0:00:03 > 0:00:06I've been travelling the world for the past 25 years.
0:00:08 > 0:00:12I've met so many people in so many countries
0:00:12 > 0:00:15that everyone thinks of me as the man who's been everywhere.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18But in all these years, there's been one big gap in my passport.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24Nothing less than the fifth largest country on Earth.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29A country blessed with a melting pot of peoples
0:00:29 > 0:00:31and an abundance of resources.
0:00:33 > 0:00:35A country that's risen almost out of nowhere
0:00:35 > 0:00:37to become a 21st century superpower.
0:00:39 > 0:00:44It's the host of the next World Cup and the next Olympic Games.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47It's a country whose time has come.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51How can I say I've seen the world when I haven't seen Brazil?
0:00:53 > 0:00:55OK, waterfall, we defy you!
0:00:57 > 0:00:58We defy you!
0:01:13 > 0:01:16Pedro Alvares Cabral, the Portuguese sea captain,
0:01:16 > 0:01:19reputed to be the first European ever to set foot in Brazil
0:01:19 > 0:01:21did so completely by accident,
0:01:21 > 0:01:25when he was blown off course in April 1500
0:01:25 > 0:01:28while trying to round Africa.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31The Portuguese who followed him found indigenous people here,
0:01:31 > 0:01:34some of them cannibals, but not enough of them to work
0:01:34 > 0:01:37the vast plantations of sugar, cotton and tobacco that they set up,
0:01:37 > 0:01:40so they imported slaves, by the million, from Africa.
0:01:41 > 0:01:46It is this improbable mix of African slaves, indigenous people
0:01:46 > 0:01:48and relatively few Europeans that created
0:01:48 > 0:01:51some of the essential characteristics of Brazilian life.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55Food, dance, music, a multiplicity of religions,
0:01:55 > 0:01:59and I will be sampling all of them as I travel through the north-east,
0:01:59 > 0:02:02where Brazil was born.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39Where Brazil juts out towards Africa
0:02:39 > 0:02:42lie the cities that grew rich on slave labour.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46I'm starting in Sao Luis, capital of Maranhao State.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51It's the time of Festas Juninas, when the religious rituals
0:02:51 > 0:02:54of Europe and Africa come together
0:02:54 > 0:02:56in a typically Brazilian celebration.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07In Sao Luis, there is a particular festival that takes its name
0:03:07 > 0:03:12from a slave-inspired celebration called Bumba-Meu-Boi, Jump My Bull.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16It's in the back-streets of this once-rich city
0:03:16 > 0:03:18that I find out more.
0:03:20 > 0:03:25Bumba-Meu-Boi is part-Pantomime, part-pageant,
0:03:25 > 0:03:29and here in Floresta, one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Sao Luis,
0:03:29 > 0:03:31they take it very seriously.
0:03:31 > 0:03:35Augusto Mendes, an English teacher in the city, thinks the people here
0:03:35 > 0:03:40are closest of all to the real spirit of Bumba-Meu-Boi.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45How long would they prepare, Augusto, the dance,
0:03:45 > 0:03:47the music and all that?
0:03:47 > 0:03:50How long would they spend preparing?
0:03:50 > 0:03:54Some groups, in particular the Floresta Group,
0:03:54 > 0:03:56began in April or May.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58So that's about two months, nearly.
0:04:02 > 0:04:07This house in Tome de Souza street is the home of the two people
0:04:07 > 0:04:10whose drive and energy keeps everyone going.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16'A 92-year-old called, rather wonderfully, Apolonio Melonio,
0:04:16 > 0:04:20'and his wife, Nadir, who's somewhat younger.'
0:04:20 > 0:04:24Tell me about this ceremony tonight.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29- TRANSLATION:- Tonight is the Bumba-Meu-Boi baptism.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33We'll baptise the bull you see here.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36The baptism is part of our Bumba-Meu-Boi ritual.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39It's part of the devotion we have for our saints,
0:04:39 > 0:04:41particularly St John.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43According to tradition,
0:04:43 > 0:04:48the bull can only leave here for the main show after being baptised.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51This is Mestre Apolonio who got this whole thing together
0:04:51 > 0:04:54here in Floresta.
0:04:54 > 0:04:59How old were you when you saw your first Bumba-Meu-Boi?
0:04:59 > 0:05:05- TRANSLATION:- The first time I took part in a Bumba-Meu-Boi group
0:05:05 > 0:05:11I was only eight years old and that was way back in 1926.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15I knew then and there it was going to be my mission in life.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17It has been an honour to meet you.
0:05:17 > 0:05:22I look forward to seeing your footwork on the dance floor later.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26- TRANSLATION:- Ah, I can't dance like this any more.
0:05:26 > 0:05:27I don't have the stamina.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29Starting already!
0:05:29 > 0:05:31My legs aren't up to it.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34If they were, I'd be out there dancing with the rest.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40The ceremony, in which some play animals, some play humans,
0:05:40 > 0:05:43is based on a 200 year old tale.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46It involves a slave stealing and killing a cow,
0:05:46 > 0:05:51to remove the tongue, for which his pregnant wife is desperate.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54The slave is threatened with death, but at the last minute,
0:05:54 > 0:05:58the bull is miraculously resurrected and everyone is happy.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04As St John's Day draws closer, more and more people
0:06:04 > 0:06:08crowd round the altar to witness the baptism of the bull.
0:06:08 > 0:06:12THEY PRAY IN PORTUGUESE
0:06:12 > 0:06:15And firecrackers announce it's midnight.
0:06:15 > 0:06:16FIRECRACKERS BANG
0:06:16 > 0:06:19And this is just the beginning of the celebration.
0:06:19 > 0:06:21We will be back here.
0:06:24 > 0:06:28When slavery was abolished in Brazil in 1888,
0:06:28 > 0:06:31the cotton and sugar-based economy of Sao Luis,
0:06:31 > 0:06:34deprived of cheap labour, nose-dived.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37Now, thanks to nearby mineral resources,
0:06:37 > 0:06:39confidence is growing again.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42But just across the bay is Alcantara,
0:06:42 > 0:06:46a once fabulously rich town which never recovered.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48I'm taking this rather long trip across the sands
0:06:48 > 0:06:51to get the ferry boat to take me to Alcantara.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54Normally, it would leave from Sao Luis itself,
0:06:54 > 0:06:57which is over there, but it's low tide, so they have to leave
0:06:57 > 0:07:00from right out here on the sand banks.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02More charming, I think.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48Alcantara has the lazy, laid-back appeal
0:07:48 > 0:07:50of somewhere whose best days are over.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54But what days they must have been.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57It was once the state capital and the ghostly remains
0:07:57 > 0:08:00of its great mansions give some impression of the riches
0:08:00 > 0:08:04accumulated by the plantation owners over nearly 300 years.
0:08:05 > 0:08:10This is the "Pelourinho" or pillory - whipping post, as it was called,
0:08:10 > 0:08:14where slaves were punished, and they were also bought and sold here.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18It has recently been estimated that of the 11 million slaves
0:08:18 > 0:08:23brought from Africa to the Americas, over 40% came to Brazil,
0:08:23 > 0:08:26six times as many as went to the United States.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29They worked here in tobacco and sugar plantations
0:08:29 > 0:08:33and created the wealth that enabled their masters to build this,
0:08:33 > 0:08:37a little bit of Europe on the other side of the Atlantic.
