About Rio Grande do Sul
Land of the Gaucho
Jos 14:12 “Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims [were] there, and [that] the cities [were] great [and] fenced: if so be the LORD [will be] with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the LORD said.”
Rio Grande do Sul is a mountainous area with breathtaking scenery!
Caxias do Sul
History
The history of Caxias do Sul starts before the Italians, when the region was being roamed by cattlemen and occupied by Indians. Back then, the region was called ‘Indians Field’. The Italian immigrants’ occupation, mostly farmers from the Veneto region (Italy), started taking place in 1875 in Nova Milano. Hence, they were in search of a better place to live. They also met people from Lombardy, Trento, and other places. Although they had gotten some governmental support, such as tools, supplies, and seeds, everything had to be reimbursed.
Two years later, the colonial headquarters of the Indians’ Field was given the name Caxias Colony. The town was created on the 20th of July 1890 and acknowledged in the same year, on the 24th of August. Many economic cycles marked the evolvement of the city throughout that century. The first one is connected to the most peculiar aspect of its cultural identity: the growth of vines and the production of wine for own consumption at first, and later on, for commercialization.
On June first, 1910 Caxias do Sul was elevated to the category of city. On the same day, the first train arrived connecting the region to the state capital. Although the immigrants were farmers, many of them used to perform other activities. They settled down, urbanized the region, and started a fast paced process of industrialization.
In the countryside, subsistence agriculture concentrates on the cultivation of grapes, wheat, and corn. Home manufactories start to emerge and the overproduction was commercialized. In the beginning, grape and wheat. As time went by, along with the human process the home manufacture became diverse. Then, Caxias do Sul evolved from small home workshops to today’s big factories known internationally.
The University of Caxias do Sul was founded in 1976, a systematical center for culture.
Nowadays, Caxias do Sul is the main city of the most diversified region in the country, due to its industrious colonists, vast vineyards, wineries, varied industrial park, and a rich and dynamic market. Those attributes grant this land a greater dimension, the reason why Caxias do Sul, “the capital of the mountains”, “pearl of the colonies”, “hive of work”, is considered the center of the Italian mark in southern Brazil per se.
Along with the immigrants, other ethnic groups shared this path. Miscegenation and acculturation took place. Songs and language, customs and traditions have approached. The Italian cultural heritage and the beautiful southern tradition live together. Barbecue (churrasco) and wine, polenta (porridge made of cornmeal) and roasted spring chicken (galeto), and pasta to the sound of beautiful lyrics translated from the faraway Italy and other local productions, provide hues, sounds, and special flavors to this metropolis’ typical cookery. It’s the southern abundance combined with the so special Italian flavoring.
Population growth
The following table shows the development of the number of inhabitants according to census data of IBGE.
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Climate
The city is located in the mountains of the Serra Gaucha, 760 m (about 2000 feet) above sea level. Its climate is subtropical. The average annual temperature is 16°C, with 21°C in January and 11° in July. Frosts are common in the winter, and there is on average one snowy day per year. Its record temperature extremes are -12°C and 37°C.
Economy
In Caxias do Sul, several small, medium, large and multinational companies were founded. The city is recognized as an Entrepreneurial-Exporting Hub in the country. Some of these companies are: Marcopolo (buses and truck frames, present in six countries), it is present in its own manufacturing companies in Brazil, Portugal, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia and in South African, in addition to the technology that will be transferred to China. One of the largest manufacturers of bus bodies in the world, it has recently also begun to operate in the segment of LCV (Light Commercial Vehicles), parts and components, and plastic products. It also has over 10,000 employees and a commercial and after-sales network spread over the 5 continents; Randon S.A. - Implementos e Participações is a mixed holding company, leader of a group of seven companies that employ a workforce of 6,6 thousand employees. They operate in the sectors of road equipment / railway wagons / specialty vehicles/ auto parts/ automotive systems, and services; Agrale S/A which owns 4 industrial plants, being the only Brazilian company with 100% national capital making vehicles, tractors and diesel engines; Tramontina silverware company based in Carlos Barbosa with plants throughout Brazil; Grendene, a manufacturer of shoes based in neighboring Farroupilha; Todeschini, a manufacturer of furniture based in nearby Bento Gonçalves, the wine capital of Brazil; Florense based in Flores da Cunha, (furniture, tailor-made kitchen cabinets) among others and several textile factories and wineries. The per capita income in Caxias do Sul is one of the highest in Brazil according to IBGE.
