After all the plans and preparations, the day of the inaugural arts fair has arrived. Although this kickoff event is an important milestone for the ICBIE, it will hopefully mark a turning point for Ribeira, too. As part of the cidade baixa, Ribeira is totally lacking in cultural opportunities. There is no cinema, no theater and (with the exception of the ICBIE) no social center, and as a result, the Ribeira of the Arts festival is the first initiative that gives the district a stable and on-going cultural venue, offering events for the entire population.
The Ribeira district was first developed a century ago, as a holiday getaway for the patricians of Salvador, who built beautiful houses where they could escape the heat and crowds of the city, to enjoy the constant fresh sea breezes. Located five miles directly north of the city center, Ribeira is situated on a narrow peninsula that juts into the Bay of All Saints, with one side facing toward Bomfin and the open Atlantic, while the other side faces onto the narrow bay that ends at the Alagados, and that side was developed as a fisherman’s port.
During the twentieth century, the neighborhood declined, and, as Salvador rapidly grew, poor people constructed shacks on stilts all along the shoreline, even in front of the ICBIE. Urban renewal of the last twenty years ended that abuse, and the conditions have been steadily improving. Now, with the ICBIE bringing quality education to local kids and offering cultural events for the entire community, Ribeira is experiencing a real Renaissance. With the start of the Ribeira of the Arts festival, people from all over Salvador will begin to discover the cultural wealth of the cidade baixa.
