American Civil War commemorated way down south of Dixie

Descendants of American Southerners wearing Confederate-era uniforms pose for pictures as they attend a party to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the end of the American Civil War in Santa Barbara d'Oeste, Brazil, Sunday, April 26, 2015. For many of the residents of Santa Barbara d'Oeste and neighboring Americana, in Brazil's southeastern Sao Paulo state, having Confederate ancestry is a point of pride and is celebrated in high style at the annual "Festa dos Confederados, " or "Confederates Party" in Portuguese. Descendants of American Southerners wearing Confederate-era uniforms pose for pictures as they attend a party to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the end of the American Civil War in Santa Barbara d'Oeste, Brazil, Sunday, April 26, 2015. For many of the residents of Santa Barbara d'Oeste and neighboring Americana, in Brazil's southeastern Sao Paulo state, having Confederate ancestry is a point of pride and is celebrated in high style at the annual "Festa dos Confederados, " or "Confederates Party" in Portuguese.

By Associated Press April 28, 2015 5 min read

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Civil War refugees fleeing from reconstruction celebrate 150 years in Brazil.

In Brazil’s southeastern Sao Paulo state, having Confederate ancestry is a point of pride and is celebrated in high style at the annual “Festa dos Confederados, ” or “Confederates Party” in Portuguese.

View complete coverage of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War

SANTA BARBARA D’OESTE, Brazil — It had all the trappings of a down-home country fair somewhere well below the Mason-Dixon line: Lynyrd Skynyrd medleys, mile-long lines for fried chicken, barbeque and draft beer, and a plethora of Confederate flags emblazoning everything from belt buckles to motorcycle vests to trucker caps.

But Sunday’s party marking the 150th anniversary of the end of the American Civil War took place about 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometers) south of the South, in a rural Brazilian town colonized by families fleeing Reconstruction.

For many of the residents of Santa Barbara d’Oeste and neighboring Americana in Brazil’s southeastern Sao Paulo state, having Confederate ancestry is a point of pride that’s celebrated in high style at the annual “Festa dos Confederados,” or “Confederates Party” in Portuguese.

Thousands turn out every year, including many who trace their ancestry back to the dozens of families who, enticed by the Brazilian government’s offers of land grants, settled here from 1865 to around 1875. They’re joined by country music enthusiasts, history buffs and locals with a hankering for buttermilk biscuits or a fondness for “The Dukes of Hazzard.”