Page 25 - POR320Summer2018

If the cuisine from the Brazilian Southern
region could be defined in one word, this
word would be churrasco, the Portuguese
name for barbecue. Due to its proximity to
the Argentine and Uruguayan pampas,
where livestock is the dominant economic
activity, the consumption of beef is very

high. Meat is usually seasoned only with
rock salt and then cooked on iron skewers
directly over fire. Of all the states in the
South, Santa Catarina is the one where seafood is consumed the most. Oysters from the city
of Florianópolis are known throughout the country, but shrimps and various fish are part of the
regional cuisine as well. This state is also strongly influenced by German gastronomy,
because of the immigration in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Some of the results of this
influence are german pastries like apple pies.

Santa Catarina is a state with an extremely
large diversity. People of Portuguese
ancestry predominate on the coast while
people of German descent predominate in
the north and northeastern regions. Italian
descent predominates in the south as well
as the west. People of African and
Japanese origin are present in small
communities in a few towns. According to

genetic studies, the population of Santa
Catarina is made up of 80% European,
11% African and 9% Amerindian ancestry groups. Fifty percent of the entire population of
Santa Catarina has German or Austrian ancestry.
Oktoberfest of Blumenau
Since Santa Catarina has a huge
population of people of German descent. It
is natural that this state holds what is

considered the largest German festival in
all the Americas. The Oktoberfest of
Blumenau was created at 1984, after a big
flooding of a major river with the objective
of recuperating the city's economy and
raising the morale of its inhabitants Even
before that owners of industries and
commercial buildings in the city were already planning to make some festival like the original
form Munich, but the flood was an important event that set the festival in motion. Since its first
edition it has been a success, and today it has an attendance of about than 700,000 a year.

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