“Caipirinha” Declared Intangible Heritage of Rio de Janeiro State

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The world-famous “‘caipirinha” was, on Thursday, October 24th, granted the status of an intangible heritage of the state of Rio de Janeiro.

The acknowledgment of the famous cachaça cocktail was published in yesterday’s edition of the Official Gazette of the State of Rio de Janeiro, after the endorsement of governor Wilson Witzel.

The proposal to establish the caipirinha as an intangible heritage was made by state deputy Paulo Ramos, in Bill 4334 of 2018, the year in which the drink celebrated its 100th anniversary.

Consisting of lemon, cachaça, ice and sugar, the caipirinha is also known as “the symbolic drink of Brazil” in the text endorsed by the governor.

Despite having become an intangible heritage of Rio de Janeiro, caipirinha originated in São Paulo, created in the region of Piracicaba, in the 19th century, according to historian Luís da Câmara Cascudo. Only in the 20th century did the cocktail reach Rio de Janeiro.

The Brazilian Cachaça Institute points out that the invention of the drink occurred in the 20th century, also in the interior of São Paulo, in 1918.

Its popularization throughout the country supposedly arose from the Week of Modern Art, in 1922, due to the popularity that the beverage gained among artists.

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