Alegrete

City of Alegrete
Seal
Coordinates: 29°47′01.63″S 55°47′27.54″W
Country	Brazil
Region	Sul
State	Rio Grande do Sul
Founded	October 25, 1831
Government
• Mayor	Erasmo Guterres da Silva (PMDB)
Area
• Total	7,804 km2 (3,013.1 sq mi)
Elevation	102 m (335 ft)
Population (2008)IBGE 2008 statistics
• Total	78,984
• Density	11.34/km2 (29.4/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-3 (UTC-3)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-2 (UTC-2)
Website	Prefeitura de Alegrete

Alegrete is a town and a municipality in Rio Grande do Sul located in southern Brazil. Its medium altitude is 102 m. Its estimated population in 2008 was 78,984 inhabitants and the total area is 7,803.967 km² (the largest municipality of the State). Its inhabitants are called Alegretenses.

Alegrete was settled in 1816 and became a municipality in 1857. It is the hometown of the abolitionist leader Franklin Gomes Souto, of the politician, diplomat and statesman Osvaldo Aranha, first President of the United Nations General Assembly, and of the Brazilian poet Mário Quintana. Every September 20 (War of the Farrapos Day), about 8,000 young, adult and old horsemen and horsewomen parade through its streets, using their native costumes and riding their horses with trappings.

External links

• Alegrete (Google Maps)
• Alegrete (Official Website)