BRAZILIANS and Guyanese alike came out in droves to party late into the night last Saturday at the Brazilian Guyana Cultural Centre, the former Centre of Brazilian Studies, on upper Church Street here in the city.

Visitors at the festival clamour for a taste of the sumptuous dishes on sale.

The attraction? The June Festival, or Festa Junina as it is called in Portuguese, which is an annual event on the Brazilian calendar.

In the compound, gaily decorated with hundreds of colourful balloons, hungry people flocked around the grills to sample the barbeque and roasted corn, or around tables to get some calabrereza pizza, chicken pie, cassava pone, candied apples and other treats.

A live band entertained the gathering, and both adults and children converged under a large tent to show off their moves to heady music sung in Portuguese.

This young lady gets a Brazilian flag painted on her face at the festival

Dressed in their colourful outfits, these kids had a ball (Photos by Carl Croker)

Many games, such as dipping for prizes, ring tossing and fishing, were available for the kids. Many children were delighted with balloon sculptures, while the face painters surrounded by both adults and kids lining up to get their faces done, worked frantically to please their customers.
Festas Juninas are traditional celebrations which were taken to Brazil by Portuguese colonizers. Over the centuries, as a Brazilian identity came to be, June Festivals developed into a unique kind of celebration with a wealth of regional expressions. Some of the largest June Festivals in Brazil last throughout the month of June but have their climax on St. John’s Day.
DSC 0589