On the day that the workers left for são paulo, there was a long line of buses outside of the church. Families waited on the street with lugage, until it rained and they all fled for a dry place. Workers sat at the bar, drinking, laughing and crying. "i am excited to go," one worker said,"But i know that even though I have friends there, even though i go to church there, after two months i will be dreaming of returning."

The population of Araçuaí is about 7,000 . People say that about 3,500 leave the city to work in the sugar cane plantations.