Alagoas

The State of Alagoas is located between the States of Sergipe, Pernambuco and Bahia, in the northeastern part of Brazil. In the past the region was inhabited by an indigenous people called Caetés. At the beginning of the colonization process it was considered a strategic point because it’s located between the two most important sugar producing captaincies back then: Bahia and Pernambuco. This is the reason why the region was invaded in the XVI and XVII centuries, first by the French and then by the Dutch. It was finally recovered by the Portuguese in 1690. The two main economic activities of Alagoas are sugarcane crops located on the seashore, and cattle raising activities located the semi arid backlands. At the end of the XVI century runway slaves created a maroon society called Palmares. It was the stage of one of the most important and bloodiest slave uprisings against the Portuguese colonization. In 1839 the capital of
Alagoas moved from Marechal Deodoro city to Maceió. Alagoas preserves its ancient art craft traditions in which they use straw, coconut, and cotton that they produce using spinning wheels. The music originates from its native indigenous people’s inheritance (toré), as well as African ones (samba coco, samba de matuto). They also preserve folckloric manifestations such as “bumba meu boi”. More recently they added the “Forró,” which is a popular kind of music played in the Northeastern part of the country during the catholic celebrations in the months of June and July. The cuisine is based on fish and “carne do sol” (salted steak), which is served with cassava made in various ways. The seashore in Alagoas has long and beautiful beaches with transparent water whose color varies from emerald blue to turquoise blue. You can also find coral reefs, rivers and mangroves. The weather is nice throughout the year and the temperature varies from 25º and 35º degrees Celcius. The rainiest months are May and June.