 In a local schoolyard, people drink mulled wine and sing Festa Junina songs around a large bonfire. The fire is said to represent the flame that was licked by St. John's mother the night he was born. Sergio Menezes is a father of two. He says when he was young, each neighborhood would compete to see who could build the best bonfire. I loved making the fire, he says. This is always a really happy time for me, representing renewal, hope, family and festivity.