Santa Rita de Cassia Congada & Festivities

After a one night stop in São Paulo, complete with delicious pizza and live music, we were on our way to Cassis, Minas Gerais. Though my mom's family moved around a lot, this is basically her home town and two of her siblings still live here.

Tio was awesome enough to drive us the approximate 450 km. We arrived in time to celebrate the city's birthday. The city is name after Santa Rita de Cassia and has very strong Catholic traditions. Being the Saint's day, there were many Catholic-based festivities. There were special masses with big screen tvs broadcasting outside due to the overflow where everyone sang and received roses, Santa Rita's symbol. There were processions, school parades, cowboy parades and even a Congada, which has roots in the end of slavery and the Saints that protected them. It was fun to see the constumes, hear the music and see the dancing. The only downside was that it was super hot and we weren't dressed appropriately for the heat. Brasil is crazy this time of year because it will be cold at night and in the morning and HOT in the middle of the day.

It was also great to have a lot of the family together. Neli and Dwayne arrived at Neusa's house the same time we did and Sergio and Ronaldo came for yummy food and conversation as well. Overall, it was a fantastic weekend. The boys enjoyed the family and festivities, especially the bounce slides, the capoeira, and all the other kids running around. They even made friends with some other boys and played tag and other games on the praça, or square. Good times!