0:08:45 > 0:08:50Alcantara must once have been a fine place to live, a ruler's town.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54Now the best they can do is to gather the old stones and leave them
0:08:54 > 0:08:59for the tourists to wonder at what went right, and what went wrong.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14The beaches of Brazil are the country's great public playgrounds
0:09:14 > 0:09:17and the north-east has some of the biggest of them all.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23Big enough for people to drive up and down them,
0:09:23 > 0:09:26which is what myself and my friend Augusto,
0:09:26 > 0:09:29and hundreds of other locals, like to do on a weekend.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37By mid-morning, the cars are parked up,
0:09:37 > 0:09:38the chairs and tables set out,
0:09:38 > 0:09:42and the beach soon resembles a sort of semi-naked suburbia,
0:09:42 > 0:09:45a family backyard that's open to everybody.
0:09:47 > 0:09:49Today is a Sunday.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52but religion and pleasure seem to mix quite comfortably.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56Do people go to the church first and then go to the beach?
0:09:56 > 0:09:58They go to the church, pray,
0:09:58 > 0:10:02and come here, and forget their problems,
0:10:02 > 0:10:04and forget their job.
0:10:04 > 0:10:05Yeah, yeah.
0:10:06 > 0:10:10Girl-watching, I learn from Augusto,
0:10:10 > 0:10:12is, rather like train-spotting,
0:10:12 > 0:10:15largely practiced by adolescent boys.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17I'd seen some of them at a cafe by the roadside,
0:10:17 > 0:10:20passing round a pair of binoculars,
0:10:20 > 0:10:23scanning the beach like naval officers looking for U-boats.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28And, he tells me bashfully, there's a glossary of girl-watching,
0:10:28 > 0:10:30full of fruity metaphors.
0:10:31 > 0:10:36If the girl has a big bum, we call her Melon Woman.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40OK. big bum, Melon Woman.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44And watermelon, if she has big, big...
0:10:44 > 0:10:47Big, big, big hips, or...
0:10:47 > 0:10:48Yes.
0:10:48 > 0:10:50- Buttocks. OK, yeah, hips.- Yes.
0:10:50 > 0:10:51Watermelon, big hips.
0:10:51 > 0:10:56And pear woman, because of the shape,
0:10:56 > 0:10:58like a guitar.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00- Oh, right. - It's the same shape.
0:11:00 > 0:11:01SHRIEKING
0:11:01 > 0:11:02Wow!
0:11:02 > 0:11:05This noise is everywhere.
0:11:05 > 0:11:06Yes, everywhere.
0:11:06 > 0:11:12People come to dance and eat something,
0:11:12 > 0:11:16have fun together with family or friends.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18In Brazil, it doesn't matter
0:11:18 > 0:11:23if you make a lot of noise from your sound system, nobody worries.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25In England, people would say "Sssh, quieten down."
0:11:25 > 0:11:26Oh, yes?
0:11:26 > 0:11:29In Brazil, you are tolerant.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32Everybody can do noise everywhere.
0:11:38 > 0:11:42Do people from all different backgrounds, rich and poor,
0:11:42 > 0:11:43come to the beach?
0:11:43 > 0:11:46Does everybody, even though they might have a big house,
0:11:46 > 0:11:49come to the beach with the poorer people?
0:11:49 > 0:11:53Yes, poor people come by bus and rich people come by car,
0:11:53 > 0:11:57and invite many friends, so they come together.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00Very big social thing for people in the city.
0:12:09 > 0:12:10'A couple of days later,
0:12:10 > 0:12:15'Augusto and I are back in Floresta for the climax of Bumba-Meu-Boi.'
0:12:15 > 0:12:18So this is the time when all the various groups come together
0:12:18 > 0:12:22and they show the rest of the city what they have been preparing?
0:12:22 > 0:12:26Today is a big night for the many groups here
0:12:26 > 0:12:29because we celebrate St Peter's Day.
0:12:29 > 0:12:30Yeah.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34It's the most important day here for the Maranhao people, yeah.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36'Clutching their emu feathers and their costumes,
0:12:36 > 0:12:39'the people of Floresta take the bus to the city.'
0:12:41 > 0:12:44'There's an air of nervousness as the time approaches
0:12:44 > 0:12:46'for their moment in the public spotlight.'
0:13:03 > 0:13:06'They needn't have worried. Their performance is fantastic.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09'As I watch Nadir and the troupe take the stage,
0:13:09 > 0:13:13'I'm really moved by the spirit and the quality of their performance.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16'They tell the story as it should be told.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19'With their richly-embroidered costumes,
0:13:19 > 0:13:22'and original and inventive masks, there's a real feeling
0:13:22 > 0:13:25'of a community creating something out of nothing.'
0:13:42 > 0:13:45'The Florestans may come from one of the poorest parts of the city,
0:13:45 > 0:13:49'but tonight, as they take over the old streets of Sao Luis,
0:13:49 > 0:13:51'they shine the brightest.'
0:13:54 > 0:13:57There's one thing Augusto will not let me leave
0:13:57 > 0:13:59this part of the north-east without seeing,
0:13:59 > 0:14:01and that's the extraordinary landscape
0:14:01 > 0:14:05of the Lencois Maranhenses National Park,
0:14:05 > 0:14:07200 miles south of Sao Luis.
0:14:20 > 0:14:24A rare combination of strong winds, shifting sands,
0:14:24 > 0:14:28and heavy rainfall has created a unique landscape.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32Monster sand-dunes, blown 50 kilometres inland from the sea,
0:14:32 > 0:14:35are advancing over the surrounding countryside at the rate
0:14:35 > 0:14:36of 200 metres a year.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41But what makes the National Park so special are not just
0:14:41 > 0:14:45the shifting, whispering sands, but the water that falls on them.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48Augusto, if this was the Sahara all this would be a mirage,
0:14:48 > 0:14:50but the water is real.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52So it rains a lot here, does it?
0:14:52 > 0:14:53A lot here, yes.
0:14:53 > 0:14:57In March, April and May,
0:14:57 > 0:14:59and in August until December is our dry season.
0:14:59 > 0:15:01Yeah.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05So these sand dunes, are they sort of moving all the time,
0:15:05 > 0:15:07moving inland, I suppose, as well?
0:15:08 > 0:15:12Yes, every day the landscapes change because of the wind that comes
0:15:12 > 0:15:16from the ocean, and the dunes form many shapes.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19So it's never, from one day to the next, it's never quite the same.
0:15:19 > 0:15:20Never.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22That must be a big selling point.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24The only National Park in the world where whenever you go,
0:15:24 > 0:15:27whichever day you go, it will be different.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32'Mind you, on a day like today,
0:15:32 > 0:15:36'you rather wish it would stay like this for ever.'
