June 21, 2022

12:06

Eduardo Figueiredo – Amazon Agency

MANAUS – After 13 nights of performances of quadrilhas, cirandas, northeastern dances, international and bois-bumbás, the 64th Folkloric Festival of Amazonas, held at the Cultural Center Peoples of the Amazon, South Zone of Manaus, runs until this Thursday, 23. The festival started on June 12 and more than 60 thousand people have already appreciated the attractions.

Organized by the Municipal Foundation of Culture, Tourism and Events (Manauscult), the festival returned to the calendar of events of the city, after two years suspended. According to the director-president of Manauscult, Alonso Oliveira, several dialogues between the public powers were necessary so that the festival could return. The expectation is that the event will move the local economy with approximately R$ 1 million.

“We gathered the strength of the Amazonas Legislative Assembly, the State Government, the City Council and the Manaus City Hall managed by the mayor David Almeida, so that we could bring the folkloric festival to the month of June and at the Suframa ball. Today, within our reality, it was possible to grant a financial readjustment of approximately 20% for the categories”, emphasized Alonso Oliveira.

According to Manauscult, the amount corresponding to the payment of financial support under the Public Call Notice No. 002/2022, published in the Official Journal of the Municipality (DOM) No. 5.328, pages 29 to 35, April 25, 2022, was deposited in the account of the leagues and folkloric associations.

Categories

Divided into bronze, silver, and gold categories, the festival counts with the presentation of 144 dance groups, which will be judged by six technical and experienced judges, being theater, anthropology, music, and history experts. The champions in each category will be known at the end of the event.

The founder and “queen” of the comical quadrilha Mercenários da Roça, Bárbara Braga, explains that the group took 36 players to the presentation in the CCPA arena, being one of the youngest groups in the bronze category, with 8 years old.

“Coming back after two years is inexplicable, it’s a great emotion. The quadrilha was created after some friends from two different quadrilhas decided to get together, and so the ‘Mercenarios da Roça’ was created. And our preparation began in November of last year, it was a very arduous preparation. I want to thank the Manaus City Hall that gave us this opportunity to return the festival for the month of June, which is the month of June”, she said.

For the social worker Gracilene Medeiros, 45, it is good to see that the event has returned with full force. She also praises the organization and policing of the festival. “I found everything very organized, it is very good, I saw that the population returned with full strength. Because of the pandemic, we stayed for a long time without any attraction, without any entertainment. What I could see, today, is that it is very organized, full of families, with security, the tables are free for people to watch more closely, there are stalls with typical foods, space for children, I recommend the event”, she comments.

Personalities honored

During the event, fourteen local folklore personalities were honored by the relevant services rendered to the art and culture of Amazonas. Among them are: Júlio Barroso, Antônio Alcântara, Rubens Galvão, Raimundo Nonato Bentes, Milton Ferreira, Luiz Gilberto, Adelson Cavalcanti, Carlos Alberto Gomes de Souza, Maria de Fátima Lima da Silva, José Ribamar dos Santos, Antônio Paulo de Almeida, Maria das Graças Costa de Lima, Josefa dos Santos Costa, and Ivo Morais.

Gastronomy and entrepreneurship

The festival has a food court, which offers the most varied typical dishes. Located close to the amphitheater’s bleachers, the stalls sell dishes for as little as R$5. On the menu, there are regional and typical festival foods, such as bobó de camarão (shrimp bobó), carne de sol (sun-dried meat), tacacá, farofa de camarão (shrimp farofa), boiled corn, pamonha, macaxeira cake, hot dogs, french fries, sandwiches, pizza, cotton candy, and pastel, among other dishes.

“Thank God, we brought a variety of typical foods and the most popular here at the ‘Fino Sabor’ tent is the pirarucu dish. Our food is priced between R$5 and R$25”, said the entrepreneur Sthefanny Cardoso, 20 years old.

The festival also has a handicraft area and sale of regional products, with indigenous pieces and accessories, among other items, which cost up to R$ 25. The handicraft fair is coordinated by the Municipal Secretariat of Labor, Entrepreneurship and Innovation (Semtepi).

History of the festival

The Amazonas Folkloric Festival started on June 21st, 1957, in the field of the 27th Barracks Caçadores Battalion, in the General Osório stadium, in Manaus. Since its opening, the festival has brought together various folkloric dances from groups from various neighborhoods in Manaus, contributing to spreading the popular culture of the state.

But it was in the Francisco Pereira da Silva square, better known as “Suframa’s Ball”, that the event gained strength and became even better known in the city. Later, the Cultural Center Peoples of the Amazon was created, which also hosted the party for many years.

See the schedule:

Tuesday (21/6)

19h50 – Opening of the event

8 PM – Virgulino’s Avengers (northeastern dance)

8:45pm – Seduction of Compensa (ciranda)

09.30pm – Mocidade da Roça (traditional quadrilha)

10.15 p.m. – Ciranda do Armando Mendes (ciranda)

11.00 p.m. – Explosão na Folia (traditional quadrilha)

11.45 p.m. – Empire of Compensa (ciranda)

Wednesday (6/22) 

7:50pm – Opening of the event

8pm – Rosas da Noite (traditional quadrilha)

8:45pm – Molejo (ciranda)

09:30pm – Coração de São João (traditional quadrilha)

10h30 pm – Caipira Rasta Pé na Roça (traditional quadrille)

11pm – Unidos do Alvorada na Roça (traditional quadrilha)

11:45pm – Brotinhos do Parque (traditional quadrilha)

Thursday (6/23)

7:50pm – Opening of the event

8pm – Meu Reino da Roça (traditional quadrilha)

8:45pm – Empire in Folia (traditional quadrilha)

09:30pm – Junina Gaviões na Roça (traditional quadrilha)

10h30 pm – Amor de São João (invited quadrilha)

11pm – Os Afobados na Roça (invited quadrilha)

11:45pm – Flor de Liz (invited quadrilha)