Pinheiral Hosts 5th Coffee Valley Jongo Gathering on July 25th

The city of Pinheiral, in Rio de Janeiro, will host the 5th Coffee Valley Jongo Gathering on July 25th at the Parque das Ruínas. This significant cultural event will also commemorate the 70th birthday of Mestra Fatinha and celebrate the State Day of Jongo. The gathering is expected to bring together approximately 450 quilombola leaders from 18 quilombos and traditional jongo communities spanning the states of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Its primary aim is to strengthen the memory and traditions of Afro-Brazilian culture. The event will take place at the historic Parque das Ruínas, formerly a coffee plantation that once enslaved over three thousand people, now managed by Jongo de Pinheiral. Mestra Fatinha, nationally recognized for her work in preserving jongo, highlighted the event's importance in providing visibility to the traditional communities of the Coffee Valley. She has been instrumental in establishing the Jongo Museum, introducing the cultural practice to educational institutions, and leading a movement of jongo communities in the Southeast region. Her contributions were recently acknowledged with an honorary title from the Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF). Beyond cultural preservation, the gathering is anticipated to boost the local economy by attracting visitors and increasing hotel occupancy in Pinheiral and neighboring municipalities. Jongo, a ring dance originating from Angola, was brought to Brazil by Bantu peoples during slavery and developed in the coffee plantations of the Coffee Valley. After abolition, it spread to Rio de Janeiro's hills and eventually influenced samba schools, while other communities maintained jongo in its original form within quilombos. The Coffee Valley Jongo Gathering is organized by these long-standing communities, who also formed the Afro Circuit of the Coffee Valley to promote ethnic tourism and local sustainability. The day's program includes an Afro procession, opening ceremonies, discussions with masters, a communal meal, jongo circles, a bonfire blessing, a samba circle, and concludes in the evening. The following day, July 26th, will feature a procession of Sant'Ana.