São Thomé das Letras is a municipality in the south of Minas Gerais state in southeastern Brazil, 35 kilometres (22 mi) east of Três Corações city.

Greatly amazed by the story the Baron freed the slave and later ordered the construction of a church beside of the grotto in what it is now the centre of São Thomé das Letras.

In the 19th century farmers from the region built homes in São Thomé das Letras to use during festival periods, remaining empty the rest of the year.

Some believe that São Thomé das Letras is one of the seven energy points of the Earth,[6] which is a main attraction for mystics, spiritualists, scientific and alternative societies.

The town's most famous legend involves a mystical character named Chico Taquara who the locals believe to have control of animals and who vanished inside the Carimbado cave long ago.