Choose wisely. Connect locally.Add your business 
Caruaru is the main city of the agreste region of Pernambuco in northeastern Brazil, about 130 kilometres west of Recife, famous as the capital of forró, for its month-long São João festival and for the clay figures of Mestre Vitalino. The town grew in the 18th century around a chapel and a cattle fair on the road to the sertão, and became a city in 1857.
The fair still defines Caruaru. The Feira de Caruaru, one of the largest open-air markets in Brazil, is listed as national intangible heritage, and in the Alto do Moura district dozens of workshops carry on the tradition of figurative clay art begun by Mestre Vitalino, whose house is now a museum. The Museu do Barro and the Museu do Forró tell the story of these crafts and of the music of Luiz Gonzaga.
Every June the São João turns the city into a vast party, with forró stages, quadrilha dances, bonfires and corn dishes at the Pátio de Eventos. Within reach are the open-air Passion play theatre of Nova Jerusalém and the masked Papangus of the Bezerros carnival.
Alto do Moura is a district of Caruaru considered one of the largest centres of figurative clay art in the Americas. Following the tradition begun by Mestre Vitalino, families of artisans model colourful figures of country life in workshops along its streets, and visitors can watch them at work.
The Casa-Museu Mestre Vitalino is the simple house in Caruaru's Alto do Moura where Vitalino Pereira dos Santos (1909-1963) lived and worked. Now a museum, it keeps his tools, furniture and personal objects and tells the story of the artist who made Caruaru's clay figures famous worldwide.
The Feira de Caruaru is one of the largest open-air markets in Brazil and is listed by IPHAN as national intangible heritage. It grew up in the 18th century around the chapel of Nossa Senhora da Conceição, and today its stalls sell food, herbs, leather goods, hammocks and clay crafts.
The Museu do Barro de Caruaru, in the Espaço Cultural Tancredo Neves, holds a large collection of clay figures by Mestre Vitalino and the artisans who followed him. Its scenes of farm work, fairs, weddings and bands of musicians are a lively portrait of everyday life in the Pernambuco agreste.
The São João de Caruaru is one of the largest June festivals in Brazil, filling the city with about 30 days of celebrations each June. Quadrilha dance groups, bonfires, fireworks, corn-based dishes and nonstop forró draw visitors from across the country to the self-styled capital of forró.
The Pátio de Eventos Luiz Lua Gonzaga is the large open-air arena in Caruaru that serves as the main stage of the São João festival. Named after the king of baião, Luiz Gonzaga, it hosts the biggest forró concerts in June, with stands and boxes around a huge dance floor.
The Museu do Forró Luiz Gonzaga in Caruaru's Espaço Cultural Tancredo Neves celebrates the singer and accordionist who brought the music of the Northeast to all of Brazil. Photographs, records, costumes and instruments trace the history of forró, baião and the June festivals.
The Monte do Bom Jesus is a hill on the edge of Caruaru that offers the best panoramic view of the city and the dry agreste hills around it. Its summit is a popular place to watch the sunset and to take in the size of the capital of the Pernambuco interior spread out below.
The Catedral de Nossa Senhora das Dores is the cathedral of Caruaru, standing in the busy centre of the city close to the market streets. As the seat of the Catholic Diocese of Caruaru, it is the focus of the city's main religious festivals and processions throughout the year.
The Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Conceição stands where the chapel built in 1782 on the old Caruaru farm once rose. The trading that grew up around that chapel gave birth to the Feira de Caruaru and later to the city itself, making the church the symbolic birthplace of Caruaru.
Nova Jerusalém, in Fazenda Nova about an hour's drive from Caruaru, is an open-air theatre that recreates the city of Jerusalem in the time of Jesus. Its walls stretch for 3,500 metres with 70 towers and nine stages, and every Holy Week about 500 people perform the Passion of Christ.
The Bezerros Carnival, in the town of Bezerros on the road between Recife and Caruaru, is famous for its Papangus, revellers who hide their faces behind colourful handmade masks. The masks are made by local artisans all year, and the town's carnival is one of the most original in Pernambuco.
No reviews yet. Been to Caruaru? Be the first to share your experience.
Share what you loved, what to skip and tips for other travelers.
Log in to write a reviewBeen to Caruaru? Add your best shots to the gallery.
Log in to add photosPhoto: Print-lock, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: allanpatrick, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
Photo: Dilma Rousseff, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
Photo: Rogério Regis, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Ministério da Cultura, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Photo: Ministério da Cultura, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Photo: Ministério da Cultura, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Photo: Ministério da Cultura, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Photo: Ministério da Cultura, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Photo: Ministério da Cultura, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Photo: Edudgarcia, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Edudgarcia, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Edudgarcia, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: TiagoLubiana, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Patrick - Patrick, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Patrick - Patrick, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Patrick - Patrick, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Patrick - Patrick, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Nathalia Verony, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Unknown author, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: TiagoLubiana, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
Photo: Patrick - Patrick, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Patrick - Patrick, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Patrick - Patrick, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Unknown author, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: A. Júnior, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Photo: A. Júnior, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Photo: A. Júnior, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Photo: A. Júnior, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Photo: Abdias Jr, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Photo: Unknown author, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Allan Patrick, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
Photo: Unknown author, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: User:Patrick-br, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Rosanetur from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Photo: Rosanetur from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Photo: Karla Vidal, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Photo: PAULO LINS from Olinda -PE, BRASIL, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
Photo: Hansfotos, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
