Bright City - Dark Past

Ironically, the most brightly colored part of Salvador de Bahia has its darkest past. The Pelourinho neighborhood takes its name from the whipping post which once stood here.

Until slavery was outlawed in 1888, this is where African slaves were bought, sold, and punished.

Today, it’s a UNESCO World Heritage site, full of tourist shops.

In 1996, Michael Jackson was filmed here for his song “They Don’t Really Care About Us.”

Today, a cut out of “the King of Pop” still stands in the same balcony as he did in his music video.

We didn’t go into the building, but it’s a popular photo stop for MJ fans. When I get back home, I plan to watch the video. It will be fun to see if we recognize any of the settings, since parts of the video were also filmed in Rio.Read more