Pelotas

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Município de Pelotas
Flag Seal
Nickname: Princess of the South
Location in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Coordinates: 31°46′19″S 52°20′33″W / -31.77194, -52.3425
Country	Brazil
Region	South
State	Rio Grande do Sul
Founded	1812
Incorporated	1832 (town)
	1835 (city)
Government
- Mayor	Adolfo Antônio Fetter Jr. (PP)
Area [1]
- Total	1,609 km² (621.2 sq mi)
Elevation	7 m (23 ft)
Population (2006 est.)[1]
- Total	346,452
- Density	215.32/km² (557.7/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-3 (UTC-3)
- Summer (DST)	UTC-2 (UTC-2)
Website: Prefeitura de Pelotas

This article is about a city. For the river of the same name, see Pelotas River.

Pelotas is a Brazilian city, the third most populous in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. Pelotas is located 271 km (168 mi) from Porto Alegre, the capital city of Rio Grande do Sul, and 150 km (93 mi) from the Uruguayan border. The Lagoa dos Patos lies to the east and the São Gonçalo Channel lies to the south, separating Pelotas from the city of Rio Grande.

In the 19th century, Pelotas was Brazil's leading center for production of dried meat (charque), a staple food made by slaves and destined to feed the slaves of sugarcane, coffee and cocoa plantations across the country.^[2][3][4]

Currently Pelotas hosts two major universities, the Federal University of Pelotas,^[5] and the Catholic University of Pelotas.^[6] Together, they account for a population of 22 thousand students in higher education.

The city claims three football clubs: Grêmio Esportivo Brasil (also known as Brasil de Pelotas; founded 1911),^[7] Esporte Clube Pelotas (founded 1908)^[8] and Grêmio Atlético Farroupilha (founded 1926).^[9]

[edit] History

The history of the city begins in June 1758, through a donation that Gomes Freire de Andrade, Count of Bobadela, made to Colonel Thomáz Luiz Osório, giving him land that lay on the banks of the Lagoa dos Patos. In 1763, fleeing the Spanish invasion, many inhabitants of the village Rio Grande sought refuge in the land belonging to Osório. Later, there also came refugees from Colônia do Sacramento, which had been handed over by the Portuguese to the Spanish in 1777.

In 1780, the Portuguese rancher José Pinto Martins established himself in Pelotas. The prosperity of his establishment stimulated the creation of other ranches and growth in the region, creating a population that would define the early city.

The Civil Parish of São Francisco de Paula, founded on June 7, 1812, by Father Pedro Pereira de Mesquita, was elevated to the category of town on April 7, 1832. Three years later, in 1835, the town was declared a city, bearing the name Pelotas.^[10]

In Brazil, 'pelota' can refer to a leather raft, and the name of the city comes from the boats made of cork oak covered with animal skins, used to cross rivers in ranching times.^[3]

In the first years of the 20th century, progress was stimulated by the Banco Pelotense (Bank of Pelotas), founded in 1906 by local investors. Its liquidation, in 1931, was devastating to the local economy.^[11]

The State Complementary Law number 9184, of 1990, created the Urban Agglomeration of Pelotas, which, in 2001, became the Urban Agglomeration of Pelotas and Rio Grande, and in 2002 the Urban Agglomeration of the South. The goal is to firmly integrate the participating cities and is the beginning of a future metropolitan region. It would include the cities Arroio do Padre, Capão do Leão, Pelotas, Rio Grande and São José do Norte, which have a joint population of approximately 600,000 inhabitants.^[12]

[edit] Geography

The Laranjal on the coast of the Lagoa dos Patos

[edit] Topography

Because it is situated on a plain near the ocean, the urban area lies on a low elevation, being, on average, 7 meters (23 ft) above sea level. The interior of the city is on a plateau called Serras de Sudeste (Southeast Mountain Range). Consequently, the altitude in Pelotas' rural area reaches 429 meters (1,407.4 ft) in the Quilombo district.

The city stretches to the Laranjal, a bairro on the coast of the Lagoa dos Patos. Beyond the coastal regions Santo Antônio and Valverde, the area also has an even more remote area, the Balneário dos Prazeres (popularly known as Barro Duro, lit. "hard mud"), and Colônia Z-3, a fishing village that primarily explores the art of shrimping.

[edit] Climate

The climate of Pelotas is subtropical or temperate.

Summers are warm with regular rainfall. Winters are cool with frequent frosts (about 20 per year) and fog.

An araucaria tree at dusk near the hippodrome of Pelotas

The hottest month is January with an average temperature of 23°C (73.4°F), and the coldest month is July with an average temperature of 12°C (53.6°F). The wettest month is February with 145 mm (5.7 in) of precipitation. The average annual temperature in the city is 17.5°C (63.5°F) and the average annual precipitation is 1,379 mm (54.29 in), with rain regularly falling all year long. The relative humidity is very high (with an annual average around 80%). There is a popular saying that Pelotas could be the second most humid city in the world, losing only to London.

