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Popular festival · Barretos
Barretos’s big rodeo and caipira culture festival in the interior of São Paulo, held at the Parque do Peão: bull and horse riding, sertanejo music shows, the Queima do Alho of the comitivas, and cowboy traditions.
In the photo: Barretos
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
Click a photo to enlarge it.
Barretos Cowboy Festival — Barretos
In August, for about eleven days, usually in the second half of the month.
August
Dates change every year: check this year's date before you travel.
The festival
The Barretos Cowboy Festival was created in 1956 by Os Independentes, an association founded the year before by young people from the town to honor the work of the peões de boiadeiro, the cowboys who drove cattle in comitivas across the countryside. Barretos was one of Brazil’s major cattle-trading centers, and from the start the festival brought together the comitivas, the rodeo and caipira music. It is considered the largest rodeo in Latin America.
Since 1985 the festival has taken place at the Parque do Peão, a large complex with a horseshoe-shaped rodeo arena designed by Oscar Niemeyer, stages for shows, camping areas and exhibition spaces. The rodeo is the heart of the program: bull and horse rides, timed lasso and barrel racing events, and finals of national and international championships with competitors from several countries.
The comitiva tradition appears in the Queima do Alho, a contest in which groups of peões cook on wood stoves the food they used to take on cattle drives: arroz carreteiro, feijão-tropeiro, paçoca de carne and chicken or meat seasoned with garlic. There is also catira, a berrante (cowhorn) contest, performances by violeiros and the Rancho Ponto de Pouso, which recreates the comitivas’ resting spot.
At night the stages host sertanejo music shows, from raiz to contemporary styles, often until dawn. During the festival Barretos fills with hats, boots and buckles, and many visitors camp inside the park.
An evening of riding in the main arena. The Queima do Alho at the Rancho Ponto de Pouso. Catira and the berrante contest. The shows on the park’s stages.
Buy tickets and reserve the nights with the rodeos and shows that interest you most. Parque do Peão is large: wear comfortable shoes and a hat. August is dry in the São Paulo interior, with hot days and cooler nights; drink water. There is a camping area inside the park for those who want to stay within the festival grounds.
Comitiva food at the Queima do Alho: arroz carreteiro, feijão-tropeiro, paçoca de carne, mandioca and meats seasoned with garlic; skewers and pastéis at the park stalls.
Hotel rooms in Barretos and nearby towns sell out early. Book several months in advance or use the park’s camping.
In the city
August
June/July/AugustIn July, for about a month, sometimes starting in late June and ending in early August.
Campos do Jordão classical music festival in the Mantiqueira Range, with orchestra and chamber music concerts at the Claudio Santoro Auditorium and other city venues, plus a training program for young musicians.
July/AugustIn the second half of July, for about two weeks, sometimes ending in the first days of August.
Joinville Dance Festival, in northern Santa Catarina, featuring competitive showcases of ballet, contemporary dance, jazz and folk dances at the Centreventos Cau Hansen and open stages spread across the city.
July/AugustOnce a year, between the second half of July and the beginning of August, during winter break.
The Sesc winter festival in the Mountain Region, with concerts, theater, dance and circus at Sesc Quitandinha, in Itaipava and other venues in Petrópolis.
Your questions
In August, for about eleven days, usually in the second half of the month. Os Independentes announce the dates for each edition.
It is a cooking contest of the peões’ comitivas, who prepare on wood stoves the food taken on cattle drives, such as arroz carreteiro, feijão-tropeiro and meats seasoned with garlic.
Festivals and events in Brazil
July/AugustOnce a year, usually between July and August, for five days.
The literature festival that fills Paraty’s historic center with author talks, debates, and a parallel program spread throughout the town.
AugustOnce a year, in August, from Thursday to Sunday.
The Japanese culture festival of Petrópolis, held at the Palácio de Cristal, with traditional dances and music, martial arts, workshops, Japanese food and a cosplay contest.
AugustIn August, from Thursday to Sunday.
Paraty’s alambique festival, featuring tastings of the region’s cachaças, caiçara food, and music, held in the tents at the Pontal.
AugustIn August, for about ten days, usually in the first half or middle of the month.
Film festival in Gramado, in the Serra Gaúcha: competitive screenings at the Palácio dos Festivais, the Kikito trophy and the red carpet on Rua Coberta.
JanuaryOn January 20, the day of the city’s patron saint, which is a municipal holiday in Rio de Janeiro.
The patron saint’s day in Rio de Janeiro, with masses and the procession that carries the saint’s image from Tijuca to the Metropolitan Cathedral in the downtown area.
JanuaryOn the Thursday before the second Sunday after Epiphany (January 6), which is the Sunday of the Feast of the Lord of Bonfim; therefore it always takes place in January, usually on the second or third Thursday of the month.
A walking procession of several kilometers from Cidade Baixa to the Sacred Hill in Salvador, where baianas dressed in white wash the steps of the Basilica of the Senhor do Bonfim with scented water.