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"Café da Santa - The Soldiers' Barracks"
The facilities of Café da Santa witnessed one of the most important events in our history: the passage of the soldiers who helped to defend the coast of the municipality of Porto Seguro, during the Second World War.
On March 2, 1943, the ship Afonso Pena was attacked off the coast of Porto Seguro by the Italian submarine Barbarigo. The attack left 122 people dead and 119 survivors adrift, seven of whom reached the beaches of Porto Seguro. The attack exposed the insecurity of an important stretch of the Brazilian coast and led the political authorities and national military to send garrisons to the main cities in the region: Belmonte, Porto Seguro and Caravelas.
More than 900 soldiers were settled in the municipality of Porto Seguro. Some of them were housed in the village of Arraial d'Ajuda. The presence of the soldiers, between 1943 and 1944, affected the daily lives of the local people and created memories that are still told today by the older residents.
A common story is that they let the horses graze in the square and on the airfield, which generated protests from local residents. Another memory is that during the nights it was forbidden, after a certain time, to keep lights on, so as not to provide the location of the coast to possible submarines that were sailing the seas of the region. Another remembrance is that they supposedly set fire to the tamarind tree, one of the most iconic trees in the village square.
In Arraial d’Ajuda, the place where the soldiers were installed was where the Café da Santa is located today. Older residents of the village claim that the house was made of wood. Therefore, they referred to it as "the soldiers’ barracks".
References Photo PESSOA, Decio Gurrite. Porto Seguro: finding and history through photography. São Paulo: Todas as Folhas, 2013, p. 91. Bibliography SILVA, Tharles S. "Não adiantou, nós vencemos": a Segunda Guerra Mundial no Extremo Sul da Bahia. Thesis (Doctorate in State and Society) - Federal University of Southern Bahia (UFSB). Porto Seguro, 2022.
Translation: Luma Moreno Coelho Lage Aleixo
Find out about the Square's schedule of events
The facilities of Café da Santa witnessed one of the most important events in our history: the passage of the soldiers who helped to defend the coast of the municipality of Porto Seguro, during the Second World War.
On March 2, 1943, the ship Afonso Pena was attacked off the coast of Porto Seguro by the Italian submarine Barbarigo. The attack left 122 people dead and 119 survivors adrift, seven of whom reached the beaches of Porto Seguro. The attack exposed the insecurity of an important stretch of the Brazilian coast and led the political authorities and national military to send garrisons to the main cities in the region: Belmonte, Porto Seguro and Caravelas.
More than 900 soldiers were settled in the municipality of Porto Seguro. Some of them were housed in the village of Arraial d'Ajuda. The presence of the soldiers, between 1943 and 1944, affected the daily lives of the local people and created memories that are still told today by the older residents.
A common story is that they let the horses graze in the square and on the airfield, which generated protests from local residents. Another memory is that during the nights it was forbidden, after a certain time, to keep lights on, so as not to provide the location of the coast to possible submarines that were sailing the seas of the region. Another remembrance is that they supposedly set fire to the tamarind tree, one of the most iconic trees in the village square.
In Arraial d’Ajuda, the place where the soldiers were installed was where the Café da Santa is located today. Older residents of the village claim that the house was made of wood. Therefore, they referred to it as "the soldiers’ barracks".
References Photo PESSOA, Decio Gurrite. Porto Seguro: finding and history through photography. São Paulo: Todas as Folhas, 2013, p. 91. Bibliography SILVA, Tharles S. "Não adiantou, nós vencemos": a Segunda Guerra Mundial no Extremo Sul da Bahia. Thesis (Doctorate in State and Society) - Federal University of Southern Bahia (UFSB). Porto Seguro, 2022.
Translation: Luma Moreno Coelho Lage Aleixo
Find out about the Square's schedule of events