Culture

The Brazilian « Festa Junina » in Berlin

The largest German festival for Brazilian culture, music and gastronomy will take place on Saturday, 10th of August, at Festsaal Kreuzberg

August 08th, 2019
Margareta Calugher, News from Berlin
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The « Festa Junina » in Berlin is a tribute to the roots of Brazil's traditions, regional music, dances and gastronomy.

The traditional Brazilian festival “Festa Junina” (“June Holiday”) is held in Brazil throughout the month of June, during the summer solstice. Albeit it is little-known beyond its borders, the festival is extremely popular among Brazilians.

Initially, the festival had a religious connotation, being dedicated to the Monk Anthony the Great, St. John the Baptist and the Holy Apostle Peter. Moreover, it was related to agriculture and personified the hopes of the peasants for the future harvest. Over time, it has lost its religious identity and now is celebrated with a lot of traditional food, drinks, music and a theatrical dance, the Quadrilha, a kind of square dance.

The festival is very colorful, decorated with paper lanterns and flags. Men usually dress up as farm boys  and shepherds - Gaucho, wearing big straw hats. Women wear red plaid clothes or wide blouses decorated with embroidered Richelieu, ribbons, lace in combination with long voluminous skirts and adorn themselves with false gullets and freckles.

Its culinary symbols are simple peasant corn dishes, such as corn tortillas from finely chopped rice or cornmeal, corn mixed with condensed milk and peanuts, sprinkled with cinnamon, and corn muffins. For dessert there are crushed coconut mixed with condensed milk and butter, candies from crushed peanuts and various traditional drinks.

Starting time:  12.00
Price: 5 euros

References:

News from Berlin