Only in this corner of São Cristovão will you find thousands of square metres of shops and stalls dedicated to the sounds, sights and smells of north-eastern Brazil. The food, music, artisanal produce and ingredients of the region are here in abundance, spread out on row after row of market stalls and restaurants all bookended by two large stages of live music. Certainly the best place for cheap hammocks and colourful rugs, you’ll also find a huge array of herbs and spices and all the music DVDs you (n)ever wanted lurking down never-ending aisles. Besides which, from 10am on Fridays until 10pm on Sundays the doors literally don’t shut, so wandering club kids mix with hardened cachaça lovers in the wee small hours, and a mid-morning Sunday visit is rewarded with some fine dancing from the tough nuts that made it through the night. Officially speaking the music begins at 8pm at the weekends, but exactly when it finishes and the next day’s entertainment begins is often a bit of a blur.