BONFIM

The Christ crucified has always been with me. As a child, the weekly Masses full of icons immersed in the silence cut by the prayers, fascinated me. I was introduced to many devotions: Nossa Senhora Aparecida, Bom Jesus de Pirapora, O Divino Pai Eterno. Older, I left São Paulo behind and chose to live in Salvador. I immediately connected to the faith of the people in Bahia, seen in every detail of the festival. In the pure white color forming a carpet in the procession; in the flowers, so many and simple, squeezed by distracted hands, sometimes failing to express their gratitude on the hot path. In the steady steps of the Baianas, fulfilling their faith purposes. Skirts that hold many prayers. Health, work, the return of a lost love. Senhor do Bonfim awaits everyone at the top of Colina Sagrada (Sacred Hill), and the hands, already freed from the wood, stretch out. It is a boundless devotion. Emotion, everywhere, overflows through the eyes. The anthem. Ah, the anthem: “Fill us with your Divine Grace”. How to resist the call coming from Above. “Ask and ye shall receive,” He suggested. Here we are: Watch over us.