BATACLAN

Like Paris, the capital of cocoa has its "Bataclan". We don't know if Jorge Amado is also referring to this Offenbach play, but this Bataclan is an important element in his novel Gabriela. This former house, frequented by colonels (large landowners in the Nordeste) in search of love, was restored in the 1990s and now houses a cultural centre and a restaurant. On certain evenings, the "cabaret" atmosphere of the cocoa boom years seems to resurface and you don't know if you're in Ilheus or in Paris.