sunday 's party marked the 150th anniversary of the end of the american civil war and was held in a rural brazilian town colonized by families fleeing reconstruction .
thousands turn out every year , including many who trace their ancestry back to the dozens of families who , enticed by the brazilian government 's offers of land grants , settled here from 1865 to around 1875 .
amid food and beer stands bedecked with red-white-and-blue ribbons , extended families tucked into diet-busting barbecue and hamburger lunches as ` dixie ' played on a loop .