ESCRAVOS E SANTOS

By Marcio de Abreu

In the confines of the outback of Bahia, every 12th of October, men and women gather to celebrate the Langa of Our Lady Aparecida. They dance and sing throughout the night to the fervent sounds of prayers and traditional music, expressing their devotion to the black saint. But this mystical scenario conceals sad stories. These are stories of pain and suffering: stories of enslaved men and women told by the black people of the region, as they were heard from their grandparents and great-grandparents.