“About a fortnight after our arrival at Para there were several holidays or festa as they are called. Those of the ‘Espirito Santo’ and the ‘Trinidade’ lasted each nine days. The former was held at the cathedral, the latter at one of the smaller churches in the suburbs. The general character of these festas is the same, some being more celebrated and more attractive than others. They consist of fireworks every night before the Church; …processions of saints and crucifixes; the Church open, with regular services; kissing of images and relics; and a miscellaneous crowd of Indians, all dressed in white, thoroughly enjoying the fun, and the women in all the glory of their marine gold chains and earrings. Besides these, a number of the higher classes and foreign residents grace the scene with their presence: showy processions are got up at the commencement and termination, and on the last evening a grand display of fireworks takes place…a rather expensive honor among people who, not content with an unlimited supply of rockets at night, amuse themselves with great quantities during the day for the sake of the whiz and the bang that accompany them…Music, noise and fireworks are the three essentials to please a Brazilian population; and for a fortnight we had enough of them, for besides the above mentioned amusements, they fire off guns, pistols, and cannon from morning to night.”Alfred Russel Wallace “A Narrative of Travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro”
1853
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