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Festas
Juninas |
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The
"Festas Juninas" (June Parties), are the joyous mid-winter
festival days when the feasts of St. Anthony (Jun, 13), St. John
(Jun, 24) and St. Peter (Jun, 29) are celebrated throughout the
whole month of June all around Brazil, with traditional foods,
games and dances.
While
these customs originated with the Portuguese, the foods associated
with these holidays are based on native preparations such as
baked sweet potatoes and corn-based dishes. |
Among
the three June Saints, Saint John has the largest number of devotees.
According to the popular faith, Saint John is the responsible
for the harvest of corn and of a local kind of green beans that
occur at that time. Even when no bountiful crops happen, Saint
John is celebrated with a lot of faith and parties.
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Campina
Grande, the second largest city in the state of Paraíba,
116km from João Pessoa, the State capital, in northeastern
Brazil, is one of those inland cities that preserve the cultural
roots of their people and its "Festa Junina" is one
of the most traditional and famous in the whole country. Since
1983 Campina Grande holds the greatest Saint John's party of
the world and receives annually a flow of 1 million people in
June.
The
epicenter of the Saint John's Party in Campina Grande is the
People's Park, an area of 42.000 m2 which is filled with colorful
barracks, balloons, lights and all ornaments necessary to compose
the scenario of the Greatest Saint John's Party of the World.
Caruaru,
the commercial pole of Pernambuco's inland, in northeastern Brazil,
attracts a large number of visitors every year during the June
feasts. The city is known for preserving and divulging the northeastern
popular culture. Caruaru is considered the capital of the "forró",
a typical rhythm from northeastern Brazil, largely played during
the June feasts.
I
remember that when I was a child, these were my favorite feasts,
and the school where I studied always provided the students a
very beautiful party every year. We used to make everything,
from decoration to the cooking of the many typical dishes served
during the feast. Every class prepared a traditional dance to
be performed to all students and their guests.
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The
place was decorated with colorful barracks, lights and all other
ornaments that compose the scenario of the party. There were
many bonfires, colorful balloons, games, such as fishing, where
we won everything we could fish in a small pool filled with sand
(they could be all kind of toys for children, such as dolls,
plastic cars, boxes with pencils, etc) and many other entertainment
for children and adults alike. |
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Here
I am with a friend during a feast at school.
These are the typical clothes we use during these feasts. |
Here
I am again, dancing the "quadrilha" with friends.
I'm the one with the blue dress. |
The
typical dance of these feasts is the "quadrilha". People
form pairs and make a circle, then start to dance. Sometimes,
they exchange partners, sometimes there are two circles, one
with men and another with women, sometimes they form a kind of
spiral, and there is always a person commanding the "quadrilha".
It's really funny to dance it.
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And
here I am at home before going to a feast
at school when I was 6 years old. |
And
with my cousin (on the left)
during a feast at school when I was 9 years old. |
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Every
"quadrilha" must have some particular characters: the
bride, the groom and the priest. All other are dressed in very
colored ragged clothes and everyone uses a straw hat. Most of
the time the boys and men paint a moustache on their faces.
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Want
to see the pictures I took in 2003 ?
Jump the bonfire.
Pictures
2003
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