From Thursday through Sunday, our group visited Cachoeira, a historical town in the area of Bahia known as Reconcava, because of the concave shape it makes with the ocean. We visited the lovely Igreja do Boa Morte (Church of the Good Death…which appealed to me because of my love of Day of the Dead themed things) and took a boat ride along the river in two lovely pantoons with two lovely and informed guides, who also took us to an abandoned home used by fishers to cook and divert themselves (i.e. booze). We also visited a bee farm, a milk farm, and community building where they make tapioca flour and beiju. Conforming with the stereotype of rural hospitality, we were offered tamarinds from trees (doesn’t matter if it’s their tree or not, they’ll offer it) and roasted cashews as we walked through the village.



We were allowed to observe for a few hours at a family health clinic as people came in to catch up on their vaccine requirements to meet the obligations of the Bolsa Familia Program (an incentive program developed under Lula to give stipends to rural families for vaccinating and educating their children. It’s similar to Progresa y Oportunidades in México) or report a tooth ache. Each family (this community has some 300 households) has a number, and a file folder at the family health center. Nurses keep track of each family member’s health in this file, and send the paperwork to the secretary of health monthly so they secretary can allocate funds and resources appropriately (eg. This community needs more medicine for parasites, but not anti-retro drugs). Everything is state-provided, from the medicine in the basic pharmacy at the health center to the staplers the nurses use for reports. What a fascinating thing to see universal health care at work. The system is 20 years old, so apparently at first there was little except for glitches and kinks, but now it functions more or less smoothly, and, despite continued inequality in access, basic health care for all is a reality.

Twins, at least in Candomblé are allowed to do virtually anything they want. Last night we attended another service at our third terreiro where 2 twins, (middle-aged) not only threw candy at us, but also slapped children on the wrist, pouted, and threw food at other adult’s faces. It’s apparently normal for twins to eat first or for them to laugh at non-appropriate times (for example, when people are possessed by an orixa and the normal code of behavior is to be fairly serious). Yesterday, exemptions for twins were especially observed because it was a holiday (always a holiday here) where twins are supposed to “be children”. (Note, they’re not “acting like children”, they “are children”, and don’t you say otherwise!)