Wonderful news. IPHAN, the Brazilian’s goverment body responsible for the cultural heritage of the nation, has just listed the bumba-meu-boi festival from Maranhão as cultural heritage of the nation. Those reading this blog from its very beginnings are probably aware of how fond we are of the bumba-meu-boi. In our humble opinion, it is probably the most remarkable and authentic Brazilian festival. As bewildering as it is largely unknown.

Our blog post bumba-meu-boi contains a handful of information on the festival. Make sure you get its dates right: the final 10 days of June.

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RELATED POSTS:
Destination: São Luís
Bumba-meu-boi
video: festas juninas in São Luís
Maranhão, images of a Brazilian paradise

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The bumba-meu-boi is one of most authentic popular festivals in Brazil (brewerys don’t rule the event yet, as it is the case with so many other Brazilian festivals). And in spite of that, you’ll be pushed hard to find a mention to it on the mainstream media. We have detailed information on the festival at bumba-meu-boi.

It is now four years since our visit to Destination: São Luís and my intention publishing this blog post is to make up for the lack of interest towards the festival shown by the media and the tourism authorities.

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RELATED POSTS:
Destination: São Luís
Bumba-meu-boi
video: festas juninas in São Luís
Maranhão, images of a Brazilian paradise

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In World Heritage Sites we presented a list of all the heritage sites in Brazil, both cultural and natural. Now I want to introduce a website devoted entirely to the World Cultural Heritage Sites found in Brazil: Mankind’s Cultural Heritage in Brazil. The website is run by the Ministry of Tourism and has a version in English, the one I’m linking to here.

The design of the website is quite pleasant to the eyes although it takes some time to get used to the navigation tools. The page contains plenty of information on the following places:

• Brasilia
• Historical Centre of Salvador
• Historical Centre of Ouro Preto
• Historical Centre of Diamantina
• Historical Centre of São Luís
• Historical Centre of Goiás
• Historical Centre of Olinda
• Serra da Capivara National Park
• Jesuit ruins of São Miguel das Missões
• Santuario do bom Jesus de Matosinhos (Congonhas)

It is an excellent source to find information on the cultural heritage of Brazil. It’s always refreshing to come across an initiative that goes beyond the staple diet of sun and beach. It is an official site, after all.

The site presents a few translation problems and some oddities (Diamantina pictured north of Ouro Preto). Of course, any criticism to the sorry state of preservation of the cultural heritage is conspicuous by its absence.

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I am presenting my very own personal list of 10 moments lived in Brazil filled with emotion. They do not follow any particular order.

1. a huge turtle (up until then you had never stopped to think how large turtles can be) swimming placidly next to you, in complete silence; suddenly a shoal of fish swims by right in front of you while you approach a sunken ship where thousands of colourful fish rejoice. Diving in Noronha has to be one of the most intense experiences you can live in Brazil.
   
2. up to four or five dolphins jumping out of the water simultatenously, while dozens of them follow the small boat from where you contemplate the amazing display. Encountering dolphins in Noronha is joy at its purest.
3. in spite of the pushing and shoving; of the endless queue of tourists all waiting to take exactly the same snapshot in front of the statue, arms opened; in spite of the awful mood of the professional photographers; in spite of the street vendors; when you reach the balcony of the Corcovado mountain and the whole of Rio unfolds in front of your very own eyes, your heart and mind are transported somewhere else.
   
4. the ceaseless rhythm of the percussion, the tune you will not stop humming even after you’ve gone to sleep, the festival of colours and dazzling costumes, the bumba-meu-boi festival in São Luís is pure magic.
   
5. from the top of the sunset dune in Jericoacoara there is a terrific panoramic view of the sea and the dunes. When the moon is full, it will appear right at the same time as the sun goes down, turning the experience into an unforgettable moment.
   
6. think of the wildest rollercoaster your mind can imagine and then take all safety devices out of the picture. That’s what a buggy ride on the Genipabu dunes feels like. Your stomach will turn, you will bid farewell to friends an family endless times, you will swallow tons of sand, and your heart will be tested to the limit.
   
7. everything in the village is special, but watching the sun go down behind the Serra do Mar from the harbour in Paraty is an unforgettable moment that can open the door to never-ending passions.
   
8. an endless succession of dunes and green lagoons, absolutely no one around, the merciless sun being your only companion. A walk through the Lençóis Maranhenses is intense to the extreme.
   
