The beaches of Salvador

The Salvador coastline is one of the longest for cities in Brazil. There are 50 km (31 mi) of beaches distributed between the High City and the Low City, from Inema, in the railroad suburb to the Praia do Flamengo, on the other side of town. While the Low City beaches are bordered by the waters of the All Saints Bay (the country’s most extensive bay), the High City beaches, from Farol da Barra to Flamengo, are bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. The exception is Porto da Barra, the only High City beach located in the All Saints Bay.

The capital's beaches range from calm inlets, ideal for swimming, sailing, diving and underwater fishing, as well as open sea inlets with strong waves, sought by surfers. There are also beaches surrounded by reefs, forming natural pools of stone, ideal for children.

Ildi Silva

Ildi Silva is a Brazilian model and actress, a beauty from Bahia. She has brown skin and beautiful green eyes, giving her a strange but wonderful beauty. In school they called her “the girl with the eyes of a cat”.

She plays the secretary Yvone on the television show “Paraíso Tropical”. Most women with a pretty face cannot act, but Silva can. She has been in two other television shows, but this is her first one that is on during the prime evening viewing hours. The show is a big success, but her part is a small one.

Her full name is Ildimara da Silva e Silva. She grew up in a well-to-do family in the city of Salvador, the youngest of four. As a girl her mother took her to a church of the Assemblies of God. They were strict about how a woman should look: dresses must go below the knees, arms must be covered and no make-up.

At age 14 she was walking down a street in Salvador when a talent scout discovered her and got her a test shoot to see if she would make a good model.
The shoot went well. Now she faced a decision: either become a model and turn against the religion of her childhood or stay at home and remain faithful. Against her mother’s wishes, she travelled to Sao Paulo to become a model. She lived there with her older brother.

The press never tires of writing about her love life, much of it imagined or read into chance pictures.
The most famous of these supposed love affairs was with Caetano Veloso, the great Brazilian singer who is 40 years older than her. Veloso denies it: she is a charming girl, a good soul, but they are just good friends.
Another of her supposed love affairs is with Cleo Pires, a woman! Pires denies it on her blog: people confuse two girls having a good time with love! There are pictures with them arm-in-arm, but they do not look like lovers

In 2006 the BBC in Brazil did a study to see where famous Afro-Brazilians come from. More than just Africa, it turns out.
In Silva’s case, even though both her parents are black, she is 71% European, 19% African and 10% native Indian. She is a mix of genes found mainly in France, Kenya and Cameroon. Her green eyes are Dutch. Her body is a history book of Brazil. In her it all comes together beautifully!