Caruaru

Caruaru

Caruaru is located in the heart of the arid landscape between the Zona da Mata and the Sertão, or backlands of the Northeast, 134 kilometers (83 mi.) from Recife on highway BR-232. It is recognized worldwide for clay handicrafts and is the heart of the traditional rural Northeast rhythm, forró. The city is home to the Feira de Caruaru, considered the largest local market in the Northeast.

It is held daily at Parque Dezoito de Maio, in a 20,000 sq. mi. (5 acre) area in the town center, and sells everything from handicrafts, fruits, vegetables, meat, and electronics to herbs. The Museu do Cordel, in the costume jewelry section, has hundreds of cordel poetry and literature booklets and woodcut prints for sale, but it is closed on Sundays. Another market is Feira da Sulanca, held on Monday morning, where useful household products attract customers from neighboring villages.

Alto do Moura district is located 7 kilometers (4.2 mi.) away and is famous for the ceramics made by Mestre Vitalino. Other important artisans living there are Zé Caboclo, Mestre Galdino and Manuel Eudócio. Unesco considers the are a major center for representational art works in South America. On the Main street, Rua Mestre Vitalino, the studios are open for visits. There is also a collection of the artist’s works at the Memorial Mestre Galdino, with a collection of the artist’s works (closed on Mondays), and the Casa-Museu Mestre Vitalino, the artist’s last home before his death (open daily). Try to catch the Festa de São João, which competes with the festival held in Campina Grande, in the neighboring state of Paraíba, to attract the largest crowds.

It is held at the Parque de Eventos, last 30 days and attracts draws as many as 100,000 people per night to watch the shows by popular Brazilian performers and regional forró groups. In this same park, the Museu do Forró tells the story of forró music and the Museu do Barro, of regional handicrafts (Praça Cel. José de Vasconcelos, 100).