0:15:46 > 0:15:50My next destination takes me down the coast to Recife,
0:15:50 > 0:15:53capital of the resource-rich state Pernambuco.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55It was originally Dutch,
0:15:55 > 0:15:59whose particular brand of hard-line Calvinism didn't go down well,
0:15:59 > 0:16:02and it passed to the Portuguese, who made much money
0:16:02 > 0:16:06from its location as Brazil's nearest point to Europe and Africa.
0:16:08 > 0:16:12Much of its trade has passed to a super-port down the coast,
0:16:12 > 0:16:15but Recife remains Brazil's fourth biggest city,
0:16:15 > 0:16:19with an increasingly lively cultural scene.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21I'm with Paulo Andre,
0:16:21 > 0:16:25a music promoter who is dedicated to selling Recife to the world.
0:16:25 > 0:16:29You know, we are culturally and musically very strong
0:16:29 > 0:16:32and I believe one day it's going to be like, let's say,
0:16:32 > 0:16:37tango to Buenos Aires or fado to Portugal or jazz to New Orleans.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44Statues celebrate music and musicians
0:16:44 > 0:16:46like the country singer, Luiz Gonzaga.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54The walls and streets of the city are covered with striking images,
0:16:54 > 0:16:57unselfconscious, expressive and seemingly tolerated,
0:16:57 > 0:16:59however obscure they may be.
0:17:02 > 0:17:07'Paulo takes me to see a wall that's become the private sketchbook
0:17:07 > 0:17:10'of 24-year-old artist Derlon Almeida.'
0:17:10 > 0:17:15So is this official art or is this graffiti, under the wire?
0:17:15 > 0:17:22- TRANSLATION:- It's bit of both, it all depends on the wall and the space.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25If they're unused or derelict, we don't bother to ask
0:17:25 > 0:17:28for permission, but if the wall has an owner
0:17:28 > 0:17:30then we'll ask for permission.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35And where do the ideas come from, like this one, for instance?
0:17:35 > 0:17:41- TRANSLATION:- It's everything going on around me in Brazil
0:17:41 > 0:17:45that I see in my day to day routine that influences my art.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48Pitu is a popular local brand of cachaca,
0:17:48 > 0:17:52and the fish symbolises Recife because we're on the coast -
0:17:52 > 0:17:54fish are very common here.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57So I've played around with these two elements
0:17:57 > 0:17:59and brought them together to create a new creature
0:17:59 > 0:18:02and hopefully put in a bit of humour as well.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06I haven't seen so far a fish drinking Pitu, but this case...
0:18:06 > 0:18:08This case it is the first time, very good, surreal image.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12I would like him to come to London and do something in my street,
0:18:12 > 0:18:13I know just the wall...
0:18:16 > 0:18:20'The anarchic, surrealist spirit is not confined to street art.'
0:18:22 > 0:18:26'This sculpture park by the sea wall was officially opened
0:18:26 > 0:18:30'in the year 2000 to mark a great national celebration.'
0:18:30 > 0:18:31Whose work is this?
0:18:31 > 0:18:36This is the work of one of the most important
0:18:36 > 0:18:38visual artists of Pernambuco.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41His name is Francisco Brenan.
0:18:41 > 0:18:42Yeah.
0:18:42 > 0:18:46And this was done in 2000, because of the 500 years of Brazil.
0:18:46 > 0:18:47Yeah.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51And at the time there was a note in the newspapers saying that
0:18:51 > 0:18:55the wife of the mayor didn't like so much this big sculpture
0:18:55 > 0:18:59because it looked like a male genital organ, and it was...
0:18:59 > 0:19:03Except that's a bit bigger!
0:19:03 > 0:19:06Yes, you know, maybe the biggest one, but the mayor
0:19:06 > 0:19:11went in the newspaper office with a gun and threatened the journalist,
0:19:11 > 0:19:16so in the end, the sculpture is here, but he lost the next election.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19Great story of penis envy.
0:19:21 > 0:19:22But Recife also has sculptures
0:19:22 > 0:19:25that show the darker side of Brazil's history.
0:19:26 > 0:19:31Just like many countries in South and Central America, Brazil was
0:19:31 > 0:19:37under a dictatorship, and this is a monument in honour of the people
0:19:37 > 0:19:42who were arrested, tortured, sometimes exiled and even killed.
0:19:42 > 0:19:43It's very powerful.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46It was almost 20 years of dictatorship,
0:19:46 > 0:19:49and this is the position that they used to torture people.
0:19:51 > 0:19:53What kind of people did the dictators torture?
0:19:53 > 0:19:56People related to the Communist Party.
0:19:56 > 0:20:00And also artists used to get arrested, you know,
0:20:00 > 0:20:02because of the message.
0:20:02 > 0:20:04Critical of the government, yeah.
0:20:04 > 0:20:09Like, I have an uncle. He was a medical student, and he was arrested.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13He stayed in a penitentiary, so it's part of the story of my family, too.
0:20:15 > 0:20:19That's a very sad part of Brazil's history.
0:20:19 > 0:20:20Yeah.
0:20:22 > 0:20:27'In the heart of Recife is a fine, old railway station.
0:20:27 > 0:20:32'It was built 150 years ago for the EFCP,
0:20:32 > 0:20:35'Estrada de Ferro Central Pernambuco,
0:20:35 > 0:20:38'with British steel and French style.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42'It's long been closed, but inside, under the original Victorian canopy,
0:20:42 > 0:20:45'I get the chance to indulge in a touch of nostalgia.'
0:20:46 > 0:20:50It's a little bit of Great Britain left in Pernambuco.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53This is it. Great Western...
0:20:53 > 0:20:56..Brazilian Railway.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59It's the kind of thing that you find all over the world,
0:20:59 > 0:21:01that the British have left behind, is railways.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04I mean, are there any other legacies of the British in Brazil that
0:21:04 > 0:21:06still exist that you can think of?
0:21:06 > 0:21:09Yes. Here in Recife, we still have the British Country Club,
0:21:09 > 0:21:10which is a social club.
0:21:10 > 0:21:12Oh, right. Still called British?
0:21:12 > 0:21:14Still called British Country Club.
0:21:14 > 0:21:18We also have the British cemetery, but I think the British are
0:21:18 > 0:21:23responsible for the biggest Brazilian passion of all time, which is soccer.
0:21:23 > 0:21:28It was started in Brazil by a British guy who showed the Brazilians,
0:21:28 > 0:21:30and that became our biggest passion.
0:21:30 > 0:21:34That's quite something, isn't it? That's something worth remembering.
0:21:34 > 0:21:36I mean, railways don't seem to have left much of a mark,
0:21:36 > 0:21:39but soccer, yeah, that's pretty impressive.
0:21:54 > 0:21:58Across the bay is Olinda, founded in 1535,
0:21:58 > 0:22:00and one of the oldest cities in Brazil.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04The streets have an intimate, old colonial feel.
0:22:06 > 0:22:08Nice way to end the day Paulo, thank you!
0:22:08 > 0:22:10Yeah, Michael, it was a great day!
0:22:10 > 0:22:14A place like this, a grocery shop where you can buy nappies, cheese
0:22:14 > 0:22:18and get a drink, is this sort of familiar kind of place in Brazil?
