Easter weekend in historic towns Sao Joao del Rei, Tiradentes, Ouro Preto and Mariana
From Good Friday to Easter Monday I was in the historic, colonial towns of Minas Gerais, about 10 hours north by bus from Sao Paulo. This area of the country is very hilly and beautiful and was the main focus of the gold rush in the 18th century. Therefore there are a lot of beautiful European style churches and buildings, but also reminents of the sad stories of the slaves that were brought here to work in the gold mines and build the railroad. The slaves also had their own church in Ouro Preto as well and it was said that though they didn't have any money to give as an offering, they would shake their heads and clean their nails in the church in order to be able to leave some of the gold dust they might have from working in the mines. Amazing!
These towns are known for their traditional processions and flower carpets lining the streets at Easter. That along with cobblestone streets and 18th churches seemed charming, so I decided to go and visit at this time of year. It was by far the most interesting thing I've ever done for Easter - just gorgeous there! I took the overnight bus on Thursday and arrived in Sao Joao del Rei early Friday morning. I walked around the town and saw some of the churches and then took the old steam train (first in Brazil) to another mining town, Tiradentes. This town is beautiful, very well preserved and set up in the hills. When I got back to Sao Joao in the early evening they were setting up for mass on the steps of the church followed by the ceremony where they take down the cross and parade around town with this from church to church. The whole day had a very holy and religious feel to it, but at the same time was also a bit like Disney world or something very showy. They were selling popcorn and carmel apples, chestnuts and mini pizzas in front of the church at night. I almost felt like I was in at a fair from Pollyanna or some other story set in the early 20th century:) It was a beautiful atmosphere, the only bad part was the priest speaking for 1 hour about absolutely nothing. He kept repeating himself and going around in circles. I truly think that in order to become a priest, pastor, rabbi or other spiritual leader, you should really have to pass a public speaking course! But other than that, the night was beautiful and there was a full moon which added to the ambiance. See photos and videos below.
Tiradentes:
Train from Sao Joao to Tiradentes
Sao Joao
Beautiful carpets laid throughout the city on Good Friday
Amazing rising of the moon while waiting for the Good Friday procession
Crowds of people waiting for the "Descending of the cross"
Ouro Preto
The only buses that leave from Sao Joao to Ouro Preto, the most famous of the colonial historic towns, are at 6:00pm and 3:00am. Since I wanted to see the procession in Sao Joao on Good Friday evening, I had to take the 3:00am bus if I wanted to be able to spend Saturday in Ouro Preto. So after being up all night on the bus from Thursday night and walking around all day Friday, one hotel in town was nice enough to let me sit in the lobby until 2:30am when I could go to the bus station and stay up most of the night before arriving Sat morning in Ouro Preto! But it worked out okay. Julie, another American teaching fellow working in Belo Horizonte, decided to meet me in Ouro Preto (only an hour and half journey for her) and we had found a hotel to stay there for Sat night - not easy to do since the city was packed from Friday until Monday! But they had my room ready right away and I was able to sleep a little before wandering around some more. Julie arrived around noon and we went to have a huge lunch of typical food from the region - beans, rice, meat, and pumpkin soup. Excellent! We toured the city during the day and then saw the Easter vigil procession in the evening, as well as the laying out of the carpets, which begins at 10:00pm on Saturday evening and finishes in the very early morning on Easter Sunday. If you want to see the finished work of all these beautiful carpets, you have to go out before 7:00am Sunday morning when Easter service lets out beacause at that time there is a procession through the entire city and the priest and followers walk on top of the carpets. See more photos and videos below.
With Julie at Chafariz restaurant - excellent!
Laurel and Hardy!:)
Saturday, touring the city
Saturday evening in Ouro Preto
Could be the French quarter of New Orleans!
Easter Vigil
Easter vigil procession
Easter morning in Ouro Preto
Easter procession from our hotel - I love the bells, could be Salzburg!
Mariana, the old capital of Minas Gerais
On Easter Sunday afternoon before leaving Ouro Preto we took the local bus to another colonial town, Mariana, a short distance from Ouro Preto. This was the old capital of Minas and has a similar style of churches and buildings as Ouro Preto. We just walked around the town a bit and visited the Catedral Basilica da Se which holds a fantastic German organ dating from 1701. It was a very charming city and a nice end to a great weekend. See photos below.
Feliz Pascoa para todos!
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