Salvador’s Pelourinho
The Carnival Museum is next to the Gonçalves funicular that links Pelourinho in the upper city to Comercio in the lower city.
Pelourinho is the cultural heart of Salvador.
The name means “whipping post” in remembrance of the cruelty of slavery, which built the city. Salvador has been a rich city for hundreds of years precisely because of the slaves used to work the sugar cane fields and build the city. It’s a violent and tragic history, but one that city residents don’t want forgotten.
Despite the heavy history, the neighborhood today is full of joyful music, fabulous restaurants, and engaging museums. It also boasts the best spots to watch the sunset in Salvador.
Salvador is full of churches and Pelourinho has half a dozen in just a few blocks.
The Church and Convent of Saint Francisco (above) is famous for being one of the most lavishly decorated churches. A simple wooden cross (third photo) marks where slaves were allowed to stand during services. They were required to stay in the back, near a separate door, were slave owners couldn’t see them.
The entrance to Pelourinho is by the Igreja Nossa Senhora do Rosário dos Pretos (right). The church still has a mostly Black congregation and evening services include drumming and processions unchanged since the colonial days of slavery.