The governor of Rio de Janeiro, Claudio Castro, sanctioned in November a law that makes the ‘Centro Luiz Gonzaga de Tradições Nordestinas’ a Historical, Tourist, Cultural and Gastronomic heritage of the State of Rio.
The project, by state deputy Tia Ju was approved by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Rio de Janeiro.
Better known to Rio de Janeiro residents as ‘Feira de São Cristóvão’ (Northeastern Fair Of São Cristóvão), the pavilion is located in the north of the capital of Rio de Janeiro and was already recognized as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Brazil.
With 37 thousand square meters, the fair brings together options of northeastern gastronomy, cordel literature, typical products from the region, crafts and clothing, as well as shows of northeastern and northern rhythms. Apart from the northeastern tradition, the fair is also famous for the strong presence of karaoke bars.
The beginning
“The beginning of the activities of the São Cristóvão Fair dated from 1945 when the cordelist Raimundo Santa Helena read on September 18, 1945, in Campo de São Cristóvão, a cordel he had made about the end of the Second World War. And then, as a result of this reading, a movement of people interested in listening to and selling cordel literature began to emerge. So the fair would have started from this initiative.
There is another historical version that argues that the fair emerged throughout the 1940s as a result of a movement of people from the Northeast who disembarked and camped out waiting for a place to live or a job.
Source: Agência Brasil