0:22:18 > 0:22:22Yes, this a typical Bodega where you can shop during the day, you know,
0:22:22 > 0:22:25for stuff for the house, food, but also, of course,
0:22:25 > 0:22:28Brazilians are heavy drinkers and they like beer, so at the end
0:22:28 > 0:22:32of the day you come for a cachaca or a beer, just like in England
0:22:32 > 0:22:35people go to a pub, the Brazilians go to a Bodega
0:22:35 > 0:22:38and then you can eat a sandwich with cheese or salami.
0:22:38 > 0:22:43They also sell CDs of the local bands and paintings.
0:22:44 > 0:22:45Great picture.
0:22:45 > 0:22:49As you can see, the bottle in Brazil is big,
0:22:49 > 0:22:51so it has to carry lots of beer.
0:22:51 > 0:22:55Yes, well, cheers! Should we tell the camera to switch off?
0:22:55 > 0:22:57- Yes.- Probably! Good night!
0:23:01 > 0:23:04'But Paulo has one more surprise for me.'
0:23:04 > 0:23:08Another typical night on the streets of Brazil, music everywhere.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11But what's the music we're going to hear tonight?
0:23:11 > 0:23:14Is this a particularly local thing?
0:23:14 > 0:23:19It is, Michael. It's a forro night with the, played with the rabeca,
0:23:19 > 0:23:23which is a kind of fiddle, and, of course, we are in the end of
0:23:23 > 0:23:27our Sao Joao, St John season where forro is the sound track.
0:23:27 > 0:23:28Forro, yeah.
0:23:28 > 0:23:32I read somewhere that it was a mishearing of the English word
0:23:32 > 0:23:37"For All" which the English railway people and the employers provided
0:23:37 > 0:23:41music for everyone to dance to, and it was called "For All".
0:23:41 > 0:23:43Is that true or is it a myth?
0:23:43 > 0:23:44I think it's a myth.
0:23:44 > 0:23:49It comes from "Forrobodo" which is a word that means "party".
0:23:49 > 0:23:52You know, "Let's go to a forrobodo" means "Let's go party" -
0:23:52 > 0:23:54let's go dance, hear music, have drinks,
0:23:54 > 0:23:58so it's a short word for forrobodo.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03'The forro they dance here requires a loose, sinuous,
0:24:03 > 0:24:07'gyration of the hips, which I can only stand and admire.'
0:24:15 > 0:24:19'But, as Paulo warned me earlier - in Brazil, everybody dances.'
0:24:39 > 0:24:43I'm leaving the high life of the cities behind for a while,
0:24:43 > 0:24:46for a glimpse of life in the interior.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49Well, I'm 500 miles inland from the coast now
0:24:49 > 0:24:52in the hot, dry, hard outback of north-east Brazil.
0:24:52 > 0:24:54They call this the Sertao.
0:24:54 > 0:24:56It's cowboy country, land of the vaqueiros,
0:24:56 > 0:25:00and I'm here for an event called Pega de Boi, Catch The Bull.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04Says it all, really.
0:25:19 > 0:25:21In a world of cars and pick-up trucks,
0:25:21 > 0:25:25the old-style cowboy is becoming a threatened species,
0:25:25 > 0:25:28but these vaqueiros are staunchly proud of their traditions.
0:25:28 > 0:25:32Pega de Boi is a chance to show their skills, win some money,
0:25:32 > 0:25:37and for a while at least, relieve the loneliness of life in the bush.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40BAND PLAYS BRAZILIAN MUSIC
0:25:56 > 0:26:00Families and friends do their best to create a party atmosphere.
0:26:01 > 0:26:05But some of the cowboys are much older than I'd expected.
0:26:05 > 0:26:09Men with tired eyes and deeply lined faces.
0:26:15 > 0:26:16When the time comes to chase the bull,
0:26:16 > 0:26:19they protect themselves from the viciously spiky scrub,
0:26:19 > 0:26:23with the leather equivalent of a suit of armour.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27I'm told that, despite this comprehensive protection,
0:26:27 > 0:26:30some of the cowboys will deliberately leave a strap untied
0:26:30 > 0:26:32or a hand revealed,
0:26:32 > 0:26:35as drops of blood are seen as a badge of courage.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40The man behind Pega de Boi
0:26:40 > 0:26:43is a whippet-thin 70-year-old called Julio.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46Of shrewd eye, and seemingly insatiable energy,
0:26:46 > 0:26:50he's totally committed to the old way of life.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53Julio, were you born into a family of cowboys?
0:26:53 > 0:26:57TRANSLATION: I was born into a cowboy family, grew up a cowboy,
0:26:57 > 0:26:59and still am one.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02I'm proud to call myself a cowboy, it's a good profession.
0:27:02 > 0:27:04How dangerous is it?
0:27:04 > 0:27:07You seem to have got a... on your head, here. What happened there?
0:27:07 > 0:27:13TRANSLATION: Yes, it's dangerous. I got kicked in the head by a cow!
0:27:16 > 0:27:18I was nursing a wound she had,
0:27:18 > 0:27:20and forgot to tie her legs up and she kicked me.
0:27:22 > 0:27:24But I don't blame the cow!
0:27:26 > 0:27:30'The vaqueiros do have a political and social ally
0:27:30 > 0:27:33'in the shape of Tiago Cancio, a local politician
0:27:33 > 0:27:38'whose father gave up the life of a priest to become a cowboy.'
0:27:38 > 0:27:43Tiago, what makes the vaqueiros of the Sertao here special?
0:27:43 > 0:27:46Are they different from the rest of the cowboys in Brazil?
0:27:48 > 0:27:53- TRANSLATION:- The vaqueiro is unique to the Sertao.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58They risk their lives to earn a crust.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01They ride headlong into the jungle to chase wild bulls
0:28:01 > 0:28:05and round up cattle, they're very courageous and fearless.
0:28:08 > 0:28:10'Everyone's ready now for the climax of the day.'
0:28:10 > 0:28:12'With shouts of celebration,
0:28:12 > 0:28:16'the five young bulls are released from their makeshift paddock.'
0:28:16 > 0:28:19CROWD CHEERS
0:28:21 > 0:28:25'They're given 15 minutes to get away before, at last,
0:28:25 > 0:28:28'the cowboys are allowed to chase them.'
0:28:29 > 0:28:32CROWD CHEERS
0:28:37 > 0:28:41The lucky ones who catch the bulls can claim cash prizes.
0:28:46 > 0:28:50Hey! Good, it's started. They're off!
0:28:59 > 0:29:02Almost 45 minutes pass before a bull is spotted,
0:29:02 > 0:29:06captured and led out of the scrub and down the hill.
0:29:09 > 0:29:13The prize is claimed by two of youngest riders in the pack,
0:29:13 > 0:29:16which must be a good sign for the profession.
0:29:16 > 0:29:18Despite some outward appearances,
0:29:18 > 0:29:22perhaps there is a new generation of cowboys waiting in the wings.
0:29:27 > 0:29:31From the hot, dry heartland, it's time to retrace my steps
0:29:31 > 0:29:35to the coast, and the city that is the undisputed jewel
0:29:35 > 0:29:38of the north-east, and one of the most exciting in all Brazil.
