Independence Day

About Independence Day

Brazilian Independence Day, on 7 September, commemorates Prince Pedro's declaration of independence from Portugal on the banks of the Ipiranga River in São Paulo on 7 September 1822 — the so-called Grito do Ipiranga. The declaration came after Portugal's parliament demanded that Pedro return to Lisbon and that Brazil revert to dependent-colony status, and after his father King João VI had earlier returned to Portugal after thirteen years in Rio de Janeiro (where the entire Portuguese court had relocated to escape Napoleon in 1807). Pedro instead crowned himself Emperor Pedro I of the new Empire of Brazil, which remained a constitutional monarchy until 1889. Independence Day is a federal public holiday and the most important civic date in the Brazilian calendar.

The day opens with a large military parade in Brasília along the Esplanada dos Ministérios, attended by the president, the heads of the three branches of government, the joint chiefs and diplomatic corps. Air force flyovers leave green-and-yellow smoke over the city. State capitals stage their own parades, often along beachfront avenues, with school bands, cadet corps, samba schools and civic associations. In recent years 7 September has also become a date for large political demonstrations, occasionally pulling in hundreds of thousands. Households decorate windows and balconies with the green-yellow flag and stripes; canary-yellow national-team shirts are widely worn. Feijoada, churrasco, pão de queijo and brigadeiros fill family lunches. Federal offices, banks and most retail are closed. The day in 2022 marked the bicentenary, with reinforced ceremonial pomp across the country.