Campina Grande Campina Grande

Campina Grande

Campina Grande is in Paraíba, between mountains and valleys abundant in biodiversity, with attractions that include folk tradition, history and natural wealth. In Campina Grande, you have the opportunity to participate in one of the largest festivals in the Northeast, the São João of Campina Grande (June Festival), which lasts a month and has a lot of forró (a type of Brazilian folk music), handicrafts, and one of the strengths of the region, the typical cuisine. The event takes place in June and receives more than 2 million visitors annually.

São João's activities occur at the Parque do Povo, a 42.000 square meter structure which houses more than 300 tents with food and handicrafts, as well as attractions such as quadrilhas (A relative of American square dancing).

The Expresso do Forró (Forró train) leaves the old station of Campina Grande on a trip with a lot of joy, fun and forró music, and goes up to the Galante district, where you are welcomed with more forró music and you can then take donkey or wagon rides on horse and cart to complete the fun.

Campina Grande is known as the land of carne de sol (salted and cured meat), preserved by a very old methods in which the meat (usually bovine or ovine) is salted and dried, and then placed in a dry and well ventilated place. Unlike what the name suggests, the process is finished in the shadow.

Among other delicacies, you can taste the buchada de bode, an exotic dish made with the entrails of the goat (kidneys, liver and intestines), which after the process of boiling and washing are seasoned and cooked in pouches made from the animal’s stomach.

In the city there are museums, theaters, fairs, parks, dams and many options of activities in nature. At the Museu de Arte Popular da Paraíba (Museum of Popular Art of Paraíba), you can get to know the music of Paraiba, the cordel (popular literature exposed in strings) and the pottery art of the Northeast. In the Engenho Triunfo you can observe the production of cachaça (a sugar cane based alcoholic drink).

About 40 km away from the city you will find the Sítio Arqueológico da Pedra do Ingá (Archaeological Site of the Ingá Stone), which holds a 24 meter long by 4 meter high stone (one of the itacoatiaras: “painted stones”, in the tupi language), covered with rupestrian paintings made by local indigenous groups hundreds of years ago.