Black Awareness Day in Brazil: Cities Where Banks Will Close

Tomorrow is a holiday in Brazil - Black Awareness Day. Banks, businesses and schools close in several cities, including state capitals Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Maceió, Manaus and Cuiabá. You can see the list of cities where banks will close tomorrow on the website of the Special Secretariat of Policies for the Promotion of Racial Equality – SEPPIR.

Black awareness is celebrated on the day Zumbi, leader of the Palmares quilombo, or runaway slave community, died in 1695, 193 years before the abolition of slavery in Brazil.

Since many Brazilians somehow manage to extend holidays that fall on a Thursday through Sunday and travel, major traffic jams are already forming in and around São Paulo. According to Folha Online, 1.6 million cars are expected to leave town for the holiday.