The catchword is "large"....

The day before the Festa do Divino  is the day of the "Afogado" or "Prato da Casa". The signs here says "prata da casa", the silver of the house.... but this is about the bands. The "Prato" is about food (and not so much about the plate or the silver..... )

Country songs are very popular.

The free food is distributed to people (originally the poor people). Many people take larger quantities home; for the family or to just eat for some more days. The food exists of rice and potatoes with a beef sauce. This is the "Afogado" part: "The dish is drowned." To make it less fluid you can add some "farinha de mandioca"  flour from the cassave. This year 15 bulls ended up in the broth in the enormous pans.

Every year 2 different families are responsible for organizing this event. (This year the families Rodriques and Teodoro.) All people participating are volunteers. It is an honor to serve the community in this way.

The food is distributed in the marketplace of São Luiz do Paraitinga. Huge pots are resting on purpose built fireplaces.  The catchword is "large".

Here you can line up for "Afogado"

A view from behind the counter. The very large pans...

People getting the food on their plates.

Serving the customer.

It is a happy day.

The smaller pans..... and a very large one on a customized fire.

Some wood for the fires, sacks of potatoes and very large pans....

The medium to large pans....

And here a huge pan with the broth.... hanging in a customized fireplace

At the end, everything has to be cleaned up to be ready for the next event.

For more pictures of São Luiz: see Flickr