Buying Berimbaus, Drums, Etc. in Salvador

Berimbaus are on display and for sale all over Pelourinho and in the Mercado Modelo. There's even a stand which sells them in Shopping Barra (a big, modern shopping center in, of course, the neighborhood of Barra). The purpose of this section will be to point out places which rise above the ordinary.

• One which is much more than a cut-above is Mestre Lua's Atelier Percussivo in Pelourinho. Mestre Lua is a capoeira master who crafts percussion instruments (berimbaus, atabaques, bongôs, timbaus, cuicas, congas, djembês, and more) of great beauty and quality. His shop is located at Rua Inácio Ociole, No. 3 (close to the Igreja São Francisco), and the interior looks like something of a living museum. The difference is that these instruments are made to play. They are also pricier than others to be had, but even so they are far less expensive than anything similar purchased in the United States or Europe. The telephone number for the shop is 3488-3600, and Mestre Lua's home phone is 3636-8118. Should you visit the shop (or call) you may be attended by Mestre Lua's protogé Gigante ("Giant"). Gigante isn't really all that big, but he was a tall boy back when he started studying capoeira with Mestre Lua's group.
  
  Mestre Lua also organizes percussion classes and workshops, sometimes on his property on the island of Itaparica.

(more to come)

Salvador Bahia Brazil