the river does not get treated before it empties into the ocean). Of course, there are many beaches that you should not visit due to risk of assault, such as anything within 20 kilometers of Rio Vermelho Beach.

If you go into the water in Barra, just be sure that you have someone to watch your stuff. If you are alone on the beach (perhaps watching somebody’s stuff), be aware of people who may try to distract you from what you are watching over. Some of these misdirection schemes are performed in pairs, so if one person approaches you, open the eyes in back of your head. There is almost no risk of outright assault on the Barra beach during the day.

Sights

Barra is more about beaches and less about sites than Pelourinho. You may also find yourself in Barra because of the abundance of hotel options there. Still, there are a couple of sites worth checking out. First and foremost is the Santo Antônio da Barra Forte, also known as the Farol da Barra (or Barra Lighthouse). It is perhaps the most important fort in Brazil’s history. It was here that the Dutch first invaded Brazil (unsuccessfully) in 1624 and then again (successfully) in 1629. It has played an important role in the protection of the Bay of All Saints since its construction in the mid 1500s. Inside the fort is the Nautical Museum, which has a bunch of artifacts from a 16th century Portuguese ship that sunk offshore, as well as nautical maps and historical documents.

Most impressive is the view from the lighthouse platform, which lets you see both the bay side and ocean side of the coastline. There is a small coffee shop inside the fort. Open 9am–7pm in low season and 9am–9p.m. in the summer months. Closed Wednesday. The second most interesting fort in Salvador is also in the Barra region, called the San Diogo Forte. It overlooks the Barra Port at the end of Av. Princesa Isabel. Open 9:30am–noon and 1:30–5:30pm Next to this fort is the Instituto Mauá (see Shopping below). Finally, on the hill above Barra is the Igreja Abadia da Graça (Largo da Graça in the Graça neighborhood). This church was built in 1557, making it one of the city’s oldest original structures. It’s small and not as flashy as the churches in Pelourinho, but if you want to take a walk in the Barra neighborhood, you can check it out. Open 8–11:30am and 2–5pm

Shopping

There are shops all along Av. Sete de Setembro, the coast highway at Barra. If you want a more formal shopping experience, then Shopping Barra is within walking distance. It’s one of the best shopping malls in Salvador and has a tourist information booth inside, as well as movie theaters and Internet cafés. There are also some excellent lunch buffet restaurants in the food court and a bank of relatively quiet public phones. The best way to enter is from Rua Miguel Bournier. You’ll enter at the arts and crafts fair, which is in the east wing. This fair has some of the same items that you’ll find in the Mercado Modelo and probably at about the same prices. Another arts and crafts fair is at the Instituto Mauá (Praça Azevedo Fernandes 2, across from the gas station). Again, the merchandise here is similar to that of the Mercado Modelo at about the same prices, but it’s worth a look.

As you walk into the main praça of Pelourinho, called the Terreiro de Jesus, the Catedral Basilica will be on your left. You can’t miss it; it’s the largest and most impressive church in the praça, built in the early 1600s, not long after the founding of Salvador. Much of the original construction was lost to fire in the early 1900s, but the church was rebuilt and stands as an example of baroque architecture and sacred art in South America. The church was originally built as a Jesuit school (until the Jesuits were ousted in the mid 1600s) and above the entrance doors are carvings of three Jesuit saints. Inside, you can look down to see the marble floors, or up to see the beautifully painted and carved ceiling. Side altars are loaded with gold-covered wooden sculpture and hand-painted ornamentation, and represent a mixture of styles, from Baroque to Neo-Classic.

The highlight is the front altar with a hand-carved arch and many wood carvings. In the back of the church is a collection of religious paintings and Portuguese tiles. With its two towers, marble floors, tropical wood, gold leafing and paintings, the Catedral Basilica is considered one of the country’s most beautiful churches. It is often used by Brazil’s rich and famous for wedding ceremonies. Cost of entry is R$1. Open 9–11am and 2–5pm daily. You can attend mass on Sundays at 10:30am with Baroque music presentations.

Igreja de São Pedro dos Clerigos

Not necessarily one of the most exciting churches in the Centro Histórico, São Pedro is worth peeking into as you walk across the praça Terreiro de Jesus. It’s one of the few churches in the Rococo style. Open 1–5pm Monday–Friday.

Igreja e Convento de São Francisco

Considered the richest church in Brazil, the Igreja São Francisco (also known as the Gold Church) is drenched in gold leaf, hundreds of kilos of it. The many wood sculptures on the altars representing cherubs, angels, saints, flora and fauna are all draped in gold and surrounded with detailed ornamentation in gold and white. The simple gold-and-white motif is offset by the dark Jacarandá wood used in the hand railings and altar pews and a few simple blue Portuguese tiles above the altars. The ceiling and entrance are covered in Baroque paintings. The church was finished in 1723 and has a rather humble outer façade, hiding the incredible riches within. The adjoining convent has an entrance hallway covered in blue Portuguese tiles from the 1500s, and the theme continues to the outer patio area. It’s open from 8:30am–5pm Monday–Saturday.

