U.S. Confederate Descendants Throw Annual Festival In Brazil Celebrating U.S. Roots

SANTA BARBARA D'OESTE, BRAZIL - APRIL 24: A woman dressed in traditional hoop skirt walks with a chld past graves marked with Confederate flags in the American Cemetery during the annual Festa Confederada, or Confederate Party, on April 24, 2016 in Santa Barbara d'Oeste, Brazil. The festival is put on by Brazilian descendants of families who fled from the southern United States to Brazil during Reconstruction, between 1865 and 1875, following the end of the U.S. Civil War. Thousands attend the festival which is held at the American Cemetery, or Cemiterio dos Americanos, where graves of settlers and descendants remain to this day. The festival features traditional Southern-style dancing, music and cuisine. The U.S. settlers eventually assimilated with local Brazilians and some now are racially mixed while many others no longer speak English. Organizers say the festival represents familial tradition, ancestral heritage and happiness and is not associated with the negative connotations of the Confederacy. The flag carries no stigma or political meaning in Brazil. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)