0:29:38 > 0:29:39Salvador.
0:29:41 > 0:29:45It lies on the Baia de Todos os Santos - All Saints Bay -
0:29:45 > 0:29:49which gives its name to the state of Bahia.
0:29:50 > 0:29:55For over 200 years, Salvador was the capital of Brazil,
0:29:55 > 0:29:58as sugar and cotton production made Bahia fabulously rich.
0:30:00 > 0:30:03Salvador may have ceded its capital status first to Rio,
0:30:03 > 0:30:07then to Brasilia, but it remains the third largest city in Brazil.
0:30:07 > 0:30:11Of its population of nearly 3,500,000,
0:30:11 > 0:30:1482% are of black descent,
0:30:14 > 0:30:18making Salvador the biggest African city outside Africa.
0:30:26 > 0:30:30'My guide is Sofia, daughter of Irish-Brazilian parents,
0:30:30 > 0:30:34'and currently studying architecture and city planning.
0:30:34 > 0:30:39'The most eye-catching architecture in Salvador is religious,
0:30:39 > 0:30:43'reflecting the enormous wealth of the Catholic church.'
0:30:43 > 0:30:45So it is about the beginning of the 18th century all this was done?
0:30:45 > 0:30:47All this was done, yeah.
0:30:47 > 0:30:54So then, was a lot of money coming into Brazil from sugar?
0:30:54 > 0:30:59Sugar, tobacco, coffee and gold.
0:30:59 > 0:31:01'Gold, for which this church of St Francis
0:31:01 > 0:31:04'is an extraordinary gesture of thanks.'
0:31:04 > 0:31:06Wow!
0:31:06 > 0:31:08The effect is incredible.
0:31:08 > 0:31:11I haven't seen anything really quite like that.
0:31:11 > 0:31:14It's just the sheer, the sort of scale, isn't it?
0:31:14 > 0:31:17There's not a bit of wall that's not been covered.
0:31:19 > 0:31:20A lot of gold, there.
0:31:20 > 0:31:21A lot of gold.
0:31:23 > 0:31:25But it's to show the world
0:31:25 > 0:31:27that Brazil was one of the main producers of gold.
0:31:27 > 0:31:31Sort of showing, "This is what we've got, plenty of this."
0:31:31 > 0:31:33More where that came from, sort of thing, yeah.
0:31:33 > 0:31:36'It's a powerful display of self-confidence.'
0:31:38 > 0:31:42'Religion in Salvador expresses itself in many different ways,
0:31:42 > 0:31:44'as I learn when Sofia takes me
0:31:44 > 0:31:46'to another grand 18th century church.
0:31:46 > 0:31:49'The church of Our Lord of Bonfim.'
0:31:50 > 0:31:53People in Bahia are very superstitious,
0:31:53 > 0:31:57especially in Salvador, so people will come here every first Friday
0:31:57 > 0:31:59of the month to make their wishes,
0:31:59 > 0:32:01people even bring their cars here to be blessed, you know.
0:32:01 > 0:32:03So basically anything can be blessed?
0:32:03 > 0:32:06Anything can be blessed.
0:32:06 > 0:32:07Your TV?
0:32:07 > 0:32:08Maybe.
0:32:08 > 0:32:09Possibly. Your mobile?
0:32:09 > 0:32:12'The blessing is embodied in these strips of ribbon,
0:32:12 > 0:32:15'called fitas do Bonfim.'
0:32:15 > 0:32:18'You wear one round your wrist and make a wish,
0:32:18 > 0:32:21'which will only be granted when the ribbon falls apart.
0:32:21 > 0:32:23'In some cases, this can take months.
0:32:25 > 0:32:27'Inside the church, faith and superstition
0:32:27 > 0:32:29'make more bizarre bedfellows.'
0:32:31 > 0:32:34Oh, good heavens. This is very, very strange.
0:32:36 > 0:32:38What are all these? Wax, are they?
0:32:38 > 0:32:42This is basically people who got ill, they bring the part of the body
0:32:42 > 0:32:46which was ill and it got cured,
0:32:46 > 0:32:49so they have all these wax pieces.
0:32:49 > 0:32:51Yeah.
0:32:51 > 0:32:55All the different parts of the body that were cured.
0:32:57 > 0:33:01A little cluster of hearts up there. That's very strange.
0:33:01 > 0:33:05Really is. It's like a kind of gruesome shop, but again,
0:33:05 > 0:33:09this is very powerful, these photos around here.
0:33:09 > 0:33:14The photos are of people who either made promises to get cured
0:33:14 > 0:33:20or to get into universities or achieved what they want.
0:33:20 > 0:33:22They come here with the photographs.
0:33:22 > 0:33:24Yeah. So they believe that the devotion,
0:33:24 > 0:33:28by coming here to this church has changed their lives, basically.
0:33:28 > 0:33:29Yeah.
0:33:29 > 0:33:33Has cured them, has enabled them to become successful in exams
0:33:33 > 0:33:34and business and all that.
0:33:34 > 0:33:36- Exactly.- Wow.
0:33:55 > 0:33:59Everywhere in Salvador I'm reminded of the city's African roots.
0:33:59 > 0:34:03These figures in a lake in the centre of town are Orishas,
0:34:03 > 0:34:04the gods of Candomble.
0:34:06 > 0:34:07Candomble is a religion
0:34:07 > 0:34:11that fuses the African spirit world with Catholicism.
0:34:11 > 0:34:14Officially banned until the 1960s,
0:34:14 > 0:34:16its popularity is now countrywide.
0:34:19 > 0:34:22Well, I'm all dressed in white, because I'm going to something,
0:34:22 > 0:34:26I've never done before, which is to witness a Candomble ceremony,
0:34:26 > 0:34:30this African animist ceremony.
0:34:31 > 0:34:34It's going to take place in here and the Pai-de-santo is,
0:34:34 > 0:34:38first of all, I think he's going to read my fortune,
0:34:38 > 0:34:41or the buzios, they call them, the cowry shells.
0:34:41 > 0:34:44So I might find out something very unpleasant, or pleasant, who knows?
0:34:46 > 0:34:51'The Pai-de-santo, Father of the Saints, is called John.
0:34:51 > 0:34:55'He's the local Candomble priest and this is his house.
0:34:55 > 0:34:58'And in case you wonder, we've never met before.'
0:35:05 > 0:35:11- TRANSLATION:- Orishas open the table with good faith.
0:35:11 > 0:35:14Oxossi opens your table and talks about the struggles in your life.
0:35:14 > 0:35:18You are an intelligent man, a man that fought hard to accomplish
0:35:18 > 0:35:22your goals and today you have the opportunity to show
0:35:22 > 0:35:25to the world much information and all your knowledge.
0:35:30 > 0:35:31Casado?
0:35:31 > 0:35:33Married?
0:35:33 > 0:35:35Yeah.
0:35:36 > 0:35:38Bambino? Tres, quatro?
0:35:38 > 0:35:39Three or four children?
0:35:39 > 0:35:40Three.
0:35:40 > 0:35:42Tres?
0:35:42 > 0:35:43Tres.