An interesting meteorological occurrence was the first snowfall, which occurred on July 8, 1994 in Pelotas from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Before this date, there had never been any record of snow in the city. The phenomenon was weakest in the urban parts of the city, and did not cover the ground. However, the snowfall was more intense further inland, in districts such as Cascata and Quilombo, and was able to cover the vegetation in a white blanket.

On August 1, 1955, the city recorded a temperature of -3.4°C (26°F), the lowest recorded temperature. This low was recorded in the urban area of the city, and since the interior of the city has a higher altitude, the temperature there must have been lower. The highest temperature on record in Pelotas happened on January 8, 2006 at 41°C (105°F).

[edit] Vegetation

The larger part of rural Pelotas is made up of fields, with low and herbaceous vegetation (pampa). Small groves of cultivated trees (Babylon willow, eucalyptus, pine, cypress, acacia, poplar and platanus) and native trees (Cockspur coral tree and araucaria angustifolia) are also found. Pelotas is 55km (34 mi) from the Atlantic Ocean, and possesses a beach along the Lagoa dos Patos, called Laranjal. In the vicinity of the beach one can find quagmires and sand dunes.

[edit] Hydrography

Pelotas is part of the watershed of the Camaquã River. The streams Quilombo and Caneleiras drain the city. They meet to form the Arroio de Pelotas, which flows into the São Gonçalo Channel.^[13]

[edit] Culture

[edit] Famous people

Pelotas is the birthplace and home of many nationally famous people, like the regional writer João Simões Lopes Neto (1865-1916), author of Cancioneiro Guasca (1910), Contos Gauchescos (1912) and Lendas do Sul (1913); Hipólito José da Costa, the founder of the printing press in Brazil; the painter Leopoldo Gotuzzo, whose works have surpassed the borders of Pelotas, winning awards and expositions even in Europe; and Antônio Caringi (1905-1981), an internationally-recognized sculptor.^[14]

Also from Pelotas are the poet Lobo da Costa (1853-1888), the lyrical singer Zola Amaro (1891-1944), the singers and composers Kleiton & Kledir and Vitor Ramil, the actress Glória Menezes, and the soccer players Emerson Ferreira da Rosa and Daniel Carvalho.

[edit] Places of interest

The Public Library of Pelotas was founded in 1875, and constructed with materials brought over from Europe. Pelotas has two theatres, the Sete de Abril and the Guarani Theatre. The Sete de Abril, which was constructed in 1831, is one of the most traditional theatres in Brazil. The city boasts three museums: the Carlos Ritter Museum of Natural History, the Leopoldo Gotuzzo Museum of Art, and the Museum of the Baroness.

[edit] Events

One major attraction is the Fenadoce, a display of sweets prepared from traditional 18th century Portuguese recipes. More than 300,000 people come to the annual event, which began in 1986. Formerly held in different locations each year, today it is always celebrated in the Centro Internacional de Cultura e Eventos (International Center of Culture and Events).

[edit] Demographics

[edit] Ethnicities

The first immigrants to the region were the Portuguese, coming mostly from the Azores, something which profoundly influenced the culture of the city, especially in its architecture and cuisine.

Catholic sanctuary of Guadalupe, located in the Cascata district

The countryside of Pelotas

Another important immigration was that of the Germans (the majority from Pomerania), even though they preferred to settle in rural areas, unlike the Portuguese, who settled in the city itself. Also worthy to mention are other ethnicities that settled in Pelotas, such as Africans (descendents of slaves), Italians, Poles, French, Jews, Lebanese Arabs, etc. The number of descendants from indigenous peoples, despite being unknown, is probably very small.

In a 2005 study there were 280,897 whites, 34,172 blacks, 25,395 of mixed ethnicities, 998 native Brazilians, 498 Asians, and 998 with an unknown ethnicity.

[edit] Religion

In regards to religion, the majority of inhabitants (about 50%) are Roman Catholic, followed by Protestant religions (especially among the people of German origin), such as Evangelical Lutheran and Anglican sects. In recent times there has also been a growing number of Jehovah's Witnesses and Latter-day Saints.^[15] Other noteworthy religions include Spiritism and Afro-Brazilian ritualism (such as Umbanda and Candomblé).^[4]

[edit] Economy

A derelict rice factory located near the São Gonçalo Channel

The economy of Pelotas is mostly agricultural and commercial. The latter is largely represented by Arabs, mostly Lebanese (erroneously referred to as Turks) and a few other foreigners.

The region is the largest producer of peaches for the country's storehouse industry, along with other products such as asparagus, cucumber, fig and strawberries. The city also is a great producer of rice and cattle products. Pelotas produces more milk than anywhere else in the state.^[10]

Pelotas has industries tied to agriculture, textile, leather tanning and bread-making. Reforestation for the production of paper and cellulose has been a rising economic activity in the whole region.

The city is a large commercial center in the region, attracting shoppers to its sidewalk and neighborhood galleries and shops.

The rural area, also called the "colony", due to the fact that German immigrants built isolated farming communities there, is characterized by the production of fruit, rice, and livestock.

