In Bahia

A Well balance mixture of the sacred and profane.

A mystic tradition started in the 18th century in Bahia, when an image of Our Lord of Bonfim was brought from Portugal and arrived in Brazil in 1745 by the officer of the Portuguese Navy Teodósio Rodrigues de Farias

The attribution of miraculous powers made Our Lord of Bonfim an object of popular devotion.

It is believed that the Cleansing of Bonfim was originated in the times when the slaves were forced to wash the stairway of the Church for the Patron Saint’s party.

Our Lord of Bonfim soon started being identified as Oxala by the slaves, and this is one of Bahia's most beautiful stories of religious syncretism.

The owners forced the slaves into becoming catholic and in response, to keep their own beliefs and traditions, the slaves started to associate their Christian deities with their Candomblé deities.

Currently this traditional celebration consists of an enormous procession that leaves the Church of Conceição da Praia towards the Church of Bonfim, a distance of 8 Km. Hundreds of baianas open the procession and take, both in their hands and on their heads, vases with flowers and perfumed water in order to wash the stairway and cleanse the devotees.
The procession also embraces to other religious denominations.
 

For the USA

The Lavagem/Cleansing was brought abroad and reformulated for the United States in 2008 by Silvana Magda, with the support of the Brazilian entrepreneur João de Matos and the journalist Edilberto Mendes.

Lavagem da Rua 46, means “The Cleansing of 46th Street” in and English, is an event produced by Silvana Magda’s Viva Brazil Dance Company, Inc., a Not- for- Profit, tax exempt, 501C3 organization.

Acclaimed for its enormous success in its first celebration in 2008, The Lavagem da Rua 46 / The Cleansing of 46th Street, Brazilian Cultural Parade & Festival was incorporated into the official calendar of summer festivals in New York.

In 2010 the Lavagem da Rua received in Brazil the prestigious Axe Award for the best cultural event in the USA from Bahiatursa/Brazilian Government, also the recipient of the 2010 and 2013 annual Brazilian International Press Award for the best Cultural Street Festival in the USA.

Up-keeping their reputation of the past years, Lavagem continues to boast about the appearance of politicians, famous Brazilian artists and Celebrities such as Carlinhos Brown, Margareth Menezes, Maestro Spok, Orquestra Popular da bomba do Hemetério, Netinho, Del Feliz, Adelmario Coelho Netinho, Lucy Alves, Armandinho Macedo, Carla Visi, Vanessa e Claus, Banda Alavontê, Magary Lord, Banda 5%, David Brasil, Regina Casé, Guga Tatau,Regina Case and Guga who have graced the stage.

More than a celebration, the Lavagem da Rua 46 has turned into a week of promoting Brazilian culture, tourism and business in the USA.

Silvana Magda, creator and producer of Lavagem da Rua 46, received an invitation to present Lavagem at Lincoln Center in 2015. It was a major success which brought forth a new audience and put a spin on the concept of Lavagem da Rua 46. The Lavagem parade is now a parade which can be showcased at any location across the USA.

In 2017, it will make its debut on the Brazilian Day of Newark. 

The parade begins at Penn Station and Ferry Street, and goes along Ferry and ends at Niagara and Chambers Street which is Brazil Square to be named Saturday Sept. 2nd. 

On average, an audience of approximately 2,000 people participate in the parade, accompanied by passersbydrums from samba schools, Samba dancers, Capoeiristas, Baianas, frevo dancers and many more, alldressedupin colorful costumes. 

Each wing of the parade brings some of the traditions from all regions of Brazil. In total, the audience present at the event (parade and spectators) are between 6 to 7 thousand people. 

In addition to the traditional wing of the various cultural groups involved, The Lavagem da Rua 46 in Newark will introduce floats adding a special touch to the parade, and the opportunity for sponsors to have more visibility

 The Lavagem da Rua 46, even though was an event developed for the Brazilian community living in America, has been embraced by Americans since its first year, who became a part of this great celebration.