Politics
As of January 2006, the mayor is José Ivo Sartori, of the PMDB party. He succeeds former mayor Pepe Vargas, of the PT party, who served two consecutive terms.
Soccer Teams
Caxias do Sul is home to the S.E.R. Caxias and Juventude soccer clubs. In general, Juventude is viewed as the team of the wealthy fan while the S.E.R. Caxias team is an underdog team favored by the working class. Even though both teams have recently claimed the Campeonato Gaúcho, Juventude has had greater luck at national level, since the team has been in the first division of the Campeonato Brasileiro for over ten years, while Caxias, as of 2006, plays in the third division. Juventude also has the third biggest population of fans in the state, just behind the two major teams of the state capital city, Porto Alegre.
Tourism
The city has many tourist attractions to offer to its visitors: museums, churches, culture, music and all types of leisure activities. Beautiful nature can be found in the city and the surroundings. Parks provide good places to hang out with friends and the family while the mountains give you incredibly beautifu views. Some of the buildings in the city and outskirts were built many years ago by italians when they first came here.
The city also hosts the popular National Grape and Wine Festival,which celebrates the italian heritage. It's one of the most famous events in the country and it's called Festa da Uva. Lots of merrymaking, wine drinking, grapes and beautiful people animate the month of February, every two years (on even-numbered years).Visitors taste cheese, grapes and various Brazilian wines. Visitors interested in the regions wine can also visit the Château Lacave Castle, a 6th Century-style medieval structure that currently functions as a winery. Caxias do Sul is also one of the four settlements along the beautiful Caminhos da Colônia scenic tourist route in the Serra Gaúcha.
Rio Grande do Sul
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rio Grande do Sul (pron. IPA: [ʁiu 'gɾɐ̃.dʒi du suw] [1]; English: "Large Southern River") is the southernmost state of Brazil, and one of the states with the highest standard of life. It is bordered on the north by the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Uruguay, and on the west by Argentina.
History
Despite being mainly rural for much of its early history, Rio Grande do Sul served as the launching pad for several wars Brazil waged against its southern and western neighbors. It also was a focal point for internal rebellion in the 19th century. Getulio Vargas, who led Brazil as dictator from 1930 and later was elected president in 1950, was a native of Rio Grande do Sul (known as Gaúchos).
Rio Grande do Sul's prairies have been the scene of bloody wars: the dispute between Portugal and Spain for the Sacramento Colony, the Guarani Missions War, the War of Tatters, the Federalist Revolution, the Maurers Revolt and the Vargas's levant.
Rio Grande do Sul's population consists primarily of the descendants of European immigrants, especially Portuguese, Italians, and Germans and, to a much smaller extent, groups of Poles, Spanish, Russians, Lithuanians, Ukrainians and Jews. In the 1960s, a number of Japanese immigrants settled in various parts of the state, most notably in the town of Ivoti.
The first German immigrant families arrived in Rio Grande do Sul in 1824 at the town of São Leopoldo, and within the next one hundred years an estimated quarter of a million Germans settled in Brazil, mostly in Rio Grande do Sul and the neighboring state of Santa Catarina.
Most of the German speakers in southern Brazil spoke or eventually adopted the Hunsrückisch dialect so that it became the most commonly used German dialect in this part of the world and is still spoken by millions today (also referred to as Riograndenser Hunsrückisch to differentiate it from the Hunsrückisch spoken in Germany).
In its 180 years of history Riograndenser Hunsrückisch has been greatly influenced by other German dialects (such as Pomeranian, Pfälzisch) and by immigrant languages such as the national language, Portuguese but also to some degree by Italian.
Talian is a uniquely Brazilian variety of Italian not spoken anywhere else in the world. The emergence of Talian in Rio Grande do Sul happened because of the great variety of Italian dialects that came together into a fairly compact and specific geographical location of the state. Talian is frequently called Vêneto because it is close to the Venetian language spoken in Italy's Veneto region.
Italian immigrants began arriving in the area in the late 1800's, settling mostly in the hilly Northeastern parts of Rio Grande do Sul. Soon the region became the most important grape and wine-producing region in Brazil. Although the climate does not favor the production of the finest wines, the last few years have seen great progress in winemaking, especially with white sparkling wines.
All minority languages in southern Brazil have experienced a significant degrees of decline in the last few decades, not only immigrant languages such as Italian or Talian and German, but also the indigenous languages of the Kaingang (also spelled Kaingáng, Cainguangue, etc.) and the Guaraní.
