• «A. B. C. OF BAHIA»
    Magazine O Cruzeiro (Rio de Janeiro)
    3rd May 1947

    Text by Rodolfo Coelho Cavalcanti. Photographies by Pierre Verger.

    On page 57 of the magazine only one photo [see the red square among the images below!] of capoeira is shown. This is a roda on the ramp of the Modelo Market in Salvador perhaps a little before the 3rd of May in 1947. It shows M Juvenal's students playing capoeira. M Juvenal himself was a student of by then already deceased M Samuel Querido de Deus.

    P.S. Pierre Verger [1902-1996] arrived in Bahia in 1946.

    The images

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    O Cruzeiro 3/May/1947


    The location of the roda (1947)



    The text

    • page 1

      -

      "A. B. C. OF BAHIA
      Magazine O Cruzeiro
      3/May/1947

      A
      ACARAJÉ with pepper
      Is quite appetizing
      Made of "black-eyed pea"
      Boy becomes greedy
      Acarajé, you can believe it
      It's enough to have dendê
      To become delicious

    • +

      page 2

      B
      BONFIM is the Church - catholic
      That dominates this land
      The guest room is
      What really fascinates
      Its temple is radiant
      Attractive and dazzling
      Built on a hill

      C
      CAPOEIRA is not a sport
      But it's always an amusement
      Be it in the carnival:
      In the fight: he enters into action
      The rival gives a leg-sweep
      The capoeira is there
      And he becomes the champion

      A. B. C. OF BAHIA

      Text by RODOLFO COELHO CAVALCANTI
      Photos by PIERRE VERGER

      Rodolfo Cavalcanti, the folk-troubadour, one of the most loved by the people of Salvador, wrote for Cruzeiro, the ABC OF BAHIA, which we present today, illustrated with the photos by Pierre Verger. His verses, his stories, his abc-s are read by bahian people and regarding his personality this magazine already published, october last year, a complete report, showing his extraordinary popularity. And so, in ABC OF BAHIA, parade in the tastiest way of the north-east troubadours, the grandeurs of bahian land, praised by the people's poet, who sings and sells his verses on public squares, on fairs and markets, contributing in this way to keeping the old traditions from disappearing with progress and time.

      D
      DIQUE is a huge lake
      A bit of a distante from the centre
      On the Rio Vermelho "line"
      It's quite interesting
      It's water has a blue hue
      It's the "enchanted lake"
      From its shining appearance

      E
      ELEVATOR LACERDA is
      The most talked of about Brazil
      It's from a great movement
      It transports any being
      From Lower city to the Upper one
      The best architecture
      With concrete value

      F
      DAUGHTER-OF-SAINT is a young girl
      With her rented overall
      Baubles on her torso
      She looks like a fairy
      Being a dark-skinned girl she is great
      She is the Bahian type
      Who is seriously coveted

    • +

      page 3

      G
      GRAÇA or "GRAÇA FIELD"
      Is the sporty neighborhood
      Sundays and holidays
      All the football fans
      Come from distant neighborhoods
      Pretty merrily
      To see if their team wins

      H
      "MIRACLE-HERBS"
      Cure the contagious evil
      "Maria-Prêta" "Alumã"
      "Jerebão" "Espinho-Cheiroso"
      For an "important" case
      Fôlha de Fôgo or "Levante"
      "Sabugueiro" and "Fedegoso"

      I
      ITAPOAN: what a suburb
      Of qualities without a match!
      With a marvellous climate!
      When it's the moonlit night...
      Oh! my God what poetry
      The prettiest melody
      By the sea waves themselves!

      J
      JANAINA is the mermaid
      "Queen of Baité"
      "Princess of Iemanjá"
      The Candoblé Goddess
      Every "father" and "mother of saint"
      In the dogma of its enchantment
      They devote to her in hot belief

      K
      KIOSK has the format
      Of a chalet: miniature
      One of them sells
      All kinds of greens
      Other fruits and vegetables
      And others sell perfumes
      Of sublime makings

      L
      CATHEDRAL SQUARE is a square
      Of proud movement
      It's the assembly square
      Almost "connected" to the Terreiro
      Attached to the Cathedral
      Makes the capital more beautiful
      In a real way

      M
      MODÊLO MARKET stays
      In front of the elevator
      It's the oldest of all
      From old São Salvador
      For this it's the most respected
      It's the "enchanted paradise"
      An important rampart!

      N
      SAILING OF BAHIA
      In the mast of it's sailing boat
      Singing he corrects the cloth
      He makes a fast job
      Left the port in the evening
      And only returns in the morning
      It comes heavy: leaves easy!

      O
      OXOSSE, Ogum Orixá
      Omolu is an infinity
      These are the favourite "saints"
      Of candoblé, in all honesty
      It has its ritualism
      Of: catholic-spiritual
      Amusement and sainthood

      P
      PELOURINHO or the "Pelourinho
      hillside" in common speach
      Tens of skyscrapers
      There in the high dawn
      The lecturing voices are heard
      Of the passionate singers
      On the door of docile and loved

      Q
      OKRA, says bahiana:
      Is the main thing
      With it you make food!
      There is nothing similar
      To celebrate "Omolu"
      Or São Cosme, caruru:
      Okra never failed!

    • +

      page 4

      R
      CHILE STREET is the business
      Most posh of the City
      Every beautiful baiana
      So that even the old has a wish
      Go back to the time of childhood
      Chile street is a giant
      In the real expression

      S
      SAMBISTA in batucada
      Is a folk "hero"
      Knows how to play "capoeira"!
      Knows how to swing "frevo"!
      Knows how to compose a serenade!
      Knows how to conquer a mualata
      To hear him sing!

    • +

      page 5

      T
      THE BAHIANA TRAY
      Has potato and abará
      Brazil plum, a bundle of sugar case
      Sweet rice, vatapá
      It has roasted almond
      Peppered scarajé
      Bôlo-frito and munguzá

      U
      BRAZIL PLUM is a green fruit
      But has a great taste
      Is rare a bahiana
      Who doesn't sell, my reader
      The Brazil plum on the tray
      You get fifteen for a cruzeiro
      Because it comes from inland

      V
      Parrot SELLER
      Stays in the garden, reader
      Sometimes on: Cairu square
      Or then next to Elevator
      And yells: come customer!
      The parrot speaks sometimes
      The old man says: it's a chatterbox!

      X
      XARÉU is a tasty fish
      That is being caught in Itapoan
      You buy it in the Modêlo
      Market in the morning
      It's a wished dish
      It's great when it's stewed
      With pepper and "mint"

      Y
      YAYÁ is an old negro woman
      A child of Bahia
      She knows all the "mysteries"
      Of macumba one day
      Sings "samba de Terreiro"
      There's batuque the whole day
      It's great for who likes it.

    • +

      page 6

      Z
      ZÉ POVO likes God
      He has all the reverence
      There are millions of devoted
      In any procession
      All contrite, readers
      They praise Maria
      Happy at heart!




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