Porto Alegre (lit. "Gay Port"[1] or "Joyous Port"[2]) is the 10th largest city in Brazil, and the capital city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Porto Alegre is one of the most important cultural, political and economic centers of Southern Brazil. Porto Alegre held[3] the highest standard of living among all Brazilian capitals for many years and it was the sole Brazilian city listed[4] on Jones Lang LaSalle's World Winning Cities.
The city, located on the Guaiba Lake, was founded in 1742 by immigrants from the Azores. In the late 19th century the city received people from other parts of the world, particularly Germany, Poland, and Italy. Located at the junction of five rivers, it has become an important alluvial port as well as one of the chief industrial and commercial centers in Brazil.
The Salgado Filho International Airport connects Porto Alegre with Brazilian cities and also operates international flights.
The city is home to the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul and the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul.
The city
The city is located at a delta resulting from the junction of five rivers, officially called Guaíba Lake (popularly mentioned as a river too). Although its origins date from the mid-18th century, when immigrants from the Azores settled in the area, the city was officially established in 1809.
Before this, Porto Alegre was the port of Viamão on the shore of Guaíba Lake. Its ancient name was Porto dos Casais (Port of the couples), and it was initially settled by Azorians. Many families of settlers also came from the city of Rio Grande (Big River) in the litoral Lagunar region, to the south, a military fortress at that time. Today Rio Grande is the most important port of Rio Grande do Sul state.
More than 70 neighborhoods (see below) are part of the city and 2/3 of the population are concentrated in the Zona Norte (Northern Zone), where most of the economic activity, including the city center, takes place.
Porto Alegre was the seat of the World Social Forum in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005. As the second largest city in southern Brazil, it is also an important industrial center in the mentioned geographical area. It also is a center for gaúcho (the popular name for natives of the State) history and culture, famous for its churrasco (barbecue) and chimarrão (a strong and hot tea prepared from erva mate). Important Brazilian universities, such as UFRGS, UFCSPA and PUCRS are located there.
Porto Alegre is also one of the wealthiest cities in Latin America, and one of the most diverse. It has welcomed immigrants from all over the world, the largest numbers coming from Portugal, Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland. The city has a large Afro-Brazilian community, and there are also significant Arab and Jewish contingents in the population.
Geography
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Climate
Porto Alegre is located in the subtropical area and so is called its climate. Average precipitation is high and regular throughout the year. Summer temperatures only occasionally rise above 32°C (90°F), although high levels of humidity make the season very muggy. The highest temperature ever registered was 40.7°C (105°F) in January 1943.
Humid subtropical climate is a climate zone characterized by hot, humid summers and chilly to mild winters. This climate type covers a broad category of climates, and the term "subtropical" may be a misnomer for the winter climate in the cooler areas within this category. Significant amounts of precipitation occur in all seasons in most areas. Winter rainfall (and sometimes snowfall) is associated with large storms that the westerlies steer from west to east. Most summer rainfall occurs during thunderstorms and an occasional tropical storm, hurricane or cyclone.
The winter reveals mild average temperatures, contrasting to the quite changeable, and many times sudden behavioral, windy and rainy weather which also characterizes this time of the year. Usual winter temperatures range from 5°C (41°F) to 25°C (77°F). Snow is very rare, sometimes confused with sleet. The main snowfall events in Porto Alegre were in 1879, 1910 and 1984.
The lowest temperature ever recorded was -4°C (4 degrees celsius below zero). Autumns tend to be as changeable as winters, but are typically warmer. Spring, stabler akin to summer, is slightly drier than all the other seasons. Occurrence of radiation fog is common, causing several delays in early flights.
Demographics
Solar Palmeiro in Porto Alegre.
According to the IBGE of 2007, there were 4,100,000 people residing in the Metropolitan Region of Porto Alegre. The population density was 2.905,3 inh./km². The last PNAD (National Research for Sample of Domiciles) census revealed the following numbers: 3,300,500 White people (80.5%), 475,000 Brown people (11.6%), 299,000 Black people (7.3%), 24,000 Asian or Amerindian people (0.6%).[5]
Porto Alegre is mostly composed of Brazilians of European descent. Its colonization started in the mid-18th century, mostly with the arrival of Portuguese colonists from the Azores Islands. From 1748 to 1756, 2,300 Azoreans were sent to the region by the King of Portugal to protect Southern Brazil from neighboring invaders.[6]
These colonists, mostly composed of couples, established the city of Porto dos Casais (Port of the Couples), nowadays Porto Alegre. In 1775, 55% of Rio Grande do Sul's population was of Azorean Portuguese origin.[7]
Porto Alegre was composed mainly of Azoreans and their African slaves until the first half of the 19th century. Nowadays, Blacks, Pardo people, who may also have some Amerindian ancestry compose, together, 17.1% of the city's population.
