On the weekend we were in Sao Luiz do Paraitinga, Brasil which holds a party called Festa do Divino (Divine's party).
This party was common in Europe in the last century but was forgotten in some cases and forbidden by the church in other places. I am not a specialist and therefore will not tell too much about why the cult of the Divine is such an issue for some parts of the catholic church but it makes the conception of sharing very interesting in a huge party like that.
To start with, the people from the city donates a couple of cows to prepare the 'Afogado'and they are cooked and distributed for free to all people (the seasoning is done in a cross and every bow is blessed by the priest with holy water):
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| The queue to the Afogado |
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| The afogado itself in two versions, with pasta or with rice |
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| Preparation of the Afogado |
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| Serving the Afogado |
Also on saturday, there is the Cavalhada which is the representation of the conversion of the Moors to Christians in the Iberian Peninsula in the middle of the last century. Kind of politically incorrect for these days but still interesting.
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| A dog on its way to the Cavalhada |
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| The Cavalhada |
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| A kid watching the Cavalhada |
During the party, there are thousands of groups playing a music style called Congada or Moçambique - again I am not a specialist so can't differentiate them but the interesting part is that you can see that the blocs are composed of old and young people in a way that tradition goes forward. The Congadas and Moçambiques may not be originally brazilian but their rithym is really contagious!
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| A group coming into the city center |
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| Group presentation |
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| Different generations make the party and the musicality sustainable |
The next post will be about the following day and its happening!!
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