Musicians in Olodum playing a concert in Salvador, Brazil on January 6, 2026.
Our activities today emphasized how African culture is embedded in Brazil’s history, culture, religion, and music. The prior day, we had lectures focused on Afro Brazilian history and religions, and how they have shaped the Brazil we see today. We learned about syncretism: the exchange of religion, art, music, language, and social customs that arise when two different cultures come into contact with each other. This was the perfect backdrop for our day.
We started the day by visiting Casa Branca, a Candomblé Temple in Salvador. This visit was important in understanding the tenants of the religion. Candomblé is an African diasporic religion that arose during the 19th century from merging the beliefs of different groups from West and Central Africa with the Catholic religion. This resulted in a new synthetic religion specific to Brazilians. Many in Brazil belong to more than one religion and may simultaneously worship Catholic Saints, Orixás, and indigenous gods. We were able to see this at Casa Branca, where they have an altar that houses a crucifix with different Orixás and Catholic Saints.
Though the inclusion of Catholic ideology in this religion originated as a protective practice—a way to maintain religious spaces and worship African gods without persecution or punishment—it has become enmeshed in Candomblé. While these different ideas have long existed in harmony, there have been many practitioners who also consider themselves catholic. There have been pushes to remove Catholic influences from the Candomblé religion from some practitioners.
From there, we went on a walking tour of the city that included a visit to Museo National da Afro-Brasileiro (MUNAB). One of the things I enjoyed about this museum was that it contained both historical artifacts and contemporary art. In many current art spaces, I feel that foreign art is portrayed through an anthropological lens rather than showing the current state of art from different countries.
My favorite contemporary piece was Album de Desesquecimentos by Mayara Ferao (Brazil, 2024). This piece contains several AI generated images that place queerness in the past. The purpose of this piece is to demonstrate that queerness has always existed, it is not new or invented. This exhibit makes an important statement about queer identity and the right to exist during a time of far-right political movements across different countries.
We ended the night by attending the Olodum concert. Olodum is a bloco-afro, which is a group of black musicians that play in Salvador’s Carnival. Historically, black musicians were excluded from blocos in Carnival. Olodum’s music captures Afro-Brazilian sound, combining Samba, Reggae, and African percussion.
One of the key themes throughout these different experiences is the resilience, innovation, and determination of peoples from the African diaspora. With the threat of erasure of customs and culture, Africans and Afro-Brazilians found creative ways to keep these elements of religion, art, and music alive, use them as resistance, and make a lasting impact on the culture of Brazil.
Janelle Posey
MPH Candidate, Population Mental Health & Wellbeing Program
Colorado School of Public Health