Vale do Café Festival Revives the Cultural Heritage of Southern Rio

The 19th Vale do Café Festival officially kicks off this Friday at 10 a.m. at Fazenda União in Rio das Flores.

Running until July 28, the festival spans eight southern Rio de Janeiro municipalities: Vassouras,

• Barra do Piraí,
• Piraí,
• Mendes,
• Engenheiro Paulo de Frontin,
• Valença, and
• Paty do Alferes.

Visitors can explore historical coffee plantations from the coffee boom era through guided tours.

Roberta Kelab, the festival’s Production Director, said, “We have two new farms and one returning after many years.”

This year, the new participants are  Fazenda Floresta (Vassouras) and Fazenda Santa Rosa (Valença).

Returning farms include Fazenda Alliança (Barra do Piraí), Fazenda Vista Alegre (Valença), Fazenda Monte Alegre (Paty do Alferes), and Fazenda São Luiz da Boa Sorte (Vassouras).

Continuing participants are Fazenda União (Rio das Flores), Fazenda das Palmas (Mendes), Fazenda São João da Prosperidade (Barra do Piraí), and Fazenda Florença (Valença).

Tickets cost R$37-50, with half-price for certain groups. Six of eight municipalities offer free performances.

Key highlights include:

• Friday, 7 p.m.: Quarteto Semente Choro Jazz in front of Igreja Matriz Nossa Senhora da Conceição in Vassouras.
•  Friday, 8 p.m.: The Cortejo de Tradições at Praça Barão de Campo Belo in Vassouras. This event features 300 participants showcasing jongo, capoeira, maculelê, caninha verde, and folia de reis.
• Free Recitals: Turibio Santos at Teatro SESC de Valença. He will play works by Villa-Lobos, João Pernambuco, Dilermando Reis, and Fernando Sor. Cristina Braga and Ricardo Medeiros will celebrate 45 years in Piraí. Henrique Cazes Quarteto will revisit the Beatles ‘n’ Choro project in Barra de Piraí.

The festival will recall the railway past of the Coffee Cycle. Free concerts will occur at train stations in Barra do Piraí and Engenheiro Paulo de Frontin.

Concerts will also happen at churches like Nossa Senhora da Conceição (Vassouras) and Sant’Anna (Piraí).

Additional venues include Centro Cultural Aldeia de Arcozelo (Paty do Alferes) and Teatro SESC Rosinha de Valença (Valença).

Vassouras will host free music training courses with 120 participants. The festival will provide food and lodging for 80 of them.

Turibio Santos will direct the courses. Rodrigo Belchior will coordinate them. The courses cover guitar, violin, ensemble practice, and singing.

They attract students from social projects nationwide. The festival will also feature lectures on regional tourism and the importance of music in youth education.

The Ministry of Culture presents the Vale do Café Festival. It operates through the Federal Law of Cultural Incentive.

MRS Logística, SEBRAE, and the State Department of Tourism (Setur) sponsor the festival.

The State Department of Culture and Creative Economy (SececRJ) and Sesc RJ provide institutional and cultural support.