Brazil's National Assembly Declares Commemorative Dates For 3 Main Ethnicities

Sources: Agência Câmara and Brazil public holidays. Late this week, the Human Rights Commission of the National Assembly of Brazil approved a resolution specifying 3 separate annual dates to commemorate each of the 3 main ethnicities of Brazil (datas comemorativas de alta significação para os diferentes segmentos étnicos que compõem a sociedade brasileira).

These are: April 19, Dia do Índio, to commemorate Brazil's native people, April 22, Dia do Descobrimento do Brasil, to commemorate the arrival of Europeans, and November 20, Dia Nacional da Consciência Negra, set on the date of the death of Zumbi dos Palmares who fought, and died, for the rights of those of African origin.

These 3 dates are not declared as national public holidays, as such, by this draft law, although individual states and localities are encouraged to declare these as public holidays, and November 20 is officially celebrated in 225 of the country's 5561 cities and municipalities, including Río de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, where it has been an official municipal public holiday since 2003.