AP PHOTOS: Brazil's Cavalhadas festival celebrates the Holy Spirit

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PIRENOPOLIS, Brazil (AP) — The heartland Brazilian city of Pirenópolis is hosting its annual Cavalhadas festival, a Holy Spirit celebration where participants ride horses, wear masks and don floral headpieces.

The tradition began in the 1800s with a Portuguese priest who wanted to celebrate the Holy Spirit — one of the entities of the Roman Catholic Church’s trinity — and also commemorate the victory of Iberian Christian knights over the Moors.

The festivities include an open-air reenactment of a battle between Christian warriors and Muslims. At the end, the defeated Moors are converted to Catholicism.

This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

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