9. there is something unreal about that intense red colour. Because of that, contemplating the scarlet ibises near the Baronesa beach in Alcântara is an activity where the notion of time quickly vanishes.
   
10. the roaring of the waters and its spray are felt from afar, but the real power of the place is only truly manifested when you reach the mighty Devil’s Throat at the Iguazu Falls. Don’t be surprised should you find yourself leaning dangerously towards, such is the power of the enchanment [the observation deck for the Devil's Throat is actually in Argentina, but most of what you see from there it's on Brazil].
    

I want to close my list with a very special emotion, that can be experienced anywhere on Brasil, but only once in a long while. In terms of strong emotions, few things can compare to the explosion of joy that follows the conquest by Brazil of a soccer World Cup. The last time it happened I was lucky to be here to witness it, it was 2002.

Here are all the Top 10 lists published in the blog so far.

Time does fly! It’s now a year since we went to Maranhão. I’d like to take the opportunity to leave here an index to the information published since then on São Luís do Maranhão and the Lençóis Maranhenses. It is June, after all, a very special month for the region, as it is now when the festas juninas and the bumba-meu-boi festival take place:

• Destination: São Luís
• Destination: Lençóis Maranhenses
• Destination: Caburé
• Bumba-meu-boi
• video: festas juninas in São Luís
• pictures of the Lençóis Maranhenses
• pictures of the ceramic tiles of São Luís
• pictures of Caburé
• pictures of bumba-meu-boi
• pictures of scarlet ibis in Alcântara
• restaurante da Luzia, Atins

This is the second video from the deviajeabrasil.com collection.

It’s longer than the previous one (5 minutes) as it portrays a Brazilian festival that is hardly known outside Brazil and even inside the Brazilian boundaries. I’m talking about the festas juninas -very popular all throughout Brazil- they way they are lived in São Luís, capital of the state of Maranhão. The video presents three different folk displays:

• the tambor de crioula, an Afro-Brazilian dance practiced mainly by descendents of African slaves. Three drums, each one with a specific function, dictate the rhythm.
• the quadrilha, a dance of English origin, present in the festas juninas of all Brazil.
• and the bumba-meu-boi, of which I gave quite a lot of information a couple of days ago here.

The soundtrack for each of the three blocks corresponds to the music played during the events.

You can watch the video on the YouTube screen provided below. This time I haven’t been able to make a high-resolution version available, as the file is too big and I haven’t found a provider that will host the file for free. A pity as the version hosted by YouTube leaves quite a lot to be desired in terms of quality.It is an audiovisual presentation, so make sure your computer speakers are on! Hope you enjoy it.

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I’m putting the final touches on a presentation on the festas juninas in São Luís (update: the video is already here) and found it appropriate to give some background information before I upload the presentation. The bumba-meu-boi from Maranhão is one of the most wonderful cultural manifestations of all Brazil – you can read more about it on the following Wikipedia article in Portuguese. It was recently listed as Brazilian cultural heritage. I’m more concerned here with practical information.

COULD YOU DESCRIBE IN A FEW WORDS WHAT’S THE BUMBA-MEU-BOI?: an artistic display that combines dance, music and theatre. The central character of the performance is the ox - or rather, a figure of an ox carried by a person.

IS IT THE SAME AS THE BOI-BUMBÁ?: no, it’s not. Although both share the same origin, the boi-bumbá es is typical from the states of Amazonas and Pará and differs greatly from the bumba-meu-boi.

WHAT ARE SOTAQUES?: if you want to make the most of festivals in São Luís you need to know that sotaques are different forms of performing the bumba-meu-boi. Each sotaque has its own characteristics, and is associated to different characters, rhythms, musical instruments and music. There is a sotaque de orquestra, sotaque da baixada, sotaque de zabumba, sotaque de matraca, sotaque de pindaré, and so on. On the very same night you can see performances of groups belonging to different sotaques. After two nights partying in São Luís you will be able to recognize right away the different sotaques!

WHERE?: an easy question: in São Luís, capital of the state of Maranhão. Bumba-meu-boi is a truly popular festival, and performances take place at the end of the day, in public spaces such as squares, or at an arraial, a kind of fairground where the different traditional groups perform. All performances are free, which gives an idea of how popular the festival really is.

