The Feira do Açaí (Açaí Fair in English) is a public trading post, an open-air

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market *Marketing, the act of sat ...

for the commercialization of açaí, a small

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

area, and a set of bars, which is part of the

Ver-o-Peso Complex The Ver-o-Peso Complex ( Portuguese: ''Complexo do Ver-o-Peso'') is an architectural and landscape site located on Boulevard Castilhos França, in the Cidade Velha neighborhood, Belém, capital of Pará. It began to be formed in 1625 with the con ...

, located on the shores of the

Guajará Bay Guajará Bay ( Portuguese: ''Baía do Guajará'') is formed by the confluence of the mouths of the Guamá and Acará rivers, which border the municipalities of Barcarena and Belém, the capital of Pará. Its waters flow into Marajó Bay and end ...

in the district of

Cidade Velha Cidade Velha (, Portuguese for "old city", also: ''Santiago de Cabo Verde'') is a city Belém Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará), often called Belém of Pará, is the capital and largest city of the state of Pará in the north of B ...

Pará Pará () is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian st ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. The fair is surrounded by Castelo Forte (Castle-Fort; built in 1616), Praça do Relógio (Clock Square), and Doca das Embarcações (Vessels' Dock; fish fair est. 1803). The fair supplies the city via river with fruit ''

in natura (Latin for "in Nature") is a phrase to describe conditions present in a non-laboratory environment, to differentiate it from ''in vivo'' (experiments on live organisms in a lab) and ''ex vivo'' (experiments on cultivated cells isolated from multic ...

'' from the

açaí palm The açaí palm (, , from Nheengatu ''asai''), '' Euterpe oleracea'', is a species of palm tree (Arecaceae) cultivated for its fruit (açaí berries, or simply açaí), hearts of palm (a vegetable), leaves, and trunk wood. Global demand for th ...

, coming from the riverside communities that live in the insular area of Belém, with 329.9361 km² composed of forty-two islands. The place offers tourists the sight of the movement (comings and goings) of the porters and vendors with their pots full of fruit. Açaí has a deep impact on the region's population, with a consumption in liters twice as high as milk consumption. Located in the Historic Center of Belém, near the Feliz Lusitânia (Happy

Lusitania Lusitania (; ) was an ancient Iberian Roman province encompassing most of modern-day Portugal (south of the Douro River) and a large portion of western Spain (the present Extremadura and Province of Salamanca). Romans named the region after th ...

) complex, the fair also contains bars. Michel Pinho, president of the Cultural Foundation of Belém (Fumbel), stated that the city is going through a rescue of several cultures and the return of a local musical tradition in 2022, where the Açaí Fair resumes with carimbó,

samba Samba () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro-Brazilians, Afro Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or ...

, and other such events as the popular initiative projects "carimbó no caroço" and "fé no

batuque Batuque may refer to: * Batuque (Brazil), various Afro-Brazilian practices, including music, dance, combat game and religion * Batuque (Cape Verde), a Cape Verdean music and dance genre * Batuque (manga), a Japanese manga series * Batuque (religio ...

Açaí

The consumption of açaí is well-spread across Brazil, given its nutritional value, being more present in Northern diet; however, it has been part of the diet of

indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

since pre- Colombian times. Açaí comes from a palm tree and is a dark purple

berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples of berries in the cul ...

containing a proportionally large pit and little pulp. In Brazil, it is the symbol of the state of

and grows spontaneously in the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

floodplains. It is very present in the urban agricultural production of the insular area of

Belém Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará), often called Belém of Pará, is the capital and largest city of the state of Pará in the north of B ...

, supplied mainly by the river. To be consumed, it must first go through a pulping machine or be mashed by hand so that the pulp is detached from the seed/pit and. After being mixed with water, it becomes a thick juice known as "''vinho do açaí''" (açaí wine). In the North region, this is commonly mixed with

manioc ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...

flour or

tapioca starch Tapioca (; ) is a starch extracted from the tubers of the cassava plant (''Manihot esculenta,'' also known as manioc), a species native to the North Region, Brazil, North and Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast regions of Brazil, but which has ...

in a bowl, forming a "'' pirão''", accompanied by fried fish or fried beef.

Functioning

The fair operates in the early hours of the morning, with the unloading of tons of açaí distributed in various ''paneiros'' (straw baskets) taken from the boats (nicknamed "''pô-pô-pô''"; in English: "poh-poh-poh") that anchor there, negotiated in the old supply/demand style. From there, açaí is then processed in the neighborhoods of the capital city.

Statistics

The state of

produces about 820,000 tons of açaí per year, corresponding to 85% of national production, making it the largest producer in the country. Most of the produce remain in the state; 60% are consumed in the region, 30% are transported to other Brazilian states, and 10% are exported abroad.

Historical site

The fair is part of the architectural and landscape complex of

Ver-o-Peso The Ver-o-Peso Market, Mercado Municipal Bolonha de Peixe, Mercado de Ferro, or Ver-o-Peso is a street market and fair, and small port area inaugurated in 1901 (replacing the "Casa de Haver-o-Peso", 1625-1899) that is part of the Ver-o-Peso Compl ...

, listed by

IPHAN The National Historic and Artistic Heritage Institute (, IPHAN) is a heritage register of the federal government of Brazil. It is responsible for the preservation of buildings, monuments, structures, objects and sites, as well as the register and ...

in 1977, which comprises an area of 35,000 square meters, with a series of historical buildings, including

Boulevard Castilhos França Boulevard Castilhos França, originally called Rua Nova do Imperador and Boulevard da República, is a street located in the Campina neighborhood, on the shores of Guajará Bay, in the Brazilian city of Belém, capital of the state of Pará. Cre ...

Meat Market A meat market is, traditionally, a marketplace where meat is sold, often by a butcher. It is a specialized wet market. The term is sometimes used to refer to a meat retail store or butcher's shop, in particular in North America. During the mid ...

, the Fish Market, the

Siqueira Campos Square The Siqueira Campos Square ( Portuguese: ''Praça Siqueira Campos'') or Clock Square (''Praça do Relógio'') is a public space located at the Ver-o-Peso Dock, in the Cidade Velha neighborhood, in the Brazilian city of Belém, capital of Pará. ...

, the Açaí Fair, Castle Hill, and the Fisherman's Square.{{cite web, access-date=20 June 2016, author=Virgínia Barbosa, publisher=Fundação Joaquim Nabuco - FUNDAJ, title=Mercado Ver-o-Peso, Belém, Pará, url=http://basilio.fundaj.gov.br/pesquisaescolar/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=768&Itemid=1, work=Portal Pesquisa Escolar, archive-date=10 December 2015, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151210220154/http://basilio.fundaj.gov.br/pesquisaescolar/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=768&Itemid=1, url-status=dead

References

Pará society Economy of Brazil by city Brazilian cuisine Açaí

Açaí

Functioning

Statistics

Historical site

See also

References