In the far western area of the state are the remnants of Brazil's 17th century Jesuit missions or reductions (aldeias) to the Guaraní Indians. Important to the region, it should be noted that Jesuit Father Roque Gonzales also known as Roque Gonzales de Santa Cruz arrived from Paraguay on the 3rd of May of 1626 to establish the Saint Nicolas mission (today known as São Nicolau) was the first white person to enter in what is today know as the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Of all the ruins left behind by the vanished Guarani Missions, the most significant one is São Miguel or São Miguel Arcanjo, located nearby the present city of Santo Ângelo. There is an ongoing Light and Sound (or Som e Luz in Portuguese) show presented at the ruins of the São Miguel church. Originally part of Uruguayan territory it was lost in the Uruguayan struggle for independence. Uruguay could have lost all of the Rio Grande do Sul area if not for the help of Argentina, which wanted to defeat Brazil.
Tourism
Ecotourism is very popular in the Germanesque cities of Gramado and Canela; their cold weather is among their attractions for internal tourism. Tourism is also high in the wine regions of the state, principally Caxias do Sul and Bento Gonçalves. The pampas of the native Brazilian gaúcho are both a national and international curiosity to tourists and their customs are alive in the capital city of Porto Alegre as well as in the cities of the "interior" or western Rio Grande do Sul such as Santa Maria and Passo Fundo. The state is also home to the historic São Miguel das Missões, the ruins of an 18th century Jesuit Mission.
Hortênsia flowers in Gramado, part of the Região das Hortênsias and Rota Romântica
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Tourist Routes
The state of Rio Grande do Sul and its cities have developed a series scenic routes to appeal to tourists. The Rota Romântica is a popular scenic drive that exhibits the diverse Germanic culture of the mountainous regions of the state referred to as the Serra Gaúcha. One can visit the states Italian settlements through Caminhos da Colônia, tour the wine country through the Rota da Uva e o Vinho and visit a subsection of the Rota Romântica called the Região das Hortênsias, the region filled with beautiful blue hydrangea flowers each spring.
Main towns
Porto Alegre (the state capital), Caxias do Sul, Pelotas, Osório, Canoas, São Leopoldo, Novo Hamburgo, Santa Maria, Rio Grande, Passo Fundo, Santa Cruz do Sul, Erechim, Gravataí, Bento Gonçalves, Uruguaiana, Livramento, Gramado, Nova Petropolis, Canela and Bagé.
Ethnic groups
- 85% white
- Italian-Brazilians (30%);
- German-Brazilians (25%);
- Portuguese-Brazilians (25%);
- 5% others (Polish Brazilians, Ukrainian-Brazilians, Russians-Brazilians, etc)
- 9% mixed ethnicism (mixed European and American Indian ancestry, mixed European and African, mixed African and American Indian ancestry or mixed European, African and American Indian ancestry)
- 5.4% Afro-Brazilian
- 0.4% Asian (see Japanese-Brazilian and Chinese-Brazilian)
- 0.2% Native American
Minority Languages
Minority languages spoken in Rio Grande do Sul can be divided into two groups: Indigenous languages (Guarani, Caingangue, etc.) and European derived Languages (Portuñol, Talian, Veneto/Italian, Riograndenser Hunsrückisch, Low German, Pommeranisch -German dialects-, Polish and other Slavic languages).
Economy
One of the most prosperous Brazilian states, Rio Grande do Sul is known especially for grain production, viticulture, ranching, and for its considerable industrial output. Natives of the state are known as Gaúchos, named after the cattle herders and ranchers who settled the state's pampa regions.
Flag
The flag was established by law no. 5213 of January 5, 1966. However, its design dates back much more. The independent Rio Grande Republic adopted the flag in 1836, in 1891 the shield in the center was added. According to the common interpretion of the flag colors the green and yellow stands for the Flag of Brazil and the red for the blood spilt during the internal rebellion for the independent Rio Grande Republic.
Culture
The state of Rio Grande do Sul is renowned as one of the most culturally rich states of Brazil. Rio Grande's music is a blend of many styles (Prata's Rhythms in the main), including the Chamamé, Milonga, Polca, Chacarera and Tango. The inhabitants of the state are famous in the country for drinking chimarrão, a local version of the mate drunk in neighbouring Uruguay and Argentina.
About 74% of all Brazilians claim to be members of the Roman Catholic Church; most of the remaining 26% adhere to various Protestant faiths, Kardecism, Candomblé, Umbanda, Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism.
(Dave Cato)
I have heard that in Rio Grande do Sul 80% are professing Catholics and 60% also are practicing spiritism such as Kardecism, Candomblé and Umbanda.
