Brazilian Independence Day. That is it. The
July 4 of Brazilians.
Offical history has it that on September the 7th of 1822, our then prince regent, D. Pedro I, upon receiving some news from Portugal, got upset, and by pulling his sword, proclaimed the independence of Brazil from Portugal by crying out loud "Independência ou Morte" independence or death.
A tale that could well figure amidst a couple other legends, with the exception that this independence cry is indeed accepted and written down as real, and even Brazilian National Anthem refers to it in it's first two verses :
Ouviram do Ipiranga às margens plácidas
De um povo heróico o brado retumbante
Which means more or less: (They) heard at the placid margins of Ipiranga / the bold cry of a people.
Ipiranga is a
rivulet were said event took place. Today a monument and a museum are built in the place, in the city of
São Paulo.
As for D. Pedro I, he became the Emperor of Brazil thereafter.
In our days, this date remains a good holiday, with military parades and all the usual things. But the average Brazilian citizen doesn't care much about it except for the fact it is a holiday after all.