The first non-Portuguese people to settle Rio Grande do Sul were German immigrants. In 1824, the first immigrants from Germany arrived in Porto Alegre, but they were sent to what is now the city of São Leopoldo (28 km away). From 1824 to 1914, 50 thousand Germans arrived in Rio Grande do Sul.[8]
Most of them had rural communities in the interior of the State as their first destination. The large rural exodus in Brazil in the early 20th century brought many German-descendants to Porto Alegre and, nowadays, they compose a large percentage of the population.
The other largest group of immigrants who arrived in Porto Alegre are the Italians. They started immigrating to Brazil in 1875, mainly from the Northern Italian Veneto region.[9] As the Germans, Italians were also first sent to rural communities, mainly in the Serra Gaúcha region. After some decades, many of them started to migrate to other parts of Rio Grande do Sul, including Porto Alegre.
Minority communities of immigrants, such as Eastern Europeans from Poland and Ukraine; Arabs from Lebanon and Syria; Asians from Japan and Jews also made Porto Alegre their home.
Economy
Located at the junction of five rivers, it has become an important alluvial port as well as one of the chief industrial and commercial centers in Brazil. With the advent of the Mercosul accord it should grow and prosper. Products of the rich agricultural and pastoral hinterland, such as soybeans, leather, canned beef, and rice, are exported from Porto Alegre to destinations as far away as Africa and Japan.[10]
Downtown Porto Alegre at night.
Among the main business located in Porto Alegre we have VARIG, Gerdau, Petroleo Ipiranga, Zaffari and RBS. Since last year, General Motors (GM) is operating in Gravataí - located in the Metropolitan Region. Also in this Region, but in Triunfo, there is a Petrochemical Pole, in Alvorada Dell Computers is establishing a plant. In the health sector, there two hospitals considered among the best in Latin America (Santa Casa and HPCA). Commerce is a very important economic activity, vith many malls (like Rua da Praia and Shopping Iguatemi). The Metropolitan Region of Porto Alegre, directed to the production of shoes (around Novo Hamburgo) and to petrochemical industries, as well as services.[11]
The GDP for the city was R$ 27,977,351,000 (2005).[12]
The per capita income for the city was R$ 19,582 (2005).[13]
Education
Portuguese is the official national language, and thus the primary language taught in schools. But English and Spanish are part of the official high school curriculum.
Educational institutions
Culture
Museums
Rio Grande do Sul Museum of Art – MARGS
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St. Francis Xavier, XVIIIth century. Museu Júlio de Castilhos
With an eclectic style, the building was designed by German architect Theo Wiederspahn. Originally it was the headquarters of the Fiscal Surveillance Agency of the Federal Revenue Office. Nowadays, it hosts the largest public collection of art works in Rio Grande do Sul, many of which were created by renowned local, national, and foreign artists. The internal spaces are illuminated through stained glass windows embellishing the major hall ceiling. The building became a historic landmark by the National Historic Site Office in 1983 and it is at Alfândega Plaza, Downtown.
Júlio de Castilhos Museum
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Created in 1903, being the oldest museum in the state. Its collection comprises thousands of pieces related to the local history, from Indian relics to objects and iconography about the War of Tatters and the War of the Triple Alliance, including an important section showing fine scupltures from the Jesuitic Reductions.
Joaquim José Felizardo Museum
An important museum with a large collection of archaeological artifacts and fotographies of Porto Alegre's old times. Its historical building, dating from 1845-55, is one of the few intact relics of colonial architecture inside the modern urban environment.
Rio Grande do Sul Memorial
Showing a huge collection of documents, maps, objects, prints and other items related to the state's history. Its building, designed by Theodor Wiederspahn, is one of the finest examples of eclectic architecture in the city.
Events
- World Social Forum: At several occasions (2001, 2002, 2003, 2005) the World Social Forum has been hosted in Porto Alegre.
- Latin American Handicraft Fair: At various times, the handiwork of over countries is displayed on Saturdays and Sundays.
