Our Annual Festa Junina was very special this year because my parents, sister and nieces were here visiting us from Brazil!
Since moving back from Brazil in 2010, I kept this tradition alive for my children.
You can check out my previous Festa Juninas HERE and HERE.
We celebrate the month of June(and sometimes in July) with parties that can be even bigger than Carnaval in some cities. Those parties are called Festas Juninas and they celebrate saints Anthony, John and Peter with lots of traditional foods, drinks and a theatrical dance inherited from the French called quadrilha (a type of square dance). They usually take place in a large open space outdoors called an arraial.
Food like corn bread, pacoca(peanut butter candy), pe de moleque(peanut bars), sweet popcorn, brigadeiro(chocolate fudge), canjica(sweet corn pudding), caramelized apples, corn on the cob, hot dogs, quentao(Brazilian spiced alcoholic drink) and batidas(tropical fruits cocktails) are a must!
At any Festa Junina, men dress up as farm boys with large straw hats and women wear pigtails, freckles, painted gap teeth and red-checkered dresses, all in a loving tribute to the origins of Brazilian country music. Like during Carnival, these festivities involve costume-wearing (in this case, peasant costumes), dancing and fun games for the children.
My parents brought from Brazil goodies like pe de moleque(peanut bars), pacoca(peanut butter candy) and bananadas(banana candy bar). We also had some fun playing with some poppers just like we do in Brazil!
Fishing Game, Musical Chairs, Hit or Miss can game, kissing booth, correio do amor(love mail - send an anonymous message to someone you like/care), egg on the spoon and sack race are traditional games at any Festa Junina!
My father made delicious kabobs(churrasquinho) and sausage on the stick(salsichao)!
Usually the adults get together couple of days before the party to practice the "quadrilha" which features couple formations around a mock wedding whose bride and groom are the central attraction of the dancing. You can download songs (portuguese only) that tells you what moves to make and what to do or/and say. We did a small version and I translated to my guests the words of the song.
My daughter was the bride and my son the groom! Too funny!!
Hope you enjoyed learning a little bit of my culture!
Thank you for stopping by!
XO,
Cris
Vendor Credits:
Games, Tiki Hut, straw hats, party wear, prizes and decorations from Oriental Trading
