Brazil's reggae capital — azulejo-tiled colonial mansions, bumba-meu-boi carnival drumming, and arroz de cuxá from the market
São Luís is the capital of Maranhão and one of the most culturally distinct cities in Brazil — a UNESCO World Heritage colonial centre of Portuguese, French, and Dutch influence (it is the only Brazilian state capital founded by the French), its historic buildings uniformly clad in azulejo tiles that cover entire façades in blue, white, and patterned ceramic from floor to parapet. São Luís is also inexplicably Brazil's reggae capital: the city has the largest reggae audience in Brazil, with reggae sound system clubs (reggae is performed here with Brazilian rhythms, slower and deeper) replacin…
São Luís was founded in 1612 by the French explorer Daniel de La Touche, making it the only Brazilian state capital founded by the French — France's only successful settlement in Brazil before the Portuguese expelled them in 1615. The Dutch occupied the city from 1641 to 1644 before the Portuguese definitively took control. The city grew as the export capital of Maranhão's cotton economy in the 18th century — the so-called 'Atenas Brasileira' (Brazilian Athens) period when São Luís had the highest concentration of poets and intellectuals of any Brazilian city. The cotton economy collapsed aft…