Guajará-Mirim

Introducing Guajará-Mirim

This low-key town on the Rio Mamoré came into existence as the southern terminus of the Madeira–Mamoré Railway. Both Guajará-Mirim and Bolivian Guayaramerín across the river are free-trade zones with a steady stream of shopping tourists.

Though exceedingly sleepy most of the year, Guajará-Mirim perks up in mid-August when it hosts its own Boi-Bumbá festival, a re-creation of the huge bash of the same name held in Parantins, near Manaus, and which is itself an adaptation of the Bomba Meu Boi festival celebrated in Så Luis and other parts of the northeast. Guajará-Mirim’s festival includes many of the same elements, including mock feuds between the ‘Caprichosos’ and ‘Garantidos’ (traditionally dressed in blue and red, respectively) and nighttime performances depicting the story of an ox that’s killed and then resurrected. A R$5 admission is charged for some events.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009