Pop superstar Michael Jackson took a tumble on Saturday (February 10) when thousands of fans heaved against police lines to catch a glimpse of their hero during the filming of a video that officials tried in vain to ban.
The selection of Salvador de Bahia's historic district of Pelourinho, once a hive of prostitution, as the backdrop for Jackson's latest video excited legions of fans who pressed against a four-deep cordon.
During filming in a narrow street, a woman burst through the cordon, enveloping Jackson in a tight hug.
As two police officers struggled to get her off, the group tumbled to the cobblestones. Jackson, who emerged unscathed, merely brushed down his jeans and the cameras continued to roll.
"It was just a little hug, it was the others who knocked him down. I felt an urge to do it," chambermaid Solange Xavier dos Santos said to reporters.
Despite bids to ban the shoot, U.S. film director Spike Lee set cameras rolling just after dawn on Saturday on 200 drummers from percussion band Olodum as they swayed to the heavy beat of Salvador's "samba-reggae" music.
A cavalcade of cars whisked Jackson and two children who are accompanying him on this trip into Pelourinho's sloping square just after mid-day for his scenes.
Not everyone in Brazil is so excited about Jackson's visit. In Rio, where the singer is due to continue filming the video for the song "They Don't Care About Us" in a shanty-town on Sunday, officials fear images of poverty might affect tourism and have accused Jackson of exploiting the poor.
Earlier this week a Rio judge suspended any filming, but that ruling was later overturned by an injunction.
Pop singer Michael Jackson thrilled thousands of residents in a poor Rio neighbourhood on Sunday (February 11) while filming a music video which officials had tried to ban.
Relaxed and smiling broadly at thousands perched precariously on shaky roofs, Jackson looked completely at home as he sang to his video "They Don't Care About Us" in the patchwork of brick and wood houses, clinging to the hillside.
The city's shantytowns are normally shunned by outsiders because of drugs and violence, so security was tight throughout the filming. 1,500 policemen and 50 residents acting as security guards effectively sealed off the Dona Marta shantytown on Saturday night.
There had been much speculation over how the health-conscious Jackson would cope with the less-than-perfect sanitary conditions in the shantytown, especially after he arrived in Brazil wearing a black surgical mask.
But on Sunday Jackson seemed carefree about the open drains and rubbish, waving at every opportunity to his screaming admirers from a makeshift patio which commanded panoramic views of Rio's more obvious tourist attractions.
Pop star Michael Jackson went shopping in Rio de Janeiro Monday (February 12), provoking mob scenes and near hysteria among the crowds who came to see him. His movements around the city were apparently unaffected by reports that his production team had negotiated with drug dealers in order to gain permission to film in one of the city's shantytowns.
As fans and photographers pressed up against the windows Jackson, wearing a black surgical mask to protect himself from germs, bought compact disks and a Mickey Mouse toy.
After finishing his shopping Jackson was led from the score by a phalanx of baton wielding security guards who pushed hundreds of wellwishers aside so that the star could get back into his car. His entourage then drove in convoy through the streets, further tying up Rio's notoriously congested centre.
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