The Centro de Cultura Popular is a museum dedicated to the folk traditions of Maranhão, with particular focus on the Bumba Meu Boi festival — the city's most important cultural event. The collection includes magnificent festival costumes decorated with elaborate embroidery, sequins, feathers, and mirrors; musical instruments; photographs; and video documentation of the festival itself.
Even if you won't be in São Luís in June for the festival, the museum gives you a sense of its extraordinary visual and cultural richness. The costumes alone — some of them towering, jewelled creations that take months to make — are worth the visit. The staff are knowledgeable and enthusiastic, and the museum regularly hosts workshops and demonstrations.