Araçuaí (Portuguese pronunciation: [aɾɐswa'i]) is a Brazilian municipality located in the northeast of the state of Minas Gerais in the Jequitinhonha River valley.

[6] The origin of the name "Araçuaí" has two versions: according to Auguste de Saint-Hilaire, the name was given by the paulistas to the river because they had found a large quantity of gold in it.

The village had a set of qualities to evolve into a city, such as easy access to canoes, used at the time for navigating rivers, but the priest was excessively demanding and authoritarian, prohibiting alcoholic beverages and prostitutes there.

In 1882, the Bahia and Minas Railway was built, connecting the Bahian city of Caravelas to Araçuaí, but it was deactivated and closed in 1966.

[21] The museum was created by the artist Lira Marques and Frei Chico, a Dutch Franciscan friar who worked as a researcher of Brazilian popular culture and religiosity.

[21] Every year, in September, the city holds the Micareta de Araçuaí, an off-season carnival that attracts many people from the region.