Belém: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:Ver-oPeso-Belem.jpg|thumb|Mercado Ver-o-Peso.]] |
[[Image:Ver-oPeso-Belem.jpg|thumb|Mercado Ver-o-Peso.]] |
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Among Belém's main tourist attractions are: |
Among Belém's main tourist attractions are: |
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===Amazonia Biopark Zoo=== |
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<ref>[http://www.bioparqueamazonia.com.br/ Bioparque Amazônia]</ref> |
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===Rodrigues Alves Wood–Botanic Garden=== |
===Rodrigues Alves Wood–Botanic Garden=== |
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Revision as of 10:30, 31 January 2009
Belém | |
|---|---|
Municipality | |
| The Municipality of Belém do Pará | |
| Guajará Bay Guajará Bay | |
 Flag  Seal | |
| Nickname(s): "Cidade das Mangueiras" ("City of Mango Trees") | |
| Motto(s): Os Estados do Norte estão conosco e nos seguem (Northern states are for us and follow us) | |
 Location of Belém in the State of Pará | |
 | |
| Country |  Brazil |
| Region | North |
| State |  Pará |
| Founded | January 12, 1616 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Duciomar Costa (PTB) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1,070 km2 (410 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 10 m (30 ft) |
| Population (2007) | |
| • Total | 1,408,847 |
| • Density | 1,322/km2 (3,420/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC3 |
| HDI (2000) | 0.806 – high |
| Website | Belém, Pará |
Belém is a city on the banks of the Amazon estuary, in the northern part of Brazil. It is the capital of the state of Pará. It is the entrance gate to the Amazon with a busy port, airport and coach station. Belem lies about 60 miles upriver from the Atlantic Ocean. The river is the Pará, part of the greater Amazon River system, separated from the larger part of the Amazon delta by Ilha de Marajó (Marajo Island).
Founded in 1616, Belém was the first European colony on the Amazon but didn't become part of the Brazilian nation until 1775. Its metropolitan area has approximately 2.09 million inhabitants. It is also known as Metropolis of the Brazilian Amazon region or Cidade das Mangueiras (city of mango trees) due to the number of those trees found in the city. The newer part of the city has modern buildings and skyscrapers.
The colonial portion retains the charm of tree-filled Squares, churches and traditional blue tiles. Belém is served by the Val de Cães International Airport (BEL) that connects the city to the rest of the country and other cities in South America. Brazilians often refer to the city as Belém do Pará ("Belém of Pará") rather than just Belém so as to differentiate it from Bethlehem in Palestine.
The city is home to the Federal University of Pará. The city has a rich history and architecture from colonial times, a natural rubber boom, World War II, 1960-70s Amazonic rediscovery and, recently, a skyscraper boom.
Geography
Climate
An equatorial climate is a type of tropical climate in which there is no dry season. All months have mean precipitation values of at least 60 mm. It is usually found at latitudes within five degrees of the equator, which are dominated by the Intertropical Convergence Zone. The equatorial climate is denoted Af in the Köppen climate classification. Tropical rainforest is the natural vegetation in equatorial regions.
Vegetation
The Amazon represents over half of the planet's remaining rainforests and comprises the largest and most species-rich tract of tropical rainforest in the world. Wet tropical forests are the most species-rich biome, and tropical forests in the Americas are consistently more species rich than the wet forests in Africa and Asia.[1] As the largest tract of tropical rainforest in the Americas, the Amazonian rainforests have unparalleled biodiversity. More than 1/3 of all species in the world live in the Amazon Rainforest.[2] The largest biodiversity of the planet is present across the State of Amazonas.
History
In 1616 the fortified settlement of Feliz Lusitânia, later called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão Pará (Our Lady of Bethlehem of the Great Para River) and Santa Maria de Belém (St. Mary of Bethlehem), was established, consolidating Portuguese supremacy over the French in what is now northern Brazil. Belém was given city status in 1655 and was made capital of the State when Pará state was separated from Maranhão in 1772. The early decades of the 19th century were marked by political instability. Uprisings and internecine strife were finally ended in 1836, after considerable loss of life.[3]
The sugar trade was important in the Belém region until the end of the 17th century. Thereafter the city's economic importance alternately rose and fell. Cattle ranching supplanted sugar until the 18th century, when cultivation of rice, cotton, and coffee became profitable. With the settlement of southern Brazil, where such crops could be produced more reasonably, Belém declined again. The city subsequently became the main exporting centre of the Amazon rubber industry, and by 1866 its position was further enhanced by the opening of the Amazon, Tocantins, and Tapajós rivers to navigation. The rubber era terminated after the boom of 1910–12, but Belém continued to be the main commercial centre of northern Brazil and the entrepôt for the Amazon valley.[4]
The most valuable products now exported from the Amazon by way of Belém are aluminum, iron ore, and other metals.[5] Nuts (chiefly Brazil nuts), pineapples, cassava, jute, wood veneers, and hardwoods. Japanese immigration after the 1930s was an important factor in developing jute and black pepper, notably at