Culture

“Not only beaches and dunes lives tourism in Natal. Culture is also part of the City script, which has many stories to tell. In addition to the Reis Magos Fort, one of the postcards of the capital and listed by National Heritage, the city has buildings in neoclassical style house theaters, cultural centers and churches. Through the religious parties can meet and enjoy the typical folklore of the region. See also “Artesanato” (Handicraft).”

Cultural origins:

Natal is the capital of the state of Rio Grande do Norte, one of the federation states that contains the oldest landmark of the Portuguese presence in the country. Marco Bulls signals the beginning of the modern phase of occupation of land by potiguar populations from Europe, North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa.

Before that, the territory of the present state of Rio Grande do Norte was occupied by various indigenous nations, as potiguaras on the coast and in the hinterland tararius.

The formation of the people passing by the confluence of several ethnic elements, as Galicians, Moors, Jews (New Christians) Portuguese, Tupi, Africans who have spread through the valleys of the great rivers, such as Ceará Mirim, Potengi, Açu, Mossoro or regions serranas the Hinterland.

From this confluence was born a rich culture, marked by the presence of both the civilization of leather and cotton, as the presence of a Catholic religiosity marked by miscegenation with Jewish and indigenous elements.

In coastal regions, especially east of the state, the culture of sugarcane also contributed to the incorporation of the African element that appears inside by forming various quilombo communities that are now being studied and identified.

From these groups, three major cultural centers developed in the state. The coastal region of the state East, marked by towns that became cities around the Great Christmas (Extremoz, Ceará Mirim, Sao Goncalo, Macaíba, Nísia Forest, Goianinha), the Seridó (with the poles of Caico and Currais Novos) and the Potiguar west (marked by the influence of Mossoro, further north, and Pau dos Ferros, in the western region high).

Many cultural manifestations of Rio Grande do Norte emerged in this context. The Zambê, the Congos, Pastoril the Caboclinhos and Boi de Reis. music bands, folk poetry, crafts, fine arts are some of the manifestations that reflect the way of being Potiguar, its sensitivity and imagination.

Through the testimony of this portal you will be able to know a little more of this rich and pulsating universe that exists in every corner of our state. If potiguar, birth or by adoption, will also be able to learn something about yourself, because a man is made not only of its own history or with his individual soul. We are also products of a collective history that shapes us and builds us up.