MM0022 Festa de São Benedito em Aparecida – SP (2011)
The Festa de São Benedito in Aparecida-SP happens for more than 100 years, Mundo Melhor has been recording it for 11 years. This album is a sample of Congado groups that travels to Aparecida to praise São Benedito. Guardas from Minas Gerais and São Paulo in greater number, since 2002 groups from Espírito Santo and Ternos de Catalão do Goiás, in 2009, started to join the party. From this party, we began to know the wealth of Congado from Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Espírito Santo. This is the largest Congado party in Brazil, almost 100 groups and thousands of pilgrims come to the festival annually. The party starts 09 days before with the novena and has its climax in the last 03 days, always on the weekend after Easter. On Saturday, the Guardas arrive and stay until Monday, the great day, which begins at 4 AM at dawn, the main event to many congadeiros and pilgrims, and continues until the closing of the day and the party, with the last procession. During these days, masses are celebrated with the participation of the groups, they raise the Mastro, they make processions, the groups make visits to pious people and devotees, they dance in and around the Church of São Benedito, in a communion among all. On those days, we can see groups of Congado by the city and mainly in the altar of São Benedito, the meaning of which is faith and communion. The function of this record is to be a reminder of the party for those who already know and for those who do not know, might be of interest. Viva São Benedito, who has much to teach us in the way of a better World.