0:35:46 > 0:35:51I hope you don't think this is disrespectful, Pai-de-santo,
0:35:51 > 0:35:54but I have to ask for my countrymen.
0:35:54 > 0:35:58Will England ever win the World Cup again?
0:36:00 > 0:36:05HE CHANTS IN PORTUGUESE
0:36:32 > 0:36:35Exu diz no jogo que nao.
0:36:37 > 0:36:39Thank you!
0:36:39 > 0:36:41There we are, we can save ourselves the trouble!
0:37:00 > 0:37:03'The Candomble ceremony takes place in Pao Joao's front room.'
0:37:05 > 0:37:08'It's confusing, and at times mystifying,
0:37:08 > 0:37:10'but that seems to be the point.'
0:37:25 > 0:37:28'The participants, representing the various orishas,
0:37:28 > 0:37:31'dance themselves into a trance-like state,
0:37:31 > 0:37:33'until they feel their bodies are inhabited
0:37:33 > 0:37:35'by the spirit of the gods.
0:37:35 > 0:37:36'Unlike our western rituals,
0:37:36 > 0:37:40'their performance is never the same twice.
0:37:40 > 0:37:44'No-one knows exactly what will happen when the drums begin.'
0:38:34 > 0:38:38'The people of north-east Brazil love noise and colour.
0:38:38 > 0:38:42'The two come together in Salvador's Pelourinho area
0:38:42 > 0:38:44'under the name of Olodum.
0:38:44 > 0:38:47'It's short for Olodumare,
0:38:47 > 0:38:49'the god of gods of the Yoruba people of Nigeria.'
0:38:52 > 0:38:55'Olodum is the name of a social initiative to bring
0:38:55 > 0:38:59'a sense of achievement to the street children of Salvador.'
0:39:01 > 0:39:04'It teaches them the art of African drumming and through that,
0:39:04 > 0:39:08'respect for the land of their ancestors.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11'They've taken over the streets of Old Salvador this morning
0:39:11 > 0:39:14'without telling anybody, but that's Brazil for you.
0:39:14 > 0:39:18'And they have recruited some rather old children.'
0:39:18 > 0:39:20This is Pacote.
0:39:20 > 0:39:23He's going to initiate me on the ways of Olodum.
0:39:23 > 0:39:24OK, Pacote, take it away!
0:39:24 > 0:39:26Vou ensinar voce...
0:39:29 > 0:39:32Life goes on, this is the middle of the street.
0:39:32 > 0:39:34A batida do coracao.
0:39:34 > 0:39:37Oh, the beat of the heart.
0:39:37 > 0:39:39My heart's going boom-boom-boom-boom!
0:39:46 > 0:39:48Isso.
0:39:53 > 0:39:55OK, OK.
0:40:42 > 0:40:44'I'm getting the hang of this.
0:40:44 > 0:40:46'Time for a touch of the Keith Moons.'
0:41:07 > 0:41:09'Having rather disgraced myself on the drums,
0:41:09 > 0:41:13'I look for some solace in the pleasures of Bahian cuisine.'
0:41:18 > 0:41:22Like religion, the food is a fusion of cultures,
0:41:22 > 0:41:26combining African, Portuguese and indigenous influences.
0:41:26 > 0:41:29Given the abundance of seafood, it's a welcome change
0:41:29 > 0:41:33from the meaty fare that most Brazilians seem to prefer.
0:41:33 > 0:41:38The personification of Bahian cooking is Aldaci dos Santos,
0:41:38 > 0:41:40known to all as "Dada".
0:41:40 > 0:41:43From selling snacks on the beach, she has risen to become
0:41:43 > 0:41:47an inspirational restaurateur and chef to the famous.
0:41:47 > 0:41:50Who better to turn to for consolation?
0:41:52 > 0:41:57This is Dada, who is a superb... one of the great cooks
0:41:57 > 0:41:59of Salvador and Bahian cuisine.
0:41:59 > 0:42:04And I am a great eater of all food, and Dada's going to show me round,
0:42:04 > 0:42:10buy some food at the market and then we are going to cook and then eat.
0:42:10 > 0:42:13Vamos agora conhecer o mercado do peixe.
0:42:13 > 0:42:14OK.
0:42:14 > 0:42:16OK? Mercado do peixe.
0:42:16 > 0:42:19Do peixe. OK, so we are at the fish market, let's go!
0:42:20 > 0:42:22Mercado do peixe.
0:42:27 > 0:42:28He's had too much fish!
0:42:28 > 0:42:30DADA LAUGHS
0:42:44 > 0:42:46Delicia!
0:42:49 > 0:42:53Think she's going to make a moqueca, which is a classic fish stew.
0:42:55 > 0:42:56Polvo.
0:42:56 > 0:42:58Octopus, yeah.
0:42:59 > 0:43:01Gosh, fresh mud crabs.
0:43:01 > 0:43:02Caranguejo. Caranguejo.
0:43:02 > 0:43:05They're alive, they look as though they're about a thousand years old!
0:43:11 > 0:43:13Ah, that's better, yeah.
0:43:15 > 0:43:18Mmm. Marvellous.
0:43:34 > 0:43:37So these, you cook with them, you bathe in them
0:43:37 > 0:43:40and you make tea with them.
0:43:45 > 0:43:47I feel better already!
0:43:47 > 0:43:49OK!
0:43:51 > 0:43:53Fantastic, yeah.
0:43:53 > 0:43:55SHE LAUGHS
0:43:58 > 0:44:00SHE LAUGHS
0:44:07 > 0:44:09Made a pig's ear of that one(!)
0:44:13 > 0:44:16Do you want a hand?
0:44:16 > 0:44:18SHE SHRIEKS WITH LAUGHTER
0:44:22 > 0:44:24This is an Olympic sport!
0:44:24 > 0:44:26Oh, Michael!
0:44:26 > 0:44:28Oh-oh-oh!
0:44:41 > 0:44:44I can't believe I'm going to eat a meal after this, as well.
0:44:44 > 0:44:46I've eaten a meal just going around the market.
0:44:47 > 0:44:51Can I ask you, Dada, how did you first learn to cook?
0:44:51 > 0:44:56TRANSLATION: I started cooking when I was five.
0:44:56 > 0:45:01I was working with my mother as a housekeeper in a large family house,
0:45:01 > 0:45:04getting paid by the day in order to earn a living.
0:45:05 > 0:45:09My mother and I would find work on these large farms in the country
0:45:09 > 0:45:13because we didn't have our own place to live so we had to earn our keep.
0:45:13 > 0:45:16When I cooked, it felt like I was whole.
0:45:16 > 0:45:20I was a child, but I didn't have a proper childhood
0:45:20 > 0:45:24because I had to work from an early age, and when I cooked,
0:45:24 > 0:45:28mixing all the spices and the food in my kitchen,
0:45:28 > 0:45:32it was like heaven to me, it was my fantasy world.
0:45:37 > 0:45:40Now you are a successful business woman, Dada,
0:45:40 > 0:45:44do you still enjoy cooking as much as you did?
0:45:44 > 0:45:45Mais.
0:45:45 > 0:45:46More?
0:45:46 > 0:45:47Muito mais.
