Porto Alegre

Porto Alegre, one of the largest cities in Brazil, is the capital city of Rio Grande do Sul. Porto Alegre is the most important city of Southern Brazil, being its cultural, political and economical center. Porto Alegre has<ref>"2003." Prefeitura de Porto Alegre. 16 Sept. 2006 <http://www2.portoalegre.rs.gov.br/infocidade/default.php?p_secao=56>.</ref> the best standard of living of all Brazilian capitals and it was the only Brazilian city listed<ref>"2004." Prefeitura de Porto Alegre. 16 Sept. 2006 <http://www2.portoalegre.rs.gov.br/infocidade/default.php?p_secao=57>.</ref> on Jones Lang LaSalle's World Winning Cities.

1 Geography, History and Culture
- 1.1 Neighborhoods
- 1.2 Climate
2 Famous people related to Porto Alegre
3 References
4 External links
- 4.1 More pictures of Porto Alegre

[edit] Geography, History and Culture

The city is located at a delta resulting from the conjunction of five rivers, forming Guaíba Lake (however, it is popularly known 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, and it was initially settled by Azorians. Many families of settlers also came from the city of Rio Grande in the littoral Lagunar region, to the south, a military fortress at that time. Today that city is most important port of Rio Grande do Sul state.

Porto Alegre has recently hosted Globaltech, a science and technology trade show which gathered institutions from Latin America.

There are more than 70 neighborhoods (see below) and 2/3 of the population is concentrated in the Zona Norte (Northern Zone), where most of the economic activity, including the city center, is located.

Porto Alegre has held, in 2001, 2002, 2003 and in 2005, the World Social Forum.

Porto Alegre is the most important industrial center in southern Brazil, and a key city for Mercosul. 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 tea prepared from erva mate). Several important Brazilian universities, such as UFRGS and PUCRS are located there.

Having started 1999, the largest road work ever done in the city, the Terceira Perimetral (Third Perimetral) was built. The Terceira Perimetral is a 12 km long road, connecting the northern and the southern sectors of the city, without passing through the city center. It was finished in November 2006.

Because of its strategic position (Porto Alegre is the southernmost metropolis in Brazil) the city is an important stopping point for travellers and international businessmen in the south of South America, especially from the countries of Mercosul.

Porto Alegre is also one of the wealthiest cities in Latin America, and one of the most diverse. It has harbored immigrants from all over the world, the largest numbers coming from Portugal, Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland. The Arab, Jewish and Afro-Brazilian populations are quite significant as well.

[edit] 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 78 official neighborhoods and 4 unnamed territories: Aberta dos Morros, Chapéu do Sol, Morro Santana and Passo das Pedras.

See also: Neighborhoods of Porto Alegre

[edit] Climate

Porto Alegre has a subtropical climate, with regular precipitation throughout the year. Summer temperatures only occasionally rise above 32ºC, although high levels of humidity make summers very unpleasant. The highest temperature ever registered was 41 ºC in February. Winter has mild temperatures, ranging between 5 ºC to 19 ºC. Snowing is very rare, sometimes confused with sleet. The lowest temperature ever recorded was -4 ºC in July. Occurrence of radiation fog is common, causing several delays in early flights.

Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg high °C	31	31	28	26	22	19	19	20	21	23	27	29
Avg low temperature °C	19	20	18	16	12	9	9	10	12	14	16	18
Source: BBC Weather

Image:Lago do parque da redenção.JPG

[edit] Famous people related to Porto Alegre

Adriana Calcanhotto, singer and instrumentist
Ernesto Geisel, military general and politician
Isaac Karabtchevsky, conductor
Luís Carlos Prestes, Communist leader
Mario Quintana, poet
Elis Regina, singer
Ronaldinho, footballer
Diogo Rincon, footballer
Moacyr Scliar, writer and physician
Luis Fernando Verissimo, writer
Daiane dos Santos, gymnast

Image:Hidraulica3.jpg

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Image:Commons-logo.svg	Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Porto Alegre

[edit] More pictures of Porto Alegre

Porto Alegre and the Guaíba Lake	Brique da Redenção (Flea Market)	Usina do Gasômetro (literally Gasometer Plant)	Araújo Viana Auditorium
Laçador Statue	Sunset over Porto Alegre	Nossa Sra. das Dores Church	Lutheran Church in Porto Alegre
Public library of Porto Alegre	Climate in Porto Alegre

Capitals of Brazilian States	Image:Flag of Brazil.svg
Aracaju \| Belo Horizonte \| Belém \| Boa Vista \| Brasília \| Campo Grande \| Cuiabá \| Curitiba \| Florianópolis \| Fortaleza \| Goiânia \| João Pessoa \| Macapá \| Maceió \| Manaus \| Natal \| Palmas \| Porto Alegre \| Porto Velho \| Recife \| Rio Branco \| Rio de Janeiro \| Salvador \| São Paulo \| São Luís \| Teresina \| Vitória