Sao Joao (long post)

[Thiago Sigrist]

Hello again folks!

First of all, let me warn you this will be one of those ultracomplicated posts. I mean, how am I supposed to explain to you people around the world what a Festa de Sao Joao (St. John's Party) is? I decided to give it a try with a few words and a few pics as well.

Festa de Sao Joao is typical Brazilian folklore. It is very common here on the southeast and it usually happens on St. John's Day (June 24), but me and my friends decided to do our party yesterday, which is a little late! :D

Anyways, this kind of party has its origins on the countryside of Brazil, so it's a custom for all the participants, or at least the most involved of them, to dress like typical countryfolk, which we call 'caipiras'. I'll use the word 'caipira' here only to refer to the typical southeastern countryfolk, although be warned that the word oftentimes is used with a depreciative meaning, similar to 'redneck' in the USA, I'm told.

So let me introduce a few friends dressed like caipiras for you to get the feeling...

The caipira girls at the most typical braid their hair with laces and use some funny dresses, take a look at the girl on the foreground:
http://www.ic.unicamp.br/%7Era002560/DSC_2007.jpg

More of the hairstyle:
http://www.ic.unicamp.br/%7Era002560/DSC_2008.jpg

Another friend. Take a look at how the characterization of the caipira that we make is very picturesque and funny, very doll-like on the girls, with those small dots painted on their cheeks and all:
http://www.ic.unicamp.br/%7Era002560/DSC_2021.jpg

The characterization on the guys is just as funny. We wear straw hats, checked shirts, and paint the weirdest fake moustaches on our faces:
http://www.ic.unicamp.br/%7Era002560/DSC_2009.jpg

More fake moustache weirdness:
http://www.ic.unicamp.br/%7Era002560/DSC_2010.jpg


Now, on the party itself, it's usually very very lively, like this one was, dominated by the quadrilha, which is some kind of stripped-down court dance of sorts, with the couples dancing around a bonfire. Well, living in a very urban area, we didn't have a bonfire last night, but surely had the couples dancing!

This shot was really funny:
http://www.ic.unicamp.br/%7Era002560/DSC_2016.jpg

And this one in my opinion really illustrates how lively the night was:
http://www.ic.unicamp.br/%7Era002560/DSC_2028.jpg


When we got tired from dancing, sure it was time for pictures:
http://www.ic.unicamp.br/%7Era002560/DSC_2015.jpg

And finally, a couple of favourite shots from the night, which I found cool because they show the paper flag decoration of the party, something that always amused me when I was a kid:
http://www.ic.unicamp.br/%7Era002560/DSC_2023.jpg

Another shot at the theme "caipira at the party":
http://www.ic.unicamp.br/%7Era002560/DSC_2026.jpg


Well, that's it people! Hope you really enjoyed my presentation of this very cool traditional party! If I remember more stuff about it, I'll post it later, perhaps with some other pictures that might be on my post-processing backlog.

Thanks so much for your attention!

-- thiago

[leebase]

Looks like fun. Part of me rebels at the yellow cast of the photos. :)

Lee

[gaylenick]

[QUOTE=Thiago Sigrist]Hello again folks!

Your party looks like a lot of fun! Thank you for telling us about St. John's Day.

Gayle

[Andy]

... similar to 'redneck' in the USA, I'm told.

watch out, cletus might take offense :lol3

nice series, thiago - good to hear from you again :D

[Poseidon]

Nice STORY! I am always excited to read about other cultures! You made it fun and engaging!

Oh and by the way, Andy your Avatar is SPOOKY, for us newbies to the site! :rofl

[4labs]

I am glad you are out of your rut Thiago. Love the warmth of your photos. Thnxs for sharing a bit of yoru world with s and I look foward to hearing about it in person next spring.

[Charlemagne]

Hey Thiago,
I see that you had some Caipiras there, but the more important question is if you had "Caiparihnas" there??? Love all of the shots, especially of the one with the back of the guy in the hat with the flags in the background.

Thanks for posting,

Charles

[Higgmeister]

It looked like you and the rest of the group had a good time. Thanks for the education as I had never heard of St. John's Day (and many others I assume). I like your treatment of the subject and was very entertained.

Thanks for sharing the story as well as the photos,
Chris

[Thiago Sigrist]

Lee: Thanks for your compliment! Regarding the yellow cast, I tried to recreate the light from the old lamps as much as I could, it's not 100% but at least I tried, heheheh... :D

Gayle: Sure was a lot of fun! It's just too bad that I couldn't dance and take pictures at the same time! :rofl

Andy: Thanks a lot for you compliments, and for pointing out that one about Cletus. Sure, I won't mess with him, heheh... :rofl

Mike: I am more than pleased in showing you a bit of the marvellous culture we have here in Brazil. I'm really glad you've enjoyed reading and looking at the pictures! :):

Eric: Thanks a lot for all the words and the encouragement! I'm sure looking forward to the shootout, I'll surely have lots to tell you in person. Oh, and by the way, I don't live in a rut... :rofl

Charles: Oh man, we didn't have caipirinhas there. But sure, this kind of party has its special drinks: vinho quente (hot wine, usually with small pieces of apples) and quentão (cachaça - the same ingredient from the caipirinha, boiled with ginger - not the one from dgrin :D - and sugar). Both very good in my opinion! And it's so cool that you liked that shot with the hat and all, it's my favourite of the bunch!

Chris: I feel great to be able to share a bit of the fun with you guys through my posts! This is very specific culture, it's southern Brazilian folklore, so I thought not only you people didn't know about it, but you'd love to take a look at how it's like. I'm glad you proved me right! :):

Thanks so much for all the attention, people!
Take care!

-- thiago

[Charlemagne]

Thiago,
What part of southeastern Brazil are you from??


Charles

[Steve Cavigliano]

Thiago,

Very nice pics and a very informative narrative. I feel as though I just attended the festival :thumb :thumb

So what is the symbolism of the dresses and dots on the cheeks of the woman and moustaches on the men? Are people trying to look like dolls or puppets and if so, why? Whatever the reasons, it is all very charming :D

Thanks for sharing,
Steve

[Thiago Sigrist]

Hi again, people!
First of all, sorry for the late reply!

Charles: I live in Indaiatuba, it's on the countryside of the state of São Paulo. A pretty neat little town, only a bit too boring sometimes. :):

Steve: Thanks so much for your warm compliments! As far as I know, these kinds of doll-like characterization are pretty common in this kind of party. Everybody goes for a very picturesque look, which is very fun! :D

Anyways, thanks for all the attention!
Take care!

-- thiago