Praça da Republica was the place to be on Friday evening. The festival lighting had been rescheduled from Wednesday and there was a happy crowd waiting. The fountain had garlands and a statue of São João had been waiting all week for the lights. The statue was a child-figure looking like a shepherd. I wasn’t sure which Saint John we were celebrating. According to Portuguese Wikipedia, if I understand it, it is Saint John the Baptist.
There were vendors of toys and balloons. Jugglers were practicing on the street leading to the plaza.
There was a speech, by the mayor, I think. Then a countdown. Then the arches lit up. The crowd went wild with their cell phones! All week we had seen the garlands across most of the streets in the city center. The lighting was followed by a concert of traditional Portuguese songs celebrating São João. At least, those were the only words I understood in the song.
The speakers’ direct sound was way too loud. It was easier to hear the music from further away. So we went down the street to photograph some more lighted buildings. We thought we’d head back home and noticed people sitting in a temporary grandstand. There was a parade coming!
It was a historical parade, starting with people in medieval costumes, farmers pulling a cart with a black pig, and finally 19th century fancy dress.
The parade started with three horsemen.
A dragon, looking very Chinese, paraded by.
The parade ended with gigantones (giant puppets) and cabeçudos (big heads). These characters were probably 8 feet tall. They danced down the street. The puppeteer looked out a window or eye-holes in the chest.
