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other seafood as well – coconut, garlic, onion, parsley, pepper, tomato paste, and dendê oil.
These ingredients are sautéed over a low flame and served with rice cooked in coconut milk
Another traditional dish is vatapá – a spicy shrimp purée made with palm oil and nuts – and
carurú de camarão, which contains both fresh and dried shrimp, as well as sliced okra.

Perhaps the most well known music from Bahia, is
Axé. Axé is a musical genre that was created in Salvador in the 1980’s.
This Bahian music naturally includes heavy influences of Afro-Brazilian music such as forró,

carixada, and frevo.
It is also considered a fusion of different Afro-Caribbean genres such as march, reggae and
calypso. Here is an example of
Axé:

Sergipe
(by Erika Esser)

Sergipe is the smallest state in Brazil and is similar in
size and population (approximately 2.5 million) to
Utah. Although it does not have an extensively large
land mass, its history reveals that other countries still

had an interest in conquering this region.

Local tribes known as the Tupi had once settled
here. In the 16th century it was conquered by sugar
planters and cattlemen from Bahia. The Portuguese
arrived in the latter half of the century and they

established Sergipe’s first capital city, São Cristóvão,
in 1590. Between 1641 and 1645 the Dutch were
able to claim Sergipe, but shortly thereafter the
Portuguese took back its control. Brazil won independence from Europe in
1822 and Sergipe became a state of the Brazilian Republic in 1889. The
state was named after Serigy, a Brazilian indigenous leader who fought
against the Portuguese colonization.

So, why was Sergipe so highly sought after? As it turns out, it is an area which contains many
valuable resources.
Economy

The economy of the state is agriculturally rich.Oranges, coconut, and cassava (similar to

yucca) are some of its main crops but sugarcane is number one. Livestock such as cattle,
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