In times past the production of charque, or dried beef, was economically important.^[2] The work was usually done by slaves. The charqueadas, as the livestock ranches were called, are still popular tourist attractions, the most famous being the Charqueada Santa Rita and the Charqueada São João.

[edit] Transportation

Pelotas boasts an international airport, which was originally built in 1930 and serves 130,000 passengers annually with two runways. It is located in the Três Vendas bairro.

The city also has a bus system, a port on the shores of the São Gonçalo Channel, and the junction of two major highways (BR-116 and BR-392) nearby.^[13]

[edit] Architecture

The city was strongly influence by Portuguese aesthetics, visible in its large houses with Portuguese ceramics on the façade. Pelotas is very rich in architectural treasures and monuments.

"As Três Meninas" (The Three Girls) Fountain

One example of the many monuments in the city is a fountain called, As Três Meninas, which came from France in 1873, and was placed in the center of the city.

The iron "Caixa D'água"

The largest monument in Pelotas is the iron Caixa d'água, which is located in the Piratinino de Almeida Plaza, and is the only one of its kind in all of Latin America. It was constructed in 1875, and still holds the daily surplus of water in the city. It sits atop 45 columns, and all of its pieces are made of iron. It has forms that are reminiscent of Asian architecture, though all of the materials used in construction were imported from France.

The architecture of the city is distinguished by its churches, the Grand Hotel and the Public Market.

Public Market

The construction of the Public Market was initiated in 1847 and finished in 1853, although between 1911 and 1914 there was a renovation. Its design was fashioned after the Neoclassical style, and was affected by Art Nouveau after 1970 when the building was destroyed by a fire and rebuilt. On it there is a clock tower and an iron lighthouse, imported from Hamburg, Germany, an allusion to the Eiffel Tower.

The Great Hotel was inaugurated in 1928. The building has four floors, presented in the Art Nouveau style. Today the building is closed and belongs to the city government.

Church of the Redeemer

The Church of the Redeemer, also known as the "Shaggy Church", is the headquarters of the Brazilian Episcopalian Church of the Anglican Communion, and became known for its characteristic vegetal covering. It opened its doors in 1892. Its tower is 27 meters tall, and its stained-glass windows are from New York City.

São Francisco de Paula Cathedral

The São Francisco de Paula Cathedral is considered the city's most important religious edifice, due to its size, beauty and the works of art found within its interior. Its construction began in 1813. The cathedral shelters the image of São Francisco de Paula, by an unknown artist, which was brought from Colônia do Sacramento.

The painter Aldo Locatelli, came from Italy especially to make the frescoes on the ceiling and walls of the cathedral, at the invitation of Dom Antônio Záttera, bishop of Pelotas at the time. Although Locatelli would choose to stay in Rio Grande do Sul and make many other important works in Brazil, including paintings and murals, this is considered his greatest work, together with the passion at the Church of São Pelegrino in Caxias do Sul.

Detail of a fresco by Aldo Locatelli on the ceiling of the cathedral

Also deserving attention is the Museum of the Baroness, which was constructed in the 19th century, occupying an area of approximately 7 hectares, possessing 22 parts and an interior patio. Lining it all were many cultivated and varied gardens.

In Pelotas there are still nine sculptures of Antônio Caringi, considered the best gaúcho sculptor.^[14] Among them are: Oferenda, 1942, in bronze, located in the Ecumenical Cemetery São Francisco de Paula; Monumento ao Colono, 1958, in bronze and granite, in the Primeiro de Maio Plaza; Monumento ao Bispo Dom Joaquim Ferreira de Mello, 1942, in bronze and granite, on the Avenue Dom Joaquim; Sentinela Farroupilha, 1935, in bronze, 20 de Setembro Plaza; As Três Idades do Trabalho, in granite, Coronel Pedro Osório Plaza; Dr. Luiz Pereira Lima, 1958, in bronze, Piratinino de Almeida Plaza; Monumento ao Coronel Pedro Osório, 1954, in bronze and granite, Coronel Pedro Osório Plaza; Monumento à Mãe, 1968, in bronze and granite, Coronel Pedro Osório Plaza; Monumento ao Dr. José Brusque 1968, in bronze and granite, Coronel Pedro Osório Plaza.

[edit] Sister cities

• Aracati, Ceará state, Brazil
• Aveiro, Portugal
• Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay
• Suzu, Japan

[edit] Subdivisions

Centro (downtown)

Pontal da Barra at the Colônia Z-3

There are five bairros, or neighborhoods, in Pelotas and several districts:^[16]

[edit] Bairros

• Areal
• Centro
• Fragata
• Laranjal
• Três Vendas

[edit] Districts

• 1^st District- Sede
• 2^nd District- Colônia Z3
• 3^rd District- Cerrito Alegre
• 4^th District- Triunfo
• 5^th District- Cascata
• 6^th District- Santa Silvana
• 7^th District- Quilombo
• 8^th District- Rincão da Cruz
• 9^th District- Monte Bonito

[edit] References

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Pelotas