Brazilian town renames festival to move away from little-known Confederate past | World | News

After 160 years, Santa Bárbara d’Oeste in Brazil has decided to rename its annual festival and remove Confederate symbols.

Known for hosting the “Festa Confederada,” a festival celebrating Southern culture, Santa Bárbara d’Oeste was home to about 20,000 Confederates who fled the aftermath of the Civil War.

Confederate flags will be painted over, and the festival is set to be renamed “Festa dos Americans” to distance itself from its controversial past and focus on celebrating American immigration.

Marcelo Sans Dodson, President of the Fraternity of American Descendants (FDA), an organisation celebrating the emigration of defeated Southerners to Brazil, said: “We want to work on reconciliation, pacification and join forces against those who are truly racist.”

“The institution, feeling that it created discomfort for the city and for black people, decided to rethink its position.”

Encouraged by the Brazilian emperor, Dom Pedro II, who welcomed immigrants to help develop the country, many Southerners settled in the region, bringing with them their customs, culture, and even slaves.

By the late 19th century, many Confederados had returned to the United States as racial segregation and white supremacy were reinstated in the South.

While the Confederados are now a small community, their descendants still gather every year to celebrate the festival.

Organisers have said that the event was not intended to be tied to the political implications of the Confederate flag, a symbol that has long been linked to racist ideologies and white supremacy.

After the war, the Confederate flag became a symbol of Southern heritage, though it also represented the legacy of slavery and white supremacy.

It has since become a divisive emblem, banned in some regions of the United States due to its association with hate groups.