Olodum and Daniela Mercury Give Salvador a Grand Carnaval Dress Rehearsal
With Carnaval 2013 in Salvador da Bahia underway, visitors lucky enough to enjoy this incredible week of tropical love and Brazilian music will have a grand time. Last night in Salvador’s Pelourinho, or old center city, Daniela Mercury regaled locals and guests with a practice run-through joined by the cultural advocacy group Olodum.
Olodum, founded in 1979, blends music with a quest to end racial discrimination and combat socioeconomic equality. Its percussion ensembles have inspired countless musical groups, some massive and professional--others small--to regal Salvador with their drumbeat routines that echo throughout the city’s alleys and plazas.
Mercury has performed with Olodum in the past, and last night was apparently as gregarious and uplifting as ever. To gain an understanding of what Olodum is all about, check out the video below as they walked through Salvador’s streets in 2009.