Vanderbilt University Center for Latin American Studies

Festa Junina

By Vanderbilt Center for Latin American Studies

Brazil is the largest country in South America and is the only country in South America where the official language is Portuguese instead of Spanish. An important holiday in Brazil is Festa Junina. Festa Junina takes place in June, and celebrations sometimes extend into July.

Before the Portuguese conquerors came to Brazil in 1500, the indigenous people who were already living there had a festival to celebrate new crops being planted between June and September. When the Portuguese came to Brazil, they combined this festival with one of their own called joaninas. Joaninas was a Roman Catholic holiday that the Portuguese celebrated in June that honored four Roman Catholic saints: Saint Anthony, Saint John, Saint Peter, and Saint Paul. The Portuguese wanted to convert the indigenous

Vanderbilt University Center for Latin American Studies

people to Roman Catholicism, so they combined the two festivals into one and called it Festa Junina, which means “June Festival” in Portuguese.

Today, people all over Brazil celebrate Festa Junina. There are large festivals

where people come together to eat, play games, and dance. Because corn is harvested in June in Brazil, many people eat food dishes made with corn at Festa Junina, such as popcorn and cornbread. They also eat sweet rice, peanut cakes, and sweet potatoes. Brazilians play games such as bingo and correio elegante (“elegant mail”) where people mail anonymous letters. One of the traditional dances that is common during Festa Junina involves people dressing up like farmers by wearing straw hats (similar to square dances in the United States). Another dance involves groups of people dancing around bonfires. Sometimes traditional dances include a fake wedding where dancers dress up like a bride and groom.

In northeastern Brazil, party groups are common. Friends walk down streets in groups, dancing and singing. Residents of the houses the party groups pass by leave food outside of the house for the party groups to eat as they continue down the street.

First image link: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brazil_sm05_tr.png Second image link: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FestaJunina.jpg