We had another exciting day in Salvador, Bahia! It seems that it took an Afro-Brazilian dance class with Cozido, one survival Portuguese class, and an authentic Brazilian churrasco for everyone to wake up with a new sense of confidence. This confidence was displayed during our morning meeting with students from the Instituto de Saúde Coletiva (ISC) da UFBA. GSU students introduced themselves using some Portuguese words and phrases, this broke the ice to start an engaging discussion. ISC students talked about their fields of study, ranging from health communication in a Quilombo (community founded by people who fled enslavement), food insecurity among LGBTQIA+ Black people living with HIV/AIDS, to evaluation of the response time to traffic accidents requiring trauma care. ISC students emphasized the importance of building relationships with the communities they work with, as this engagement and participation is at the core of their research.

After lunch with our host moms, students expanded their knowledge of Portuguese and Brazilian research. Some students learned more basic Portuguese, expanding their repertoire on how to introduce themselves by describing their jobs, ages and where they live. They also learned the days of the week and numbers. Two of students who already speak Portuguese (myself included) don’t attend the Portuguese classes, so today we visited O Estudo Longitudinal de Saúde do Adulto (ELSA-Brasil). ELSA is a multi-center cohort study that has been collecting data since 2008 from 15,000 public employees. The survey has followed participants over time collecting health and clinical data with an emphasis on chronic diseases, particularly cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Researchers that have access to the database have access to a wealth of information including risk factors such as mental health, dietary consumption, discrimination, and even a genetic bank.

To top our enriching day, we had a lecture about Afro-Brazilian religions, specifically Umbanda and Candomblé with Professor Willys Santos. He was wearing all white and explained to us that people that practice Candomblé wear white (representing purity) on Fridays. This practice comes from Islam in which Friday is a holy day for gathering and prayer. The result of slavery was a mixture of African cultures and religions in Brazil. We learned that Candomblé started as a way for slaves to continue their various religious practices and traditions, and was also a form of resistance. We learned about Orixás and how they signify different forces of nature. We also learned about the meaning of the different colors of the beads that are worn by Candomblé practitioners. Sure enough, after we left our lecture, we started noticing all those wearing white.After just a few days here in Salvador, there is no doubt in my mind about the strong connection between collective health, culture, and race. I have also been thinking about social determinants of health, the importance of wellbeing and health promotion. During my early morning run, I was so pleased to see hundreds of locals using the bike and pedestrian paths that delineate the beach to run, walk, bike and skate before they go off to work or to start the day. I was also taken by the products that draw people to the neighborhood mercadinhos (small convenience stores); no, not chips or candy, it was eggs, fresh fruits, and vegetables. The display of colors is just so hard to miss!

~ Carol