THE BRANDOLINIS’ BAHIAN RHAPSODY

W MAGAZINE

“Closed to cars and devoid of streetlights, the square is lit by colored lanterns hanging from mango and jackfruit trees; the soundtrack is a mix of bossa nova and soft laughter coming from the alfresco restaurants, punctuated by the faraway beats of drummers gathered near the church. By day, barefoot teenagers play soccer and practice acrobatic capoeira moves in front of the traditional one-story cottages, which are painted in hues from canary yellow to acid-trip purple. And at all hours there’s the distinct scent of burning cannabis, Bahia’s unofficial state plant.

“It’s the kind of town where, if you get a Reiki-­shiatsu treatment at your hotel one afternoon, you might run into your therapist that night at a forró concert, where she’ll ask if the knot in your neck is doing any better.”