Third annual Festa do Brasil held April 15-17 at Appalachian

Posted March 30, 2015 at 5:29 p.m.

BOONE—Festa do Brasil, a three-day celebration of Brazilian culture, will be held April 15-17 at Appalachian State University. Now in its third year, the festival includes a Brazilian film night, dance workshop, capoeira performance and free Brazilian food. All events take place in the Plemmons Student Union and are free and open to the public.

The festival is hosted by the university and local community.

The festival starts on Wednesday, April 15, from 12:30-2 p.m. with an International Coffee Hour in Whitewater Café in Plemmons Student Union. A free, home-cooked meal of black beans and rice will be served. Information for study abroad trips to Brazil will also be available.

Thursday’s festivities begin at 6 p.m. in Greenbriar Theater with a showing of “City of God,” an award-winning film co-directed by Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund. Adapted from Paulo Lins’s novel by the same name, the film captures the struggles of daily life in Brazil’s most notorious favela. A 30-minute panel discussion led by faculty members from the Department of English will follow the film.

Culminating events take place on Friday, April 17, from 5-9 p.m. in Grandfather Ballroom in Plemmons Student Union. The evening begins with an Afro-Brazilian Dance Workshop followed by a Dance of the Orixás.

The highlight of the festival is a capoeira performance. Rooted in Afro-Brazilian slave culture, capoeira is a martial art that combines dance, acrobatics, singing and music. Mestre Dotour from Philadelphia will lead the performance, which also includes past and present Appalachian students of capoeira. Today capoeira is played throughout the world and recognized as a Brazilian National Treasure.

An authentic Brazilian meal catered by Monezi’s from Greensboro will follow the capoeira event.

For more information on the festival, contact Bruce Dick at 828-262-2873 or Gabrielle Motta-Passajou at 828-262-8598.

About Appalachian State University

As the premier public undergraduate institution in the state of North Carolina, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives as global citizens who understand and engage their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all. The Appalachian Experience promotes a spirit of inclusion that brings people together in inspiring ways to acquire and create knowledge, to grow holistically, to act with passion and determination, and to embrace diversity and difference. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Appalachian is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System. Appalachian enrolls more than 19,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and graduate majors.