NORTHEAST BRAZIL - Brazil - page 226

Campina Grande 2
Paraíba. * 400,000. ~
@ from João Pessoa. n Praça
Clementino Procópio, (083) 3310
6100. _ Festas Juninas (Jun),
Micarande (late Apr).

Ideal for experiencing the
unique sertão culture,
Campina Grande is a large
market town with some
degree of industrial growth.
The autumn harvest festival,
Festas Juninas, although
celebrated everywhere in
the Northeast, is biggest in
Campina Grande. The vast,
purpose-built fairground,
Parque do Povo , includes
several smaller theme parks
such as the Sítio São João, a
reproduction of a traditional
ranch where visitors can
observe the rural nordeste
lifestyle, and the Arraial
Hilton Motta, a replica of
a small interior town.
The Museu de Arte Assis
Chateaubriand has a striking
collection of modern works,
with a focus on the work of
artists from the Northeast.
E Museu de Arte
Assis Chateaubriand
Parque do Açude Novo. # 9am-
noon & 2-10pm Mon-Fri.
Parque do Povo
Tel [phone]. # only during
Festas Juninas. & 7

The Lajedo do Pai Mateus rock formation, Cariri
Cariri 3
Paraíba. @ from Campina Grande.
8 Cariri Ecotours, [phone].
www .caririecotours.com.br

collection of pebbles. Hence
the local epithet, “Devil's
Marbles.” The most
remarkable of these granite
monsters is the Pedra do
Capacete (Helmet Stone),
a 20-ft (6-m) high boulder
that is open in the front and
hollow underneath, resemb-
ling a huge war helmet.
From the plateau, there
are breathtaking views of
the Borborema valley. The
diverse landscape consists of
small trees, bushes, cacti, and
bromeliads. Sightings of emu
birds, an ostrich-like avian,
are common in this area.

Situated in the Cariri
Paraíbano, a large plateau in
the Serra da Borborema,
Cariri is the point at which
the sertão proper begins.
Tours in this area of abori-
ginal rock carvings and huge
rock formations can be
organized by Cariri Ecotours,
based in Ponta Negra, Natal.
One of the formations, the
Lajedo do Pai Mateus , sits on
the private grounds of a
fazenda . A vast slab of bare
granite, it is littered with
boulders bigger than houses,
as if a giant had scattered his

Souza 4
Paraíba. * 60,000 . @ from
Campina Grande. 8 Manary
Ecotours, [phone].

Brazil's most important
prehistoric site, Souza is
located deep in the Paraíba
interior, almost on the border
with Ceará. It was a large
shallow lake where hundreds
of dinosaur species roamed,
130 million years ago. Today,
the dry riverbed of the Rio de
Peixe, also known as the Vale
dos Dinossauros , contains one
of the world's best collections
of dinosaur tracks. The largest
and best track forms a perfect
164-ft (50-m) long trail across
the meandering riverbed.
Scattered throughout the
valley are numerous other
tracks, most of which have
not yet been catalogued or
protected. Some, indeed, have
yet to be discovered. Manary
Ecotours can combine trips in
this area with visits to Cariri.

A night scene of Campina Grande, lit up during the Festas Juninas

FESTAS JUNINAS
One of the most popular folklore traditions of the
Northeast, the Festas Juninas began as a peasant celebra-
tion of the corn harvest and the June solstice, the longest
night of the year in the Southern Hemisphere. June also
coincided with the feasts of St. Anthony, St. John, and
St. Peter. Over the years, the pagan rituals and Catholic
events were melded together. The atmosphere is burlesque,
as partiers dress up in peasant outfits and perform square
dances to the sounds of forró (see p236) . Bonfires are lit
and fireworks sent aloft to safeguard the harvest and ward
off evil spirits, as well as to bring light to the long night.

For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp379-81 and pp405-406