0:45:47 > 0:45:50TRANSLATION: Each day that goes by, I like it more and more.
0:45:50 > 0:45:54The kitchen and cooking for me is like having sex.
0:45:54 > 0:45:58When cooking, I feel fulfilled as if I was having a great orgasm.
0:45:58 > 0:46:01It must be exhausting every time you make a meal.
0:46:01 > 0:46:05TRANSLATION: No, not really, I get more tired making love.
0:46:06 > 0:46:11What is it about your food that makes it very special?
0:46:11 > 0:46:17TRANSLATION: All the ingredients are fresh and bought with a lot of care,
0:46:17 > 0:46:20but I think the main thing for me
0:46:20 > 0:46:24is the transformation that love brings about.
0:46:24 > 0:46:29When I cook, I cook for real, it comes from inside Dada,
0:46:29 > 0:46:33from inside my heart, so it's love that transforms the flavours.
0:46:36 > 0:46:39Oh, fantastic!
0:46:39 > 0:46:42Fantastic, yes.
0:46:42 > 0:46:44Beautiful!
0:46:44 > 0:46:47Look, I cut that!
0:46:47 > 0:46:49A calombreta?
0:46:49 > 0:46:50I cut that bit.
0:46:50 > 0:46:52It's not cut very well.
0:46:52 > 0:46:54OK, Michael!
0:46:54 > 0:46:58Wow! Oh! Ha-ha-ha!
0:47:01 > 0:47:02- Mmm.- Comer um peixe?
0:47:02 > 0:47:03Oh, wow!
0:47:03 > 0:47:07'Some guide books I'd read were a bit sniffy about Dada's restaurant,
0:47:07 > 0:47:10'suggesting success had spoiled her.
0:47:10 > 0:47:13'But for me, Dada has been responsible for the best meal
0:47:13 > 0:47:14'I've yet had in the north-east.
0:47:14 > 0:47:17'She's a remarkable women, who you feel can do anything
0:47:17 > 0:47:19'she sets herself to.'
0:47:19 > 0:47:21You're a very good advert for your own cooking.
0:47:21 > 0:47:25'Except perhaps for one thing she really needs to be able to do -
0:47:25 > 0:47:26'clone herself.'
0:47:26 > 0:47:28Comida deliciosa.
0:47:28 > 0:47:30Muito obrigada.
0:47:30 > 0:47:32Meus comprimentos ao chefe!
0:47:32 > 0:47:34Muito obrigada.
0:47:43 > 0:47:46'One of the poorest areas of Salvador is called Liberdade.
0:47:46 > 0:47:49'It's where the freed slaves came to live
0:47:49 > 0:47:51'after the abolition of slavery.
0:47:51 > 0:47:54'It's still an area of shanty towns, or favelas,
0:47:54 > 0:47:57'like this one called Vale das Pedrinhas.
0:47:57 > 0:47:59'The Valley of Stones.
0:47:59 > 0:48:03'I've come here to see something that Salvador has introduced
0:48:03 > 0:48:05'to the rest of Brazil and the world.'
0:48:16 > 0:48:19'On the roof of one of the grander houses in the favela,
0:48:19 > 0:48:21'they're practising a dance
0:48:21 > 0:48:24'that grew from a self-defensive fighting style.
0:48:24 > 0:48:28'It's now the second biggest participation sport in Salvador.
0:48:28 > 0:48:31'It's fast and fluent and it's called capoeira.'
0:48:41 > 0:48:45'If you're really good at capoeira you can become a master or Mestre,
0:48:45 > 0:48:49'and the trim, 66-year-old who's playing this one-stringed berimbau
0:48:49 > 0:48:50'is very good at it.'
0:48:53 > 0:48:55'He's called Mestre Boa Gente.
0:48:55 > 0:48:57'Though he's lived in the Valley of Stones all his life,
0:48:57 > 0:49:01'he's travelled the world as a spokesman for his sport.'
0:49:10 > 0:49:12The movements that you do in capoeira,
0:49:12 > 0:49:16where do the movements come from, where did they originate?
0:49:16 > 0:49:23- TRANSLATION:- The capoeira movements all come from Africa,
0:49:23 > 0:49:25from African culture.
0:49:25 > 0:49:30The moves are called jingas and were brought by African slaves to Brazil.
0:49:34 > 0:49:38They also come from Candomble, which is the first Brazilian religion.
0:49:41 > 0:49:47When people take on the spirit of their gods, their orishas,
0:49:47 > 0:49:51they use their bodies to express their orishas,
0:49:51 > 0:49:55so out of that are born the moves you see in capoeira.
0:49:55 > 0:49:56Xango, ela faz isso.
0:49:58 > 0:50:02Entao, olha, quando voce vem pra capoeira,
0:50:02 > 0:50:04voce ja ta bem flexivel.
0:50:04 > 0:50:06Entende, como voce.
0:50:06 > 0:50:10Voce ja ta... Eu to conversando e voce ja ta ai...
0:50:10 > 0:50:12Isso ai, isso! E...
0:50:14 > 0:50:16Do you like dance?
0:50:16 > 0:50:17Dance? Yeah.
0:50:17 > 0:50:18Samba?
0:50:18 > 0:50:20I do my own version.
0:50:20 > 0:50:22Isso.
0:50:28 > 0:50:30LAUGHTER
0:50:30 > 0:50:33That's the Scottish bit!
0:50:33 > 0:50:36Muito legal. Cade a palma, galera?
0:50:39 > 0:50:41'That was the easy bit.
0:50:41 > 0:50:44'The Mestre now takes me across the road to the radio station
0:50:44 > 0:50:49'he runs for a live, on-air grilling on Valley of Stones Radio.'
0:50:49 > 0:50:52# Esperanca e fe
0:50:52 > 0:50:55# Mais o mundo nao e... #
0:50:55 > 0:50:59- TRANSLATION:- Michael, you're a very famous man, not only in England
0:50:59 > 0:51:03but all over the world. You're an actor, a presenter.
0:51:03 > 0:51:06Have you ever thought of going into politics as a councillor,
0:51:06 > 0:51:09Member of Parliament or maybe even President?
0:51:11 > 0:51:13We don't have a President! But...
0:51:13 > 0:51:16Suas fas votando em voce, voce ta eleito.
0:51:16 > 0:51:19Maybe I could be Queen, but that's taken already!
0:51:19 > 0:51:24- TRANSLATION:- What do you think of gay marriage?
0:51:24 > 0:51:26It's a big topic here in Brazil.
0:51:26 > 0:51:28I am up for gay marriage.
0:51:28 > 0:51:31If people love each other, look after each other,
0:51:31 > 0:51:33as long as they support each other
0:51:33 > 0:51:37it doesn't matter what they do in bed.
0:51:37 > 0:51:39Olha ai, Elvis Presley, o.
0:51:41 > 0:51:44# It's now or never
0:51:44 > 0:51:45I hate this one.
0:51:45 > 0:51:47# Come hold me tight
0:51:47 > 0:51:49This is my least favourite Elvis ever.
0:51:49 > 0:51:51# Kiss me, my darling... #
0:51:52 > 0:51:58'This definitely has to be one of my more surreal radio moments.'
