Rio Vermelho is a neighborhood located in the southern zone of Salvador, Bahia. Or Red River, in English, is where the great Festa da Yemenjá (goddess of the sea) takes place on February 2. It was home to the writer Jorge Amado and is currently home to singer Gal Costa (who bought her house overlooking the Praia da Paciência, Patience Beach, from musical colleague Caetano Veloso). Gilberto Gil has a home in the area too. Lots of bars and restaurants.
The name comes from a "river" giving onto the Atlantic Ocean, the name of this river being "Camurujipe", a Portuguese twisting of the original Tupí "Camarajibe" or "River of the Camarás". Given that a camará is a small red flower which in earlier times grew in abundance here in Salvador, a more accurate rendering would be "Rio das Flores Vermelhas" ("River of the Red Flowers").[1]