Northeastern Day pays homage to Luiz Gonzaga in São Paulo
August 02, 2017 09h00 AM | Last Updated: September 04, 2017 09h21 AM
Composer of more than 500 songs, Luiz Gonzaga, the "King of Baião", died on August 2, 28 years ago. The musician, accordion player, singer and composer from Pernambuco recorded 56 albums and was responsible for the popularization of northeastern rhythms in famous songs, like Asa Branca, written in partnership with Humberto Teixeira em 1947.
São Paulo commemorates today the Northeastern Day, paying a homage to this accordion player. According to data from the IBGE´s National Household Sample Survey - PNAD, São Paulo is the major destination of migrants coming from the Northeast Region: 5.6 million persons in 2015, 12.66% of the state population.
Having 1.2 million northeastern migrants, Rio de Janeiro ranks in the second position. Many of them bring back their native culture at the Luiz Gonzaga Center of Northeastern Traditions, in the district of São Cristóvão, northern zone of Rio de Janeiro, which completes 15 years next September. Better known as São Cristóvão Fair, it exists for 73 years.
Feira de São Cristóvão preserva a tradição nordestina
Born in Pernambuco 94 year ago, street vendor José da Silva Bahe tells that the fair took place in the parking lot around the São Cristóvão Pavilion by the time he arrived in Rio in the 1950s. The stands were moved to the São Cristóvão Pavilion only in 2002. Nicknamed Zé da Bandeira, he works characterized as the Brazilian flag, and unveils that he came to Rio de Janeiro to search for a job: "I came to Rio because the minimum wage here was higher than in the Northeast". Ever since I worked as a street vendor".
The story is the same with the also street vendor José Gomes da Silva, 61 years old, who came from Paraíba to Rio in 1975 with the same dream as Zé da Bandeira. "We come from there wishing a better life, because we can´t survive there. That´s why northeasterns come a lot to Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Here is better, no doubt about it. There are no jobs in the Northeast. Only farmers live well there, not those who work for them", regrets him.
40 thousand persons get together to commemorate Saint John at fair
Caretaker of the Luiz Gonzaga Memorial, located inside the Center, Paraíba-born Cristina Fagundes lives in Rio de Janeiro for 36 years. She reveals that 40 thousand persons were commemorating Saint John in the Pavilion. Quadrilha (square dance) with persons from a number of cities was also part of the festivities.
Cristina considers this "the best time, it gets full. People and attractions from other states make it cozier. Chilled weather and human heat gets very well together".
In September, the anniversary of the Luiz Gonzaga Center of Northeastern Traditions will include a wide commemoration program, which can be checked at the official website of the fair.
Text: Karina Melo and Marina Lara (trainees), under the supervision of Adriana Saraiva
Photos: Karina Melo and Marina Lara
