Photography by Tafari is a Detroit, MI based professional photographer brand offering a range of portrait, event, lifestyle, drone, and wedding photography services.
Specializing in highlighting African American / Black Life.
Tafari, is a Detroit African American photographer / Black photographer with over 15 years of professional photography experience.
My first trip to Brazil came at a pivotal time in my life. Facing burnout from a full-time job at a major university in Michigan, I found myself navigating the depression that followed. It ultimately led me to a life-changing moment. A scary one, in fact. I decided to leave my job of many years and fully embrace my artistry as a visual creator.
Once I made that decision, I took action to sever ties with my old life and begin a new one, centered on creating my own possibilities. I wanted to create my own work, connect with others, and continue pushing myself toward greater independence as an artist.
Now working fully on my own as an artist, I also made time to focus on my mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Part of that journey began when I joined a wellness retreat in Salvador, Bahia, a place I had longed to visit for years.
Bahia was one of those places I had heard about that sounded simply idealistic, soul-soothing, and BLACK!
Without hesitation, I booked my airfare and secured my spot in the retreat, which was just weeks away. Time seemed to fly, and before I knew it, I found myself in Salvador, Bahia. I had made it.
My first journey opened my eyes to so many things. Things about myself. Things about the world. Things about the African diaspora. And so much more.
This initial experience was the jolt I needed. It was the peace I needed. It was the reset I never knew would come. I left feeling changed. So changed. So different.
I left Brazil with my soul set on fire through encounters with Indigenous shamans and spiritual traditions that revealed to me another side of the veil of life. I discovered my life’s purpose in a way that even I could hardly believe. I found safety. I found a new community. Most importantly, I found a new home.
Since that initial experience, I have continued to return to Brazil. Each trip brings something different. Something new. Something exciting. Each visit offers another opportunity to continue the work of rebuilding myself.
From creative projects and co-facilitating retreats to organizing medicine ceremonies and immersing myself in local life, I have sought to better understand how my brothers and sisters in Brazil thrive, survive, create, and grow.
In a sense, Brazil became a living school for me.
A school of social studies, archaeology, natural and political sciences, history, and deep ancestral knowledge. Every visit became an opportunity to learn, observe, connect, and grow.
This collection captures the vibrant colors, rich textures, and rhythms of life inSalvador—from Cravinho in Pelourinho and Candomblé rituals to acarajé in Itapuã, Carnival, Indigenous medicine ceremonies, and the moments in between. Through these images, I share the people, places, and experiences that have shaped my journey and deepened my connection to a city that continues to teach me, inspire me, and remind me of the beauty of becoming.
RELATED: Read about my other work in Brazil and how it landed me in Ghana
Across the Atlantic, thousands of miles from the shores of West and Central Africa, lies Salvador, Bahia, Brazil—a city where the heartbeat of the African diaspora echoes through its streets, music, spirituality, cuisine, and everyday life. Often called the Black Rome of Brazil, Salvador is home to one of the largest Afro-descendant populations in the Americas, with more than 80% of its residents identifying as Black or mixed-race. Here, African heritage is far more than a chapter in history; it is a living, breathing expression of identity, resilience, and cultural preservation. From the colorful colonial streets of Pelourinho to the powerful rhythms of samba-reggae, the sacred ceremonies of Candomblé, and the unmistakable aroma of acarajé prepared by the Baianas, Salvador tells the extraordinary story of African people who, despite the brutality of enslavement and the transatlantic slave trade, preserved, adapted, and transformed their ancestral traditions into a vibrant cultural legacy that continues to flourish centuries later.
To experience Salvador is to encounter Africa in the Americas in ways that awaken the senses and stir the soul. The cultural and spiritual influences of Yoruba, Fon, and Bantu-speaking peoples remain deeply woven into the fabric of Bahian society. In sacred Candomblé terreiros, the orixás and other ancestral spiritual traditions are honored through ceremony, song, dance, and the powerful rhythms of the atabaque drums. Throughout the city, Afro-Brazilian cultural movements such as Ilê Aiyê, Olodum, and the Filhos de Gandhy have transformed music, performance, and public celebration into expressions of Black pride, cultural resistance, and collective identity. The legacy of Africa is equally present in Salvador’s kitchens, marketplaces, religious festivals, and everyday encounters. It lives in the preparation of traditional foods, the artistry of intricate braids and African-inspired clothing, the movements of capoeira, and the powerful connection between spirituality and community. Salvador is a place where ancestral memory is not confined to museums or history books but continues to shape the rhythm of daily life.
For those of us across the African diaspora seeking a deeper understanding of our origins, identity, and shared history, Salvador offers something profoundly meaningful: an opportunity to witness the enduring spirit of Africa beyond the continent itself. Its beauty cannot be separated from its complicated history of colonization, enslavement, resistance, and liberation. Yet, through generations of struggle and determination, Afro-Brazilians have created a cultural landscape that stands among the most extraordinary expressions of African survival and creativity in the world. Through this photography collection, I invite you to journey beyond the familiar postcard images of Brazil and discover the people, traditions, sacred spaces, and everyday moments that make Salvador so remarkable. These images are more than photographs of a destination; they are visual reflections of a living African legacy, a celebration of Black identity, and an invitation to explore the connections that unite Africa and its descendants across oceans, borders, and generations. In Salvador, Africa is not simply remembered. It is lived, celebrated, protected, and passed forward.