- Expointer: Between August and September of each year, an agribusiness fair is held in Esteio.
- Farroupilha Week: this cultural celebration takes place in mid September with parades, food and musical exhibitions.
- Bookfair: Held each November at Praça da Alfândega.
Infrastructure
International Airport
Salgado Filho International Airport serves flights operated by major Brazilian airlines to many areas in Brazil and other South American countries.
Port
The Port of Porto Alegre is situated in the Eastern margin of lake Guaíba. Its geographical position enables a permanent traffic between Porto Alegre and Buenos Aires, transporting steel-industry products and mainly agricultural produce.
Metro
Bus station in Porto Alegre.
The metro is operated jointly by the federal government, the state government of Rio Grande do Sul and the city of Porto Alegre through the company Trensurb (Company of Urban Trains of Porto Alegre) and has 17 stations, totaling 42 km (26 mi) of extension, carrying about 130 thousand users a day.
Highways
The capital city of the "gauchos" is connected to BR-290 and BR-116 federal highways, thus enabling the link with other Brazilian States as well as with Uruguay and Argentina.
Tourism and recreation
Porto Alegre seen from the Guaíba Lake.
The seat of State Government, its construction begun in 1896 after a project by Affonso Hebert, but soon the plan was changed and another project was designed by Maurice Gras, which was erected from 1909 on, and completed only towards the 70's. It shows a blend of baroque and neoclassical features inspired after the french palace Petit Trianon, with rich inner decorations and furniture, and a big garden behind the main building.
Tourism palaeontological - Although Porto Alegre is not in the region of Paleorrota, has the largest number of paleontologists of Rio Grande do Sul. The city has a large number of museums, and the UFRGS as a center for the study of paleontology and there can see the animals of Triassic.
We can see Rhynchosaur, thecodonts, exaeretodons, Staurikosaurus, Guaibasaurus, Saturnalia tupiniquim, Sacisaurus, Unaysaurus and many others.
Sports
Soccer is a passion of the people from Porto Alegre. There is a big rivalry between two socer teams, Sport Club Internacional, funded in 1909; and Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense, funded in 1903. The regional championship is usually won by one of these teams. The confrontation between Internacional and Grêmio is known as Gre-Nal.
Porto Alegre is one of the 18 remaining candidates to host games of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, for which Brazil is the only South American bidder.
Sister Cities
The Sister Cities of Porto Alegre are:
 - Suzhou, People's Republic of China - Kanazawa (Ishikawa, Japan) - Saint Petersburg, Russia - Morano Calabro, Italy - La Plata, Argentina- - Rosario, Argentina
 - Punta del Este, Uruguay - Ribeira Grande, Portugal- - Horta, Portugal
- - Portalegre, Portugal
 - Natal, Brazil - Newark, New Jersey, United States of America
Notable people
Football player Ronaldinho was born in Porto Alegre.
Notable people related to Porto Alegre:
- Adriana Calcanhotto, singer and instrumentist
- Alex Klein, oboist
- Anderson, football player with Manchester United
- Daiane dos Santos, gymnast
- Diogo Rincón, football player, former Dynamo Kyiv member
- Elis Regina, singer
- Ernesto Geisel, military general and dictator
- Humberto Gessinger, musician, singer and songwriter
- Isaac Karabtchevsky, conductor
- João Derly de Oliveira Nunes Júnior , judo world champion
- Jorge Furtado, film writer and director
- Luís Carlos Prestes, Communist leader
- Érico Verissimo, writer
- Luis Fernando Verissimo, writer (son of Erico Verissimo)
- Mario Quintana, poet
- Moacyr Scliar, writer and physician
- Ronaldinho Gaúcho, football player with Barcelona
- Emerson Thome, former Sheffield Wednesday football player.
- Fabricio Werdum, professional mixed martial artist of PRIDE and UFC fame and member of the Chute Box academy.
- Luiz Adriano, football player of FC Shakhtar Donetsk
- Yamandú Costa, acoustic guitar player
- Jose Ramirez Barreto, football player with Mohun Bagan AC, India
Neighborhoods
Neighborhoods of Porto Alegre are geographical divisions of the city. There is no devolution of administrative powers to neighborhoods, although there are several neighborhoods associations devoted to improve their own standards of living. Porto Alegre has nowadays 78 official distinguished neighborhoods and 4 territories.
- See also: Neighborhoods of Porto Alegre
See also
References
External links
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