Wander the historic streets of the Bahian capital of Salvador, and you're never far from one of the region's most moving traditions: its powerful rhythms. Whether it's the local axe pop music powered by freight-train percussion or street musicians and blocos afro pounding out hypnotic riffs, big beats power Bahia in a way they do nowhere else in Brazil, maybe even the world. A state on Brazil's coast, Bahia is the center of the country's Afro-Brazilian culture, and the heartbeat of that is the drum. The state is home to percussion ensembles such as Ile Aiye and Olodum, a group of several thousand members famed for their work with Paul Simon, that make Carnival in Salvador one of the top attractions in Brazil.
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A state on Brazil's coast, Bahia is the center of the country's Afro-Brazilian culture
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Home to percussion ensemble Olodum, famed for its work with Paul Simon
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"From the time kids here are very young, they play drums," says a top Brazilian percussionist
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Drums are at heart of the Afro-Brazilian religious tradition of Candomblé
During @placeholder in Brazil, people who aren't part of their city's featured parade form their own neighborhood groups, or blocos, so everyone can get in on the celebration.
In the 1970s, a tradition of blocos afro, all Afro-Brazilian drumming groups, developed in @placeholder, led by a bloco called Ile Aiye.