Immigration is undoubtedly one of the most relevant and current events in our history. However in the case of Galicia, there are many sectors of society that diminish its significance. It is important to note that Galician immigrants were unable to break their sentimental attachment towards their nation, which is why large amounts of money flowed back to Galicia for many decades. Brazil is one of the countries that received the most migrants from the late 19th century and the first decade of the 20th  century. For this reason, the Galician immigration process in Brazil was mainly established in three areas of the country: São Paulo (Santos), a city fully occupied by inhabitants of Tomiño, specifically Goián; another state of Pará: and the most important Galician group was established in Salvador de Bahía. It’s curious to  note that 96% of the Spanish residents in these cities are Galician and more anecdotally, that 90% come from the province of Pontevedra. Furthermore, according to reports of the Spanish consulate of Salvador de Bahía, 28% of the Galicians resident in this city came from Ponte Caldelas, 22% from Fornelos de Montes, 20% from Lama, and following in number and importance the municipalities of Pazos de Borbén, Ponteareas, and Mondariz.

On the other hand, in order to understand the architecture built by Galician immigrants who came from Brazil, it is important to have knowledge and understanding of the location of their destination country, specifically Salvador de Bahía. Founded in the 16th century by Portuguese settlers and built on a high plane and close proximity to the sea, it was the capital until 1763 and was one of the largest and most important cities in Latin America. Today, it is the third largest city in Brazil. The initial urban layout of Salvador de Bahía followed the same dynamics as the Spanish cities in Latin America, with a grid that evolved over time into an axial layout with squares that repeated along the main street. The idealized plans for the city were sent from Portugal to be analyzed or adapted to the city.

There is no simple way to determine a systematic account of what those Galicians saw in Salvador de Bahía in approximately sixty years, spanning the last two decades of the 19th century and the first forty years of the 20th century. However, many specialists have been able to construct a set of images that provide insight into the rich and cultured society at the time, influenced by European styles such as “modernism” and “eclecticism”. 

The visual aesthetic indicates that the buildings, in most cases, underwent a “profoundly eclectic” transformation, which is a natural response given the socio-cultural conditions of the time. The eclectic form incorporates nature into its imagery. This architecture was observed and absorbed by the immigrants during their long stay in Salvador de Bahía. The architecture was a mixture of styles, reflecting both the Portuguese heritage and the styles imported by the cultured society of Bahía. 

The neighborhoods were built with slave labor and, once consolidated, took on the appearance of Portuguese cities, which is a recurring feature in all the historic areas of Brazilian cities, with narrow cobblestone streets flanked by buildings that are formally and typologically Portuguese.