Bahia Boy Guide Service

Humaita Fort, Salvador

Candomble goddess statue, Salvador

All Saints Bay & Salvador skyline

Chapada Diamantina National Park

Salvador da Bahia, Brazil

Welcome to the Land of Happiness!

Hello!

My name is Fernando Bingre. I would like to welcome you to my city - Salvador (Bahia). In this web page I want to tell you all about this beautiful, historic, fascinating, dynamic city, and introduce you to a most warm, joyous, hospitable people - we Bahians. In Brazil we call Bahia the land of happiness, where life is relaxed, tranquil, comfortable, beautiful, and exciting! Come check it out for yourself!

Let us begin by introducing myself. I am a 26 year-old native Baiano born and raised in Salvador. I am a university student majoring in tourism, I also teach English, Spanish, and Portuguese. In addition, I speak fluent Italian, some French, and some German. If you're coming to Salvador and would like to hire a special native guide, you've come to the right person. I know the city and its history, culture, people, places like the back of my hand. I also guide excursion tours to beautiful natural areas all around the State of Bahia. In addition, as a gay Baiano I can offer gay and lesbian tourists the very best experience in this magical land. Everyone is welcome, whatever your sexual orientation. So just get in touch with me by email: bingre@bahiaboybrasil.com or by phone +(5571)8861-6381. I will do my best to make sure you have a wonderful time here in the Land of Happiness that is Salvador da Bahia.

Details of service.

Rio de Janeiro tour service also available, contact me for details.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO MY NEW OFFICIAL WEB SITE: www.bahiaboybrasil.com!

Below I am relaxing at one of the secret vista points in Salvador. The Bay and the Atlantic Ocean is right behind me.

Bahia Photo Gallery My personal travel photos

What to do in Salvador

* Samba-Reggae music - Olodum, Timbalada, & more

* Carnaval - the best in the world - Feb. 3-8, 2005

* Beaches - too many to choose from. Itapoan, Arembepe, Praia do Forte, Itaparica Island, ...

* Capoeira - experience this amazing Afro-Brazilian martial art

* Candomble ceremonies - Afro-Brazilian religious cults

* Visit Baroque churches and museums

* Excursion to ecological parks

Calendar of Popular Celebrations

Gay-friendly hotels, restaurants, saunas, and other services

Learn portuguese! Inexpensive private classes

450 Years of History

Located on the Bay of All Saints (Baia dos Todos os Santos), Salvador is the main city and seaport of the state of Bahia in northeastern Brazil. It is about 800 miles north of Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paulo. Direct flights from Sao Paulo or Rio takes about 2 hours. Located at a southern latitude of 13 degrees, Salvador enjoys a pleasant tropical climate year-round. Beautiful beaches extend for hundreds of miles along the shores of the Atlantic Ocean.

Cathedral, Ilheus

Salvador is the largest and most well-preserved medieval city in the New World. It was established as the capital of the Portuguese colony of Brazil in 1549, and remained the capital for two centuries. Salvador is a United Nations (UNESCO) World Heritage Site. There are hundreds of colonial churches dating back to the 17th century, the most notable are the Sao Francisco, with its gold gilded interior and 17th century Portuguese tile murals (azulejos); the popular pilgrimage church Bonfim; and the Rosario dos Pretos, built for and by African slaves.

In the late 1990's the colonial core of Salvador - the "Pelourinho" neighborhood - was extensively restored. This picturesque district, with well-preserved elegant colonial mansions lining its sloping cobblestoned streets, sits high atop a series of hills overlooking the vast Bay of All Saints. Every Tuesday from dusk to dawn the streets of Pelourinho are filled with people dancing to frenetic Samba-Reggae beats.

Roma Negra - "Black Rome"

Today Salvador has nearly 3 million people, it is Brazil's third largest city (After Sao Paulo and Rio), a major center of manufacturing, commerce, and culture. Its long history of slavery (abolished in 1880's) and communication with Africa gave Salvador a special place in Brazilian culture. Today Bahia is the state in Brasil with the highest concentration of people of African descent, and 80 percent of Salvador's population are black or mulatto (people of mixed African and European descent).

Musical procession of Timbalada during Carnival

Bahia's close cultural affinity with Africa is evident in the Samba-Reggae beats that pervades the city day and night, in the distinctive tropical cuisine not unlike Cajun food, in the people's worship of African gods and goddesses (called orixas, or orishas), in the practice of capoeira - the fascinating Afro-Brazilian martial art disguised as acrobatic dance.

Salvador was once called "Black Rome" because its abundance of churches that was second only to Rome. Its deep cultural heritage proved to be a fertile ground that gave rise to many famous Brazilian writers and musicians. Jorge Amado, Vinicius de Moraes, Joao Gilberto, Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, and Gal Costa all grew up in Bahia.