Igreja da Ordem Terceira de São Francisco

This church has the date 1703 carved into the façade, which is the only church in Pelourinho with hand carved stone in the front. The ceilings are beautifully painted with several interlocked panels and the altars are filled with typical Baroque carvings covered in gold. Upstairs is a museum with numerous paintings (check out the gold-leafed frames) and an enormous banquet table for thirty. Located at Rua Inacio Acccioli next to the São Francisco Convent. Entrance fee is R$3. Open 8am–5pm Monday–Friday and 7am–noon on Sunday.

Igreja Nossa Sra. do Rosário

At the bottom of the hill, on the far end of Pelourinho sits the Igreja do Rosário, built in the 1700s by free slaves. Like most churches of the brotherhood of Rosário (brotherhood of black slaves), this church is on the outskirts of town and uses a mixture of themes, both African and Catholic. The façade is a mixture of Baroque and Rococo architecture with Indian influences in the spires. It’s open from 7:30am–6pm Monday–Friday and 7:30am–noon on weekends. At the time of this writing, this church was closed for restorations, which have been known to take years to complete in Pelourinho.

Igreja Nossa Sra. da Misericordia (Santa Casa)

Flanking the Monument to the Fallen Cross on Rua Chile is the Santa Casa de Misericordia, a 17th century construction with 18th century reforms. The house contains a collection of sacred art, sculpture, colonial furniture and artifacts from the colonial period. Even if you’re not up for checking out more religious art and sculpture (you might want to save your stamina for the Sacred Art Museum and principal churches), it’s worth at least stepping into the entry hall to check out the interior of the building. Open 8am–5pm Monday–Friday.

Originally, this principal area of Salvador consisted of a high and low city, called Cidade Alta and Cidade Baixa. Today the famous Lacerda Elevator carries over 50,000 people every day between the two. At the bottom, where all of the shipping activity took place, are more churches, the Mercado Modelo for regional arts and crafts, and the Maritime Terminal, where you can catch a boat to one of the islands in the bay. The Cidade Baixa extends westward to the area known as Bonfim, a neighborhood famous for its Afro-Brazilian festivals and home to the famous Bonfim Church.

On the other side of Pelourinho (toward the ocean) the monuments, churches and museums continue all the way down the coast to the Campo Grande neighborhood (mainly along Av. Sete de Setembro). Some highlights here include the Museum of Modern Art and the nearby Solar do União performing arts center. Two of the city’s best museums are here (Carlos Costa Pinto and Bahian Art Museum) as well as the Praça Castro Alves and the modern Castro Alves Theater.

Sites

Churches in Pelourinho
Museums in Pelourinho
Architecture & Monuments in Pelourinho

Of course, unfriendly could mean everything from bad manners to all-out danger. Paris, while known for being unfriendly (especially to Americans), is a fairly safe city, while Mexico City is among the more dangerous cities around, even though the service is excellent there.

Either way you look at it, the LowFares.com list is interesting and insightful. Check out their low travel fares while you’re there. And for an up-to-date report on safety in Sao Paulo, Brazil, check out the Overseas Security Advisory Council’s Report on the matter.

I’ve added a complete guide to Brazil’s best diving locations in the post: Snorkeling & Scuba Diving in Brazil. this will help you choose your favorite diving locations. Don’t forget, if you’re not a diver, taking a diving course in Brazil is an excellent way to spend your vacation, get your diving certificate and save some money at the same time (diving courses in Brazil are generally cheaper than at home).

Just about every major diving spot in Brazil is home to a school with dive masters. It’s easy to find equipment rentals, classes, and guides to take you out from 4–70 meters down, day or night. A full scuba course with recognized certification takes 4–5 days and costs about R$600. This is a great way to spend a week on the coast of Brazil. A single baptism dive goes for about R$90 and many are performed in shallow ocean water.

The best months in which to visit Brazil for diving purposes are from December through March, when the waters are clearest. Following are the best locations:

The Northeast Coast

The most famous location for diving on the Northeast coast (and perhaps in all of Brazil) is around the island of Fernando de Noronha. Designated as a natural preserve, the island’s waters are crystal clear with visibility of up to 50 meters and maintain an average temperature of 27*C. Fish range in size from small tropical species to dolphins, sharks and even whales (diving is not permitted with whales and dolphins but they can be seen off the coast in great numbers). There are over 250 species of fish and five different types of sharks in the area. It’s also common to see huge sea turtles of up to 300 kilos. Favorite locations include the many natural underwater trails, or corridors, that are full of sponges, coral, lobster tropical fish and small sharks. There are dive schools on the island and back in the port of Natal.

On the coast around Natal is the largest area of underwater reefs in Brazil at the Parrachos of Maracajaú. There are also two accessible shipwrecks in the area. The water is super clear and the bottom is a bed of white sand. Dive masters can be found in the Ponta Negra neighborhood of Natal.

