Jamaican national heroes Nanny of the Maroons, Paul Bogle, George William Gordon, and Marcus Garvey, as well as reggae icon Bob Marley were celebrated at this year’s staging of carnival in Brazil.

The Jamaicans were highlighted in the Ilê Aiyê Carnival Association’s feature of Jamaica’s contribution to the struggles faced by the African diaspora.

The parade in Salvador, Bahia took place over the four days — February 14 to 17 — under the theme, ‘A Diaspora Africana – Jamaica – Os Afrodescendentes’ (The African Diaspora – Jamaica – The Afro-Descendants).

It was viewed by hundreds of thousands of people along different parade circuits in Salvador.

The theme of the carnival was inspired by the International Decade of African Descent, declared by the United Nations, which started on January 1, 2015 and in recognition of Jamaica’s activism and leadership in fighting against racial prejudice, intolerance, discrimination and xenophobia.

“The Jamaican embassy collaborated with the Ilê Aiyê Carnival Association on this project from as early as April 2014,” said Jamaica’s ambassador to Brazil Alison Stone Roofe, who was invited with minister counsellor in the embassy, Desreine Taylor, as well as ambassadors of other Caricom countries.

“For the embassy, this was another remarkable achievement in its efforts to strengthen ties with the Government and people of Brazil, in particular Bahia,” she pointed out.

Kicking off the festivities on February 14 was a solemn Candomblé ceremony, which was attended by the mayor of Salvador, ACM Neto; the governor of Bahia state, Rui Costa; and the secretary of women’s policies for Bahia, Olivia Santana.

The Ebony Goddess, Alexandra Amorim, who was the winner of this year’s African beauty contest, was the central figure of the Candomblé ceremony, which is performed to ask the Orisha (spirits) for blessings for a peaceful parade. Vintage Jamaican singer Norris Weir of the group The Jamaicans also performed.

At the end of the ceremony, white doves, popcorn and grains were released, followed by mystical drumming by the Ile Aiye Band which cleared a path for the Ebony Goddess and principals of Ilê Aiyê and those who would be marching in the actual parade later in the evening.

The costumes and the Trio Eletricos (huge trucks transporting performers) all bore the motif with the faces of the heroes being celebrated and the Jamaican flag. Original songs were recorded to complement the theme — in particular one entitled Força Umbilical Curuzu Kingston — which highlighted the likes of Marley, Peter Tosh, Jimmy Cliff and Desmond Dekker and had the crowds singing along and dancing.

In May 2014, the embassy spearheaded the twinning of the cities of Kingston and Salvador, the capital of Bahia, based on their similar histories and cultures. The move was designed to find markets for Jamaican products and promote tourism in Bahia.