RELATED: What is Candomblé
As a traditional African spiritualist, Salvador, Bahia, is a grounding space for me. One of the city’s most revered spiritual figures is the Orixá Yemayá/Yemọja/Iemanjá, who happens to be my own Orixá within my faith, Lucumí, a tradition closely connected to Candomblé. Both religious traditions share ancestral roots in Yoruba spirituality and the Ifá religious and divination tradition, practiced for centuries in present-day Nigeria and Benin.
As a devotee, I look forward to celebrating Festa de Iemanjá each February 2 at Casa de Iemanjá in Rio Vermelho. Established in 1923 by local fishermen seeking protection and abundant catches, the festival has become one of Salvador’s most significant Afro-Brazilian religious celebrations. Devotees from across Brazil and the African diaspora gather along the Atlantic coastline, dressed in white and blue, offering flowers, prayers, and symbolic gifts carried out to sea in expressions of faith, gratitude, and devotion.
The festival’s spiritual roots extend across the Atlantic to the Yoruba people of West Africa, where Iemanjá is known as Yemọja, a powerful maternal Orixá traditionally associated with rivers and life-giving waters. Enslaved Africans carried their sacred beliefs, rituals, and ancestral traditions to Brazil, where they survived centuries of oppression and became foundational to Candomblé. Over generations, Yemọja became widely revered as the Queen of the Sea, symbolizing the enduring spiritual connection between Africa and its diaspora.
In Salvador, a city profoundly shaped by its African heritage, the festival transforms the Atlantic Ocean into a sacred bridge between continents, connecting generations of Afro-Brazilians to their ancestral traditions. It is a powerful testament to African resilience, cultural survival, and spiritual continuity, reminding us that despite the brutality of slavery and forced displacement, African spirituality was never extinguished.
Along the shores of the Baía de Todos-os-Santos in Salvador’s Cidade Baixa sits Feira de São Joaquim, one of Bahia’s largest and most culturally significant open-air markets. Its commercial roots stretch back generations, but the market took its present name following a devastating fire that destroyed the former Feira de Água de Meninos in 1964. Today, its bustling corridors are filled with merchants selling fresh produce, seafood, traditional foods, medicinal herbs, handcrafted goods, and religious artifacts. More than a place of commerce, São Joaquim is a living reflection of Salvador’s African identity, where generations of Afro-Brazilian merchants have preserved cultural traditions, economic independence, and community connections.
The market holds deep spiritual significance for practitioners of Candomblé and other African-derived religious traditions. Vendors offer sacred herbs, beads, ceremonial vessels, and ritual materials essential to honoring the Orixás. This connection comes alive during the annual Festa de Olojá, a celebration honoring Exu, the Orixá of communication, movement, crossroads, and commerce. In Yoruba tradition, Olojá, meaning “Owner of the Market,” reflects Exu’s sacred relationship with marketplaces, where people, goods, ideas, and opportunities intersect. Rooted in the spiritual traditions of the Yoruba people of present-day Nigeria and Benin, the celebration brings drumming, offerings, prayers, and communal rituals into the market, transforming an everyday commercial space into a powerful expression of African religious continuity.
Walking through São Joaquim is an immersion into the sights, sounds, flavors, and spiritual traditions of Afro-Brazilian life. From the aroma of dendê oil and traditional Bahian spices to the sacred leaves used in Candomblé ceremonies, the market reveals how deeply African knowledge continues to shape everyday life in Salvador.
Africans Arrived in Brazil
Brazil received more enslaved Africans than any other nation in the Americas during the transatlantic slave trade. Between the 16th and 19th centuries, approximately 4.9 million Africans were transported to Brazil, with Salvador, being a main port of arrival. Despite centuries of oppression, Africans descendants preserved their spiritual traditions, languages, music, and cultural practices. Despite the brutality of slavery, descendants preserved and transformed Afro-Brazilian cultural traditions.
Freedom Realized
On May 13, 1888, Brazil became the last country in the Americas to abolish slavery nationwide, ending more than 300 years of legalized enslavement. The Lei Áurea (Golden Law) granted freedom to approximately 700,000 enslaved people but provided no land, reparations, or economic support. In Salvador, Bahia, where Africans had long resisted oppression through uprisings such as the 1835 Malê Revolt, abolition marked another chapter in the struggle for Black liberation.
Defined by African Ancestry
According to Brazil’s 2022 census, approximately 83.2% of Salvador’s 2.4 million residents identify as Black (preto) or mixed-race (pardo). That’s more than 2 million people, making Salvador one of the xmost important centers of Afro-descendant identity in the Americas.
1549 – 1763 Foundation of Brazil
Salvador served as colonial Brazil’s first capital for 214 years. During this period, the city became a major center of the transatlantic slave trade, beginning its documented role as a slave market in 1558. Despite centuries of enslavement and oppression, African descendants preserved cultural traditions that continue to define Salvador’s identity.
The Living Legacy of Candomblé
Salvador’s official tourism website reports more than 2,000 terreiros, sacred spaces associated predominantly with Candomblé and other African-rooted religious traditions. These houses preserve ancestral knowledge, rituals, drumming, sacred languages, and spiritual practices carried across the Atlantic by enslaved Africans.
Capoeira Culture and Resistance
In 2014, UNESCO recognized the Capoeira Circle as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Deeply connected to Bahia’s Afro-Brazilian communities, capoeira combines martial arts, music, movement, and ancestral resistance. Its rhythms and rituals continue to transmit African-descended knowledge from one generation to the next.
