Toothpuller Day

Brazilians and non-Brazilians alike often joke about the seemingly unending list of holidays there. While there certainly are a large number of semi-official, unofficial, religious, and popular days marked on the calendar, in fact Brazil only has nine federally declared holidays* - the same number as in the United States. (One of Brazil’s is election day, which is actually two dates in October every other year.)

Like the U.S., Brazil recognizes Christmas Day and New Year’s Day* as national holidays (although not New Year’s Eve). Like most of the rest of the world, they celebrate Labor Day (often called “Day of the Worker”) on May 1, rather than in September. Their Independence Day is September 7, and they also commemorate the day Brazil became a Republic on November 15. Earlier in November they celebrate the Day of the Dead and in mid-October, Our Lady of Aparecida, the patron saint of Brazil.

And today is the oddly named Tiradentes, sometimes just the one word, sometimes Tiradentes Day, and officially Dia da Inconfidência. The Inconfidência Mineira was a failed uprising in the state of Minas Gerais (which literally means “General Mines” and the people who live in that state are known as “mineiros”) in the late 18th century that attempted to overthrow the monarchy and establish a republic. Correctly translated as “conspiracy,” the word “inconfidência” obviously has echoes of “nonconfidence” or “lack of confidence.” It’s not that long of a stretch then to think of the day as meaning “The Miner’s Lack of Confidence.”

Joking wordplay aside, the day is also named for one of the uprising’s leaders, Joaquim José da Silva Xavier, who was publicly hanged on this day in 1792. In an attempt to minimize the rebellion and humiliate its leadership, the prosecution used a pejorative term for dentist during his trial, calling him Tiradentes, literally “tooth puller.” Tiradentes did in fact dabble in dentistry, along with a number of other jobs, but he is forever remembered in Brazil as a national hero and a martyr.

* Intriguingly called “Universal Brotherhood” officially.