Campina Grande – It appears to be just a medium sized city, with the rhythm of a small metropolis, in the middle of the savannah. Arrival in Campina Grande for those coming from João Pessoa, circling the roundabout at the entrance of the city, provides this impression. From there you can see a shopping district and avenue, as well as low vegetation surrounding the urban area. But, going on, speaking to those who live there and even reading about the site, it is possible to learn that Campina Grande, a city in the interior of Paraíba, is much more.
Campina Grande offers business, much business, and, therefore, serves as the setting for important events. There are universities, many for the side of the city. Campina Grande offers parties, with one of the largest Saint John celebrations in Brazil (the celebration in June coincides with the European Midsummer), and Micarande, an out-of-season carnival. Not to mention the theatres, fairs and regional food, as well as the love of Jackson do Pandeiro and Luiz Gonzaga, masters of Brazilian forró, typical regional music, who played there.
A monument erected to the two musicians, in fact, placed in the heart of the city, is one of the main post cards of Campina Grande and a traditional backdrop for tourist photographs. In the monument, Jackson plays the tambourine and Gonzagão plays the accordion, in true bohemian style, as the bronze statues are accompanied by bar stools and tables, even including glasses for drinking. Jackson and Luiz Gonzaga’s party is in front of a lake, called Açude Velho, which, surrounded by palm trees, completes the party climate.
The city attracts tourists from other states, many in the Northeast, and also from abroad. Foreigners arrive in the city for conferences promoted by universities and institutes and for business meetings, parties and good northeastern food. If asked about tourism, however, the residents always answer that the greatest attraction in Campina is the June Party. Campina Grande and Caruaru, in the state of Pernambuco, compete for the largest June Party (aka São João or St. John Party) in the world and also for the title of capital of forró.
Campina Grande is already lively. But it is said that in June the city becomes truly wild. Parque do Povo, a great square in the centre of the city, covering 42,000 square metres, which seems to sleep from July to May, waking up for an event every now and then, becomes the dance floor for the thousands of people who go there after popcorn, quentão (a hot beverage made from cane spirit, ginger, sugar and spices), flirting and dancing, mainly forró. São João in Campina Grande is the place to find boyfriends or girlfriends, but it is also a celebration in which couples with their kids seek healthy amusement.
For those arriving outside party season, a good option is to enjoy the regional food. The city offers many pizzerias and barbecue restaurants, well evaluated by online gastronomy guides, but the most famous are the ones that offer traditional Northeastern dishes. Tábua de Carne is one of the restaurants offering local food, including a lavishly served meal with jerky, cassava, black-eyed peas, ghee and lamb.
In Paraíba, Campina Grande is considered the main business city. It houses at least five universities and is a hub for production of software, exported to several parts of the world. The training of labour in the technological area, in fact, one of the strong points of this union between education and business, attracts many business tourists to the city. This is so true that, despite not being a capital, the city has good hotel infrastructure, with five star hotels like the Garden Hotel and four star hotels like Village. At the Garden, the structure is that of a resort, with simple rooms, but top end restaurant, pools, sauna, gym, courts and party and course halls.
With 400,000 inhabitants and recognised as the route between the capital, João Pessoa, and the interior of the state of Paraíba, Campina Grande prides itself, to date, of having been called the “Queen of Borborema”, by Jackson do Pandeiro. Dictionary Aurélio defines "borborema" as an "empty, sterile and deserted place". "O beautiful flower, beautiful brunette. Campina Grande, my Borborema", sings Jackson in "Forró em Campina". And Campina Grande, populated, appreciated being remembered and celebrated the verse. There, it is almost all like that, a great celebration.
Service
Campina Grande City Hall
Municipal Tourism Secretariat
Telephone: (+55 83) 3310 6100
Site: www.campinagrande.pb.gov.br
Garden Hotel
Telephone: (+55 83) 3310 4000
Site: www.gardenhotelcampina.com
Tábua de Carne Restaurant
Telephone: (+55 83) 3341 1008
Site: www.tabuadecarne.com.br
*Translated by Mark Ament
