Quadrilha
For São João (St John's Day) in June, the high school students and other young people performed a quadrilha (square dance) for the citizen's of Glória. It was a fun event. Everyone dressed up like a Brazilian hillbilly. We took weeks to prepare and practice the moves.
São João was celebrated as the beginning of winter ---the rainy growing season.
My students ranged in age from 12 to 44. The high school had been in existence only 3 years when I arrived. The small girl wearing red tights was only 12 and just out of elementary school. The man (to the right of her) with the plaid shirt was a 26-year-old tailor who finally had a chance to attend high school. He ended up working for the department of agriculture and the woman he married several years later (also one of my students) became a teacher.
(See also my story about the Festa de São João.)
