03/06/2016
Between June 3rd and 5th, the Caboblo Bernardo Festivities and the 26th Meeting of Congo Bands will take place in Regência (ES), these events sought to recover and diffuse cultural heritage of Espirito Santo state.
The festivities will be carried out by Samarco and will have the company’s cultural support, through the “Tourism, Culture, Sports and Leisure” program, one of the 41 programs included in the Agreement signed by the company and the Federal government and state governments of Minas Gerais and Espirito Santo, among other governmental institutions.
As part of the event’s program the 26th Meeting of Congo Bands will happen on Sunday (June 6th), 23 folkloric groups are already confirmed. A concert of traditional reggae band “Tribo de Jah” and typically Espirito Santo state Congo group “Banda Casaca” is expected.
Workshops teaching how to make drums and ganzás (instrument typical of Congo) are within the event’s program on Sunday (June 5th); arts and crafts exhibit; naif artists from Regência will also have an exhibit, and a presentation of “Caboclo Bernardo’s Auto” by the Regência Augusta Art Company, group formed by local artists, the play narrates the journey of a fisherman from Regência who has entered the pantheon of Brazilian heroes.
The Caboclo Bernardo festivities occur since the 1930’s as homage to Bernardo José dos Santos (1859-1914), who is a Brazilian national hero of indigenous descent who lived in a stretch of the Atlantic Rain Forest in present-day Espirito Santo state territory. He was a fisherman from Regência, known for having faced troubled seas and saved 128 people when the “Imperial Marinheiro” Cruiser was sinking on September 7th, 1887. The heroic act granted him a commendation the Pricess Isabel.
Currently, the festivities are carried out by Regência Resident Association (Amor), Congo Cultural Association of Regência, Regência Trade Association, TAMAR Project and Samarco. The event has the cultural support of the State Government, through the State Secretaries of Culture and of Tourism, in partnership with Regência Trade Association, Congo Cultural Association of Regência, Regência Catholic Church and Regência Sports League.
Program
Friday – June 3rd
8am – Parade with the Congo bands of “São Benedito de Regência” and the students’ Congo band.
7pm – Opening of the Cultural Tent with local arts and crafts exhibit and opening of the exposition of the Naifs de Regência artists at the museum with the participation of Congo bands.
9pm – Musical presentation at the Caboclo Bernardo square
Midnight – Musical presentation at the Caboclo Bernardo square
Saturday – June 4th
– from 10am to 10pm – artistic and cultural workshops at the Cultural Tent
– 10am – Caboclo Bernardo Soccer Championship
– from 3pm to 7pm – artistic and cultural events and sport activities at the Farol square.
– 8pm – “Caboclo Bernardo’s Auto” theater presentation – in front of the church
– 10pm – Concert of a Brazilian band (suggestion Sérgio Reis or Almir Sater)
– 11:30pm – Concert and CD’s release of the Congo band “Manguerê” from Vitória-ES
– Midnight – Concert of the band “Natividade”
Sunday – June 5th
– 8am – Arrival of the Congo bands and breakfast (Regência’s “Casa do Congo”)
– 10am – Band presentations in front of the church
– 11am – Meeting of the leaders of the folkloric groups
– 11:30am – Socialization lunch for the groups – at “Casa do Congo”
– Midday – Arrival of the ecological hiking trip “Caboclo Bernardo’s pathways” and arrival of cyclists
– 1pm – Individual presentations of the bands at the Caboclo Bernardo square
– 4pm – Farewell parade with the folkloric groups throughout the Caboclo Bernardo avenue towards the town’s entrance and the event’s conclusion.