Along the northern coast of Recife are a number of shipwrecks that are easily reached at about 30–40 meters. In fact, the Recife area is considered a ship cemetery due to the number of wrecks in the local waters. The area around the Island of Itamaraca has clear water with decent visibility and variety of fish. In the south, there are the natural pools in the area of Porto de Galinhas, a haven for snorkeling, but also excellent for less advanced scuba dives.

The Coast of Bahia

In the south of Bahia, off the coast of Porto de Seguro is one of Brazil’s Marine Parks, the Recife de Fora Marine Preserve. There is a great variety of crustaceans and reef species there. To the south is the unparalleled Archipelago de Abrolhos and the Abrolhos National Marine Park, about 70 kilometers from shore. Formed by an ancient volcano, the archipelago has shallow turquoise waters from as little as two meters deep (excellent for snorkeling as well as scuba diving). The area is considered to have one of the highest concentrations of fish on the planet and it’s common to see Manna Rays and sea turtles. In the winter months, Whales are commonly spotted splashing in these waters. There is even a shipwreck here of a 1939 Italian ship. Visibility in the summer months is as high as 30 meters. Boats generally leave from the town of Caravelas. Overnight trips are available with sleeping and dining arrangements on board. Dive masters can also be found in Porto Seguro and Arraial d’Ajuda.

The area of Itacaré and Barra Grande is becoming known as a scuba diving haven. Dolphins are often spotted offshore, along with whales in the winter. There are underwater pools all along the peninsula of Barra Grande. Dive masters are based in Itacaré.

The Coast of Rio de Janeiro

The highlight in this area is the calm, clear waters of Ilha Grande and Angra dos Reis. On the island of Ilha Grande, you’ll find dive masters to take you all around the island, especially over to the far side, where there are a couple of shipwrecks. Around the islands in the Bay of Angra dos Reis there are locations for divers of all levels, including snorkeling in the shallow waters around the Ilha de Paquetá. There, you find a variety of sea life, including octopus and Manna Rays. For more advanced divers, there are a number of shipwrecks in these waters, and even an underwater cavern, some six meters below the surface. Other locations include the Ilha dos Meros and Laje Branca, both with clear water and depths of around 14–18 meters.

The bay of Paraty is equally calm and clear and there are some favorite diving spots among the local dive masters–including around Ilha Comprida, Ilha dos Cocos, and Ilha dos Ratos. There are 65 islands in the Bay of Paraty and many have excellent conditions for diving with depths of up to 15 meters and visibility of around 8 meters. The waters are replete with starfish, sponges, and coral, along with many tropical fish. Several dive schools are based in Paraty. Other locations off the coast of Rio include the plant-filled waters around Arraial do Cabo and Cabo Frio, where the visibility is around 20 meters and you can dive to over 80 different locations containing wreckage from ships. Seahorses, turtles, and colorful crustaceans are common here. Nearby are some interesting small islands around Buzios.

The São Paulo Coast

One of the best locations for diving off the coast of São Paulo is off the coast of Ubatuba. With various islands spotting the bay, the options for diving are numerous. Favored locations include Ilha Anchieta, Ilha Vitória, Ilha das Palmas and Ilha das Couves. Visibility in the area reaches 20 meters and the depths range from 5–25 meters.

Around the Island of Ilhabela is a marine sanctuary, where diving is actively encouraged. There is a great quantity of fish and lobster in this area and even a statue of Neptune six meters below the surface to honor the underwater world. There are several shipwrecks in these waters, including the Aymoré at a depth of only 12 meters. Others are resting peacefully in deeper waters.

The Santa Catarina Coast

The Arvoredo Marine Preserve is the largest of Brazil’s national marine parks and can be accessed from Bombinhas or Florianópolis. The visibility is the highlight here at around 30–40 meters. There are islands and rock formations to explore with depths from 4 to 50 meters. You can also dive near the island of Campeche off the coast of Florianópolis, where there are many sea turtles, sea lions, and even penguins in the winter months.

The Pantanal

Divers interested in fresh-water dives should not miss the incredible opportunities in the Pantanal. There, the water is said to be some of the clearest in the world. You can dive in Rio Formoso and Rio Prata with numerous species of fish and water plants and take a autonomous dive down into the Lagoa Misteriosa, where the water is transparent and the bottom of the lake has not yet been calculated (more than 220 meters deep). The highlights are the cave diving opportunities, including underwater caverns of 1800 meters in length and 50 meters in depth.

Actually, you’re probably better off shopping online from home. I suggest taking a look at the luggage guide at ShopWiki.com for starters. You’ll get a good idea of what’s available at what price. If you’re traveling for awhile, I suggest taking a large “trunk-style” bag. My favorite is this one: Eagle Creek Trunk.

You should have a day pack also–for taking with you on those beach and jungle outings. ShopWiki has a good section on buying backpacks. You should get something very strong and easy to wear. Nothing too big unless you’re planning to backpack for your entire trip. A quality day pack is probably enough.

Finally, you might consider getting some Brazil flag stickers to adorn your luggage. It’s a great way to communicate your support for your host country. Check out Flag Sticker Shop for some options. Of course, you can always find these in Brazil, but it’s great to go prepared.