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Campina Grande is the second largest city of Paraíba in northeastern Brazil, set on the Borborema plateau, famous for hosting one of the biggest São João festivals in the world every June, for the Açude Velho lake and for Oscar Niemeyer's Museum of the Three Tambourines.
Founded in 1697 when Ariú people were settled here, it grew as a stop for drovers on the road inland and later boomed as a cotton trading centre. Today it is a lively university town and one of the leading technology hubs of Latin America, proudly nicknamed the Queen of the Borborema.
Visitors stroll around the Açude Velho, browse the stalls of the Feira Central and dance forró at Parque do Povo during the June festival. Day trips lead to the carved Pedra do Ingá, the giant boulders of Lajedo de Pai Mateus and Saca de Lã in the Cariri, and the misty hill town of Areia, birthplace of the painter Pedro Américo.
Açude Velho is the historic reservoir in the centre of Campina Grande, Paraíba, built in the 19th century to supply the town with water and now its best-loved postcard view. A promenade circles the lake, passing the Museu de Arte Popular da Paraíba and the monument Os Pioneiros.
Parque do Povo is the open-air festival ground in central Campina Grande, best known as the main stage of the São João celebrations held through the whole month of June. Its pyramid-shaped hall and wide arena fill with forró music, quadrilha dancers and food stalls every night.
Campina Grande Cathedral, dedicated to Our Lady of the Conception, is the main Catholic church of Campina Grande and grew from the old parish church around which the town first developed. Its twin-towered facade stands on a busy square in the city centre and is a focus of religious festivals.
Os Pioneiros Monument is the large sculpture on the shore of the Açude Velho in Campina Grande, honouring the pioneers who settled the Borborema plateau, and is considered a symbol of the city. Nearby stand statues of the forró singers Luiz Gonzaga and Jackson do Pandeiro.
Museu de Arte Popular da Paraíba is the folk art museum on the Açude Velho in Campina Grande, the last work designed by Oscar Niemeyer, opened in 2012 and nicknamed the Museum of the Three Tambourines. Its three round halls celebrate the music, crafts, cordel poetry and woodcuts of Paraíba.
Teatro Municipal Severino Cabral is the municipal theatre of Campina Grande and one of the cultural icons and symbols of the city, standing in the centre and hosting plays, concerts, dance shows, lectures and festivals. It remains the leading stage for the performing arts in the region.
Feira Central de Campina Grande is the sprawling traditional market at the heart of the city, which grew from the cattle and trading fairs that first made Campina Grande prosper. Its lanes are packed with stalls selling fruit, cheese, spices, leather goods, hammocks and regional food.
Museu Histórico de Campina Grande, the history and geography museum of the city, stands on Avenida Floriano Peixoto in the old centre. Its rooms trace the growth of Campina Grande from a resting place for drovers to a major cotton and trading hub, with old photographs, documents and objects.
Pedra do Ingá is an archaeological site near the town of Ingá, about 38 km from Campina Grande, where a rock wall some 50 metres long is covered in ancient carvings of unknown meaning. The figures seem to show animals, fruits, people and stars, and the site was listed as a national monument in 1944.
Lajedo de Pai Mateus is a rocky outcrop in the rural area of Cabaceiras, in the dry Cariri region of Paraíba, scattered with about a hundred huge rounded boulders, some weighing up to 45 tonnes. The famous Pedra do Capacete stands out among them, and some rocks bear ancient paintings.
Saca de Lã is a striking rock formation in Cabaceiras, in the Cariri of Paraíba, where great blocks of granite are piled one on top of another like stacked sacks of wool. It lies in the same semi-arid landscape as Lajedo de Pai Mateus, and the two are often visited together on a day trip.
Areia is a historic hill town in the Brejo region of Paraíba, known for its cool, misty winters, colonial streets and the Theatro Minerva, built decades before the theatre of the state capital. It is the birthplace of the painter Pedro Américo and is famed for its sugar cane mills and cachaça.
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