0:51:58 > 0:52:03# Tomorrow will be too late
0:52:03 > 0:52:06# It's now or never
0:52:08 > 0:52:10# My love can't wait. #
0:52:16 > 0:52:19'The Mestre has an endless, irrepressible energy.
0:52:19 > 0:52:23'Fresh from his afternoon show, he's out on the streets,
0:52:23 > 0:52:26'mobilising participants for the evening's capoeira fest.'
0:52:42 > 0:52:46'The shanty buildings around, the roar of a nearby highway,
0:52:46 > 0:52:49'and the smell of a stagnant stream are all forgotten,
0:52:49 > 0:52:53'as the shining, sweating, white-toothed smiling Mestre
0:52:53 > 0:52:56'infects everyone with his enthusiasm.
0:52:56 > 0:52:58'His work is known across Brazil,
0:52:58 > 0:53:01'yet he still stays true to the favela in which he grew up.'
0:53:06 > 0:53:12'Home for the remarkable Mestre Boa Gente remains the Valley of Stones.'
0:53:30 > 0:53:33North and west of Salvador is the Reconcavo,
0:53:33 > 0:53:37an area which borders All Saints Bay.
0:53:37 > 0:53:41The towns I'm going to visit there, Cachoeira and St Felix,
0:53:41 > 0:53:44grew rich from the produce of fertile soils,
0:53:44 > 0:53:46watered by the many rivers that drain into the bay.
0:53:49 > 0:53:52This is some of the most productive land in the country.
0:53:52 > 0:53:56I pass sugar-cane plantations, smaller than they once were,
0:53:56 > 0:54:00but still contributing to a buoyant local economy.
0:54:00 > 0:54:05Where the river Paraguacu divides Cachoeira from St Felix,
0:54:05 > 0:54:07I cross the bridge
0:54:07 > 0:54:10to find evidence of another one-time source of wealth
0:54:10 > 0:54:12at the Danneman Cigar Factory.
0:54:12 > 0:54:15'Danneman's survived the decline in the tobacco industry
0:54:15 > 0:54:18'by concentrating on a high-end product.
0:54:18 > 0:54:21'It's currently run by Dutchman Hans Leusen.'
0:54:21 > 0:54:25Is the old legend that it's rolled on the thigh of the ladies
0:54:25 > 0:54:28who make the cigar, has that any credibility?
0:54:29 > 0:54:33Credibility is always there, but in the past,
0:54:33 > 0:54:38the girls were making the wrap on leaves on the legs,
0:54:38 > 0:54:40but the cigars have never been made on the legs.
0:54:40 > 0:54:43So it is not a question you can say
0:54:43 > 0:54:46"There is Maria or there is Matilda". That's not true.
0:54:46 > 0:54:48Yes? Like you can feel. No, no.
0:54:48 > 0:54:50There's a story.
0:54:52 > 0:54:56Can you tell me a little bit about how Bahia and the north-east
0:54:56 > 0:54:58is seen by the rest of Brazil?
0:54:58 > 0:55:00They always say bad things about the north,
0:55:00 > 0:55:01especially the north-east.
0:55:01 > 0:55:04But it is not true, the people work hard,
0:55:04 > 0:55:08but they have a way of life based on this tropical sun, yes?
0:55:08 > 0:55:11So if you can't do it today, you do it tomorrow.
0:55:11 > 0:55:15In Sao Paulo, you have to run, you have to do it today,
0:55:15 > 0:55:19so there is a big difference between the south and the north,
0:55:19 > 0:55:24but I prefer the north, where people still understand how is life,
0:55:24 > 0:55:27because here on Wednesday you start to talk about
0:55:27 > 0:55:30how you are going to spend your weekend, yes?
0:55:45 > 0:55:47There was a time when the wealth of Salvador depended on
0:55:47 > 0:55:50the sailing ships that carried the goods
0:55:50 > 0:55:52down from its rich hinterland.
0:55:52 > 0:55:55The boats were called Saveiros.
0:55:55 > 0:55:58In the 1950s, there were thousands of them working the bay.
0:55:58 > 0:56:00Now there's only a precious handful left,
0:56:00 > 0:56:02and I'm on one of them.
0:56:03 > 0:56:05The two men who are my fellow crew members today are,
0:56:05 > 0:56:07in their own way,
0:56:07 > 0:56:10passionate about preserving the last of the Saveiros.
0:56:10 > 0:56:14One is a trim, dapper and successful local artist
0:56:14 > 0:56:16called Bel Borba.
0:56:16 > 0:56:20His larger-than-life companion is Malaca, an engineer by trade.
0:56:20 > 0:56:23If the Brazilians have a word for extrovert,
0:56:23 > 0:56:25Malaca would be its embodiment.
0:56:25 > 0:56:29'But I'm sure they don't. Brazilian means extrovert.'
0:56:29 > 0:56:32How important do you think it is to save these boats
0:56:32 > 0:56:35and why is it important?
0:56:35 > 0:56:37HE ASKS QUESTION IN PORTUGUESE
0:56:38 > 0:56:44TRANSLATION: Because it's 400 years of history.
0:56:44 > 0:56:46Bahia is summed up in these boats.
0:56:46 > 0:56:49The Saveiro was crucial, not just the boat
0:56:49 > 0:56:51but the way of life it represented.
0:56:53 > 0:56:54The handcrafts, the carpenters,
0:56:54 > 0:56:58there's a whole working history around the Saveiro.
0:56:58 > 0:57:02It's pure culture, 400 years of history and beauty.
0:57:04 > 0:57:07'They seem to have their priorities right, these two.
0:57:07 > 0:57:09'Is this a Bahian thing?'
0:57:09 > 0:57:12People from Rio and all that, I've heard them say Bahians are lazy.
0:57:12 > 0:57:14What do you think about that?
0:57:17 > 0:57:23TRANSLATION: No, we're not, we just work in our own way.
0:57:23 > 0:57:27Bahians are very caring - we're just not stressed out.
0:57:27 > 0:57:31How can you be stressed out with all this natural beauty around you?
0:57:31 > 0:57:34We don't know the meaning of the word stress.
0:57:34 > 0:57:37'Are they jealous of people from Rio?'
0:57:37 > 0:57:39HE SPEAKS PORTUGUESE
0:57:46 > 0:57:47This is an old joke.
0:57:47 > 0:57:50The carioca invites you to have lunch at his house,
0:57:50 > 0:57:52but don't give you the address.
0:57:52 > 0:57:54Oh, right!
0:57:58 > 0:58:01Next time, I'll be heading inland, to a very different world.
0:58:01 > 0:58:03A world before booming Brazil.
0:58:03 > 0:58:06Indeed, a world before there was a Brazil at all.
0:58:08 > 0:58:11I'll be exploring the wonders of Amazonia.
0:58:13 > 0:58:15It's a region which is still home to remote tribes,
0:58:15 > 0:58:19as well as sophisticated city dwellers.
0:58:19 > 0:58:22And I'll be finding out how the demands of modern Brazil
0:58:22 > 0:58:25are affecting the lives of those living in the largest
0:58:25 > 0:58:27rainforest in the world.
0:58:51 > 0:58:54Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd