Tanabata in Brazil

People take part in the Tanabata Festival in Sao Paulo, Brazil on Sunday. During the Tanabata Matsuri, or Star Festival, the streets are filling with paper or bamboo embellishments, with dances, music, and foods. Desires are being written on the tanzaku – paper strips that are also known as "wish strips" – that are then burned along with bamboo, believing that the smoke is carrying the desires to the stars. For more than 30 years in the Liberdade district, the Tanabata Matsuri gathers dozens of attractions and attracts thousands of tourists. Nearly 100,000 people visit the event every year in Sao Paulo.

© Reuters