Every August 11th is a day of celebration for academics from more than a thousand Law courses in Brazil. This is because it is on this date that the creation of Legal Courses in the country is commemorated (by Dom Pedro I in 1827) and, consequently, the Lawyer's Day. So, it is on this day that law students decide to celebrate in grand style, remembering a 170-year-old tradition that is a headache for bar and restaurant owners Brazilians.
It is the Day of Pendura, the commemoration of students. According to tradition, on August 11, out of respect for the profession of lawyer (which had a lot of notoriety at the time of the First Empire – 1822-1831), the food establishment owners invited lawyers and law scholars to celebrate the date in their bars and restaurants, all, of course, for house bill.
So the lawyers and aspiring lawyers ate and drank out of courtesy and, at the end of the banquet, addressed those present at the establishment, in return for the invitation and the “homage” (of course, at the time, such speeches were an honor for the owners of the bars).
Over the years and the proliferation of law courses in Brazil, Pendura became unsustainable. The invitations from the owners for the free August 11th were running out and, in this way, the students began to “self-invite”. Every August 11th, law students from all over the country invade bars and restaurants, eat, drink, party and go out freely without paying, under the guise of celebrating their day.
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Some bar and restaurant owners refuse to accept the default and even call the police (which almost always ends up in an agreement between students and owners). Others offer discounts to future lawyers in order to avoid further damage. There is also a type of “social pendant”, where the value of the student's account (or part of it) is donated to charities. Of course, in the latter case, students foot the bill.
Many establishments close dawn and dusk on August 11, preferring to lose a day of profit rather than a day of loss. A tradition that is still maintained by students today is not to extend the default to waiters: the 10% must be paid. Some professionals and class orders in Brazil are against Pendura, claiming to be against the role of the lawyer in society and to be an offense to the ethics of the profession.
Of course, more than a century after its creation, the Pendura has undergone updates. One of them is practically the extinction of the “homage” speeches. In their place, students adopted anthems and ironic songs, such as:
“Waiter, take the check off the table and put a smile on your face. It would be too greedy to demand the 11th of August”.
By Camila Mitye
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
MITYE, Camila. "Take the bill off the table... Because today is Hang Day!"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/datas-comemorativas/tire-conta-mesa-porque-hoje-dia-pendura.htm. Accessed on June 29, 2021.