WHEN?: though many places (including blogs and websites) will tell you that the festivities begin on 13 June, the truth is that hardly anything goes on until June 23, when the ox is baptized. The festival goes on until 30 June. It is worth staying in São Luís until the 30th (São Marçal) as all the different folk groups gather together that day.

I’ve read in quite a few places that there is now bumba-meu-boi in São Luís during July. This is only partially true. Only recently the authorities realized how unfortunate they were, as their main festivities ended up in June, just a few days before the beginning of the July holiday period in Brazil. Many tourists arrived in São Luís in July only to find out that the party had just finished. The idea was born: let’s have an “out-of-season” bumba-meu-boi for those who can’t be in São Luís in June. Performances take place during weekends at the Convento das Mercés in the historical part of the city. But make no mistake, it’s a bumba-meu-boi for tourists – I’m not implying you shouldn’t go and see it should you find yourself in São Luís in July. But if the bumba-meu-boi is the main purpose of your trip, you have to find time in the second half of June. The “out-of-season” bumba-meu-boi is no substitute.

ANY OTHER ADVICE?: as there are performances every night running simultaneously at different venues, you need to get hold of a programme of events ASAP. In the programme you will find listings with information on who is appearing where and when. There are usually six performances per venue per night. There are a handful of important venues in São Luís and you can visit a couple of them on the same night. Last year the City Council of São Luís and the government of the state of Maranhão were in opposing political hands, so there were two different programmes of events…

The festas juninas in São Luís are not restricted to the bumba-meu-boi. There are also folk performances in the afternoons in museus, cultural centres and public squares, featuring quadrilhas, tambor de crioula and other forms of folklore. Don’t miss them!

WHERE CAN I SEE MORE PHOTOS OF THE BUMBA-MEU-BOI?: That’s easy, check out my Flickr album of the bumba-meu-boi.

Don’t forget I’ve already published an entry on São Luís here.

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The most visible part of the spectacular colonial heritage that earned São Luís the title of World Heritage Site are its ceramic tiles. Ceramic tiles were used in the past because they allowed for a better thermal insulation of the houses (São Luís is near the Equator, always hot and muggy) and because of its durability and easy maintenance. It rains in São Luís during six months, and common walls had to be rebuilt often.

Unfortunately, the sorry state of abandonment of the cultural heritage by the authorities theoretically responsible for its conservation means it is hard to find a piece of tile that is not broken, cracked or painted. One of the most outstanding exceptions is the front wall of the Pousada Colonial, covered in tiles with relief, as seen in the next picture.

The capital of the state of Maranhão, built on an island two degrees south of the equator, does not feature among the top Brazilian destinations, in spite of its declaration by Unesco as a World Heritage Site. The city is a unique example of Portuguese colonial architecture on the equatorial region. If you want to discover a completely different Brazil, a couple of days in São Luís will do no harm at all.

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1. HOW TO GET THERE
São Luís is too far away from any other tourist destination. For that reason, the easiest way of getting to the city is by plane. Check flight fares and timetables both with Gol and Tam. You are likely to discover your flight from the southeast region of Brazil to Maranhão will involve a connecting flight in Brasilia.

Alternatively, you can embark yourself on a true road adventure and travel to São Luís from Fortaleza, visiting Jericoacoara and the Lençóis Maranhenses along the way.

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2. WHEN TO GO
The second fortnight in June is the ideal period to visit São Luís, at it is then when the festas juninas take place. The festivities are one of the most wonderful popular festivals in the entire Brazil. Outstanding within the festas juninas, you’ll find the celebration of the
bumba-meu-boi, typical from the state of Maranhão.

If you can’t make your trip to São Luís coincide with the bumba-meu-boi, then try to choose some dates that will allow you to do a side trip to the awesome Lençóis Maranhenses. The best time to visit the region is the period between June and September.

Heavy rain falls in São Luís during the rainy season, from January to May. And we do mean heavy rain.

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3. CAREFUL WITH
The stifling heat all year round. Some shady streets in the historic centre of the city, both day and night. Let your instinct guide you, and always play it safe.

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4. WE LIKE THE MOST
The fantastic architecture, the friendliness of its people.

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5. WE LIKE THE LEAST
The outrageous abandonment and degradation of the historical heritage; the ubiquitous presence of one of the most powerful families in Brazil.

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6. FAVOURITE PLACES
The Projeto Reviver (historic centre of São Luís), the wonderful façade of the Pousada Colonial.

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7. PIECE OF ADVICE

• you can’t just go to São Luís and not visit the outstanding Lençóis Maranhenses. Barreirinhas, the town that acts as an entry point to the Lençóis, is just three hours away from São Luís. If you don’t want to do the trip on your own, you will find in São Luís packages with transport and accommodation sorted out for you.
• from São Luís you can do a day trip to neighbouring Alcântara. You just need to take a boat to get you there. Is the sea is rough that day, you’re likely to get seasick.
• São Luís is the Brazilian capital of reggae music, enjoy it!

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8. HEALTH
You don’t need any vaccines if you are visiting São Luís. Yellow fever is an issue on the Amazon region of the state of Maranhão, but there is no yellow fever in São Luís (last case recorded was in 1942). The main health issue is dengue fever. More information on 10 facts about dengue fever in Brazil.

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9. ACCOMMODATION:

At our Accommodation in Brazil blog you will find a full list of hotels and pousadas in São Luís.

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10. LINKS
Guia São Luís, São Luís .

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11. WEATHER FORECAST
The weather in São Luís for the next 10 days

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12. CLIMATE
Average temperatures and rainfall in São Luís at meoweather.

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13. GOOGLE MAPS
São Luís

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14. PHOTOS
Photo album: São Luís y Alcântara. And our very own photobook Maranhão, images of a Brazilian paradise.

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RELATED POSTS:
Destination: Alcântara
Destination: Lençóis Maranhenses
Reviews: Pousada Portas da Amazônia , São Luís
Maranhão, images of a Brazilian paradise
Bumba-meu-boi
Brazilian videos: festas juninas in São Luís
Brazil in pictures: ceramic tiles of São Luís
Brazil in pictures: scarlet ibis in Alcântara
Doce de espécie

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NAME: pousada Portas da Amazônia

WHERE: São Luis, Maranhão

WEBSITE: www.portasdaamazonia.com.br

IN ENGLISH: no

PRICES ON THE WEBSITE: no

LOCATION: right in the middle of São Luís, in the pedestrian rua do Giz. Very close to the Projeto Reviver, the restored historical centre of the capital. During the festas juninas, performances take place really close to the pousada.

THE BUILDING: the pousada takes up two restored buildings in the historical part of the city.

THE ROOMS: there are two types of rooms: the ones that face the inner courtyard, at the back of the house, are cheaper; the ones facing the street are bigger and more expensive. We stayed at the back of the pousada for the first few days. Though the rooms are by no means small, we didn’t think much of them: the shower, for instance, had no curtains, which meant that each shower was followed by the inevitable flooding of the bathroom. Then we spent three nights on a room facing the street. The room was bigger and better lit up. The only objection is that during the bumba-meu-boi festival it makes absolutely no difference whether you are on the street or inside your room: the sound coming from the streets penetrates the walls with such ease that you feel you are right in the middle of the party. All the rooms have television, telephone, minibar and air conditioning (São Luis is always hot and muggy).

PRICES IN JUNE 2006: the back rooms (standards), R$139 per room per night; the front rooms (masters), R$159.

BREAKFAST: included in the price. Average. The space where guests have breakfast is too small and uncomfortable. Long wait for food and juices whenever they run out – and they did so frequently.

MEALS: the pousada doesn’t serve meals. There’s a small bar next door where you can have some sandwiches and drink freshly-squeezed juices. In the evenings, there is an excellent pizzeria on the ground floor. The owner of the pizzeria (as well as of the pousada) is Italian, and it shows.

FRONT DESK: some of the best customer care we’ve seen in Brazil. The recepcionists where always ready to help with useful information on the tip of the tongue.

OTHER FACILITIES: four computers connected to the Internet – reasonable hourly rates. If you want to go to the Lençóis Maranhenses, ask at the front desk and they will book the van for you.

CONTACT BY E-MAIL: the best we’ve experienced in Brazil. E-mails replied within hours.

OUR JUDGEMENT: the pousada is a bit pricey for what it offers. In our case, it was worth it because we were in São Luís to enjoy the festas juninas, and the central location of the pousada made things easy. There are cheaper options nearby. Recommended if you want to stay right in the heart of São Luís.

GOOGLE MAPS [MY MAPS!]: Pousada Portas da Amazonia

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RELATED POSTS:
destination: São Luís

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