Located in north-eastern Brazil, the city of Campina Grande is considered one of the main industrial, technological, and educational centers of the Paraiba region. It is famous for the biggest St. John’s Day festival in this part of the country, i.e., O Maior São João do Mundo that lasts whole June.
Tradition has it that the settlement was founded by captain Teodosio de Oliveira Ledo who was supposed to bring a group of Indians here and start to cultivate the land. The first farm consisted of several huts by the road called Rua do Oriente, today known as Rua Vila Nova da Rainha. Soon, a chapel was erected on the hill and Matriz square was created. Itinerant merchants stopped here for some time to sell meat, cotton clothes, and corn flour. Owing to the rapid development of railways and trade, the town was officially granted municipal rights in 1864. Campina Grande became a bustling city known as “Brazilian Liverpool” due to the surrounding cotton plantations and numerous factories operating in this area.
The city hosts many cultural events. The O Maior São João do Mundo festival is held in Parque do Povo in June and each year attracts more than 2 million people. In more than 300 tents, to the sound of Brazilian folk music forro, the visitors can taste regional cuisine or buy handicrafts. And this is just one of the numerous interesting events that take place here throughout the year; from Consciencia Crista, one of the world’s biggest Christian conferences, to cowboy competitions – Vaquejada Parque Maria da Luz.
Campina Grande is known for carne de sol – salted and cured meat preserved by traditional methods. A delicacy is also an exotic dish buchada de bode, which is prepared from the goat's entrails, mainly from kidneys, liver, and intestines. These are brewed, washed and then seasoned and boiled in bags made from the stomach of the animal. You need to visit one of the many restaurants serving local specialties – we recommend Manoel da Carne de Sol, Bar do Cuscuz or La Cucina 150.
