Recife is home to the
frevo, a regional dance and music, typical in carnival, and
Mangue Beat, a type of
Brazilian rock with mixture of
Maracatu, Ciranda,
Rap and other musical styles. The Festival de São João, held annually in June, celebrates traditional culture and music that originated in the region. During carnival, downtown Recife holds one of the most authentic and democratic celebrations: every year more than two and a half million people open the festivities of the Brazilian Carnival at Galo da Madrugada. Recife and Olinda combined have 25 museums, 38 art galleries, 2 symphony orchestra halls, 15 theatres, 1 opera house and more than 40 movie theatres.
Carnival The four-day period before the
Christian liturgical preparatory season
Lent leading up to
Shrove Tuesday and
Ash Wednesday is
carnival time in Brazil. Rich and poor alike forget their cares as they gaily party in the streets.
Pernambuco has large Carnival celebrations with more than 3000 shows in the streets of the historic centre performed by over 430 local groups, including the
Frevo, typical
Pernambuco music. Another famous carnival music style from Pernambuco is Maracatu. The cities of Recife and
Olinda hold the most authentic and democratic
Brazilian Carnival celebrations. The largest carnival in Brazil is Galo da Madrugada, which takes place in
Downtown Recife on Carnival Saturday. Another famous event is the "Noite dos Tambores Silenciosos." (literally, Night of the Silent Drums) Carnival. Recife's Carnival is nationally known, attracting thousands of visitors every year. The party starts a week before the official date, with electric trios "shaking" the
Boa Viagem neighborhood. On Friday, people take to the streets to dance to the sound of frevo and to dance with maracatu, ciranda, caboclinhos, afoxé, reggae and manguebeat groups. There are still many other entertainment centers spread out around the city, featuring local and national artists. One of the highlights is Saturday when more than two and a half million people follow the
Galo da Madrugada group. Every day, there is the Night of the Silent Drums, on the Pátio do Terço, where
Maracatus honor
slaves that died in prisons.
Museums The
Museum of Pernambuco State is housed in a 19th-century mansion in Recife. Known locally as the "Museu do Estado de Pernambuco (MEPE)", it dates back to 1929. The museum comprises over 12 thousand pieces from Masters who portrayed the Colonial period and the Dutch invasion (1630), to 20th and 21st century pieces.
Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue: Sinagoga Kahal Zur Israel, the historic Recife synagogue in Recife Antigo, is the oldest in the
Americas, dating to 1646. The original synagogue was destroyed, but a new one was built on site. In the early 21st century, it was restored for use as a museum. It is an important part of Pernambuco's historic patrimony. It was founded by Jews who settled in the Netherlands after expulsion from Spain and Portugal. They emigrated with the Dutch to "
New Holland" when the Dutch invaded the northeastern portion of Brazilian lands occupied by the Portuguese.
Moses Cohen Henriques led a Jewish 3000 contingent as part of the Dutch invasion.
Isaac Aboab de Fonseca was brought from
Amsterdam for the synagogue, serving as one of the first rabbis in the new world. When the Portuguese reconquered the land, these Sephardic Jews moved further north with the
Dutch, and helped found "
New Amsterdam" (now
New York City) on
Manhattan island in the United States. The first New York City synagogue was created in Lower Manhattan by the founders of the first synagogue in the New World in Recife. It later moved to the Upper West Side, where it is still called "
the Portuguese and Spanish Synagogue".
Gilberto Freyre Foundation: This farmhouse from the 18th century was
Gilberto Freyre's old residence. Artworks, arts and crafts, book collections and objects that belonged to the Pernambucan writer and sociologist are displayed here.
Ricardo Brennand Institute: Set up in a reproduction of a medieval-style castle, there is a collection of pieces from the period of Dutch rule in Recife, as well as daggers and armor from medieval Europe.
Recife City Museum: Located in a room in Cinco Pontas Fort (the five-pointed Fort), this museum houses pictures, reproductions of old paintings, and objects that encapsulate Recife since the period of Dutch rule.
Cinema Also known as
Recife Audiovisual Festival or
Cine-PE, Recife Cinema Festival is a competitive film and audiovisual festival. It is dedicated to the Brazilian and
state production of
feature & short films; as well as
videos and documentaries. It was founded in 1997 by Alfredo & Sandra Bertini, who have been the directors since then. Between 1997 and 2008, 1806 films have been shown (through either competitive applications or National & International invitations), of all types and genres, for a public of over 250,000.
Recife and consequently
Pernambuco has a tradition in the Brazilian film making history. In the pioneer times of the Brazilian cinema emerged the
Regional movements. One of those, was designated Ciclo de Recife (
Recife cycle), between 1922 and 1931. Despite adverse conditions, during this cycle 13 feature films were produced in Recife (usually about drama & romance) and 7 documentary films (usually ordered by authorities to show their public works). Despite the pervasive influence of
US and
European cinemas in the
silent film times, the Recife cycle was one of the most important and productive regional movements. One of the most important films was
Aitaré da Praia, which is recognised for pioneering the rise of regional themes (1925). Other successful films were
Retribuição (1923) and
A Filha do Advogado (1926). Another important phase of the Pernambuco/Recife film history was in the 1970s with a movement called
Super 8, often used for home videos and documentaries made by students, amateurs and aspirant film makers, due to the utilisation of 8 mm film, using the new technology released by
Kodak.
Cuisine The typical regional main dishes include
caldeirada (seafood stew with octopus cooked with various spices and coconut milk, which may be served with
white beans or
toasted cassava flour),
feijoada Pernambucana (made with brown beans instead of black),
sarapatel, buchada (goat stew), dobradinha (bean
stew), roast goat,
mão de vaca (cow's foot stew),
Rabada (ox tail stew with manioc flour),
cozido Pernambucano (beef stew),
chambaril,
galinha de cabidela (chicken in blood sauce),
peixada Pernambucana (fish stew), macaxeira com
charque (cassava with beef jerky),
quiabada (
okra with beef), feijão com arroz (
rice and beans), and
guaiamuns (giant
crabs). One of the most traditional dishes, is
Carne-de-sol (Sun-dried beef), which consists of beef dried in the sun and usually served with green beans. For dessert, Recife offers
bolo de rolo (cake roll), cake Souza Leão, and cartola (top hat cake) which consists of fried long bananas with cheese topped with cinnamon and sugar. The diversity continues for the breakfast as one can find
cuscuz of sweet corn or manioc, yams and cassava with charque (corned beef or beef jerky), sweet potato,
goiabada, fried long banana,
mugunzá, regional fruits, bread,
tapioca,
rice pudding, porridge, yogurt,
queijo coalho, corn bread, hominy and
pamonha. Breakfast is often accompanied by coffee and/or milk and juices from regional fruits such as
cashew,
pineapple,
mangoes,
acerola,
guava,
passion fruit,
umbu,
hog plum,
pitanga,
jackfruit,
orange,
avocado and the regionally most famous
caldo-de-cana and
água-de-coco juices. According to
Abrasel (Brazilian Association of Bars & Restaurants), Recife has more than 1,700 bars and restaurants which serve regional (partially listed above), Brazilian (such as
moqueca,
bobó de camarão,
açaí) and International dishes from all over the world, which has made it the
first gastronomic centre of the Northeast and the third one in the whole country after
São Paulo and
Rio. ==Transportation==