Read Your Way Around the World is a series that explores the world through books.
I was born in Salvador, in the state of Bahia in Brazil, and lived in the general vicinity until I reached the age of 15. But when I left, I really got to know my city. How did I discover more about my birthplace while traveling far from home? It may sound rather clichéd but, I assure you, literature made it possible: It took me on a journey, long and deep, home, wrapped me in words and imagination.
A frequent visitor to public libraries, I discovered Jorge Amado’s books. I already know something about Amado, not from reading him but because he is an omnipresent figure in Salvador’s cultural life. Entering the world of his novels began a great love affair, for two reasons: I experienced the power of writing in the hands of a good narrator — one that captivates us and takes us to the heart of the story — and, later, I recognized myself as one of the main characters of Amado, because his books are inhabited by people in my community.
Salvador was the first capital of Brazil, founded in 1549 as part of the Portuguese colonial project in America. In Salvador in the past, one could see Europeans, mostly Portuguese and Dutch, as well as Indigenous people, especially the Tupinambá. Many different ethnicities from Africa are also represented, such as the Yoruba, who have roots in Nigeria, Benin (formerly Dahomey) and Togo, as well as the Bantu of the Republic of Congo and Angola. In spirit and creativity, the heirs of the African diaspora – a large majority, since approximately 80 percent of the current population of Salvador identify themselves as Afro-Brazilian – the rich and beautiful cultural life of the city, which made Salvador a living monument to African cultures in America.
What should I read before I pack?
To understand the formation of our unique society and, consequently, the cityscape of Salvador, one must read, before anything else, “The Story of Rufino: Slavery, Freedom and Islam in the Black Atlantic,” by João José Reis, Flávio dos Santos Gomes and Marcus JM de Carvalho. Rufino is a alufá, or Muslim spiritual leader, born in the Oyo empire in present-day Nigeria and enslaved in his youth. “The Story of Rufino” is an epic tale, covering one man’s life in search of freedom as well as the history of the development of Salvador itself, a place inextricably linked to the diaspora across the Black Atlantic.
