The Bet of Knowledge≡June Festival Brazil
Celebrated throughout Brazil, the Festa Junina is one of the country's most important cultural events, especially in the Northeast and Southeast regions. Inspired by ancient European summer solstice festivities and Christianized by the Catholic Church to honor saints such as Saint John, Saint Anthony and Saint Peter, the festival arrived in Brazil in the 16th century with the Jesuits, and was quickly incorporated into indigenous and African traditions.
The celebrations come to life in the arraiais, spaces decorated with colorful flags, straw and balloons. People dress like country folk, with plaid clothes, straw hats, painted freckles and dance the traditional square dance, staging a country wedding. Forró music is the heart of the party, with instruments such as the accordion, triangle and zabumba.
Games such as fishing, saci races and target shooting entertain children and adults, while typical foods — boiled corn, pamonha, canjica, pé de moleque and quentão — reinforce the flavor of the party. In cities such as Caruaru (PE), Campina Grande (PB) and in hundreds of municipalities in Bahia, the parties bring together thousands of people and boost the local economy.
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