On November 13, 2019, Law No. 1,815/2019 was enacted in Lauro de Freitas, declaring the Beijuzeiras de Areia Branca as Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Municipality of Lauro de Freitas, Bahia. With a tradition that has lasted for several generations, in the production of beiju production due to the flour houses that existed in the region.

“This bill is important, because it is a historical group, with a social demand that needed recognition. The Beijuzeiras are a legacy of social transformation, many families lived off what they produced in the flour houses. Recognizing our culture is recognizing our cultural identity, that of our people from Lauro-Freita ” , said the author of the law, councilor Edivaldo Palhaço.

Being a kisser was the profession that for years was the only income option for women in the Areia Branca neighborhood. Dona Rizalva Sales, 68, one of the women who lives off beiju, made by hand in Lauro de Freitas, says that the inheritance comes from her great-grandmother, Vitória de Melo, passing through the generations that followed in the family. Dona Zizi, as she is better known, remembers that since she was a girl she went to the fair, holding the hem of her mother's skirt, to sell the kisses. She raised her seven children alone, making and selling beiju. Her husband abandoned her when the children were still small. All the children learned the art, working to help their mother.

“Making beiju is more than a profession, it's more like ballet, or rather, a samba de roda, rehearsed in the smallest details, from coconut, grated in the machine; the fine mass passed through the sieve; the bowl that goes in your lap, when you are already sitting beside the oven; on the hot plate, the dough draws an almost hypnotic circle, turned at the right time, guaranteeing a delicious result”, Thiara Reges.

Israela Ramos

Source: https://www.bahiajornal.com.br/noticia/418/beijuzeiras-de-areia-branca-sao-declaradas-patrimonio-cultural-imaterial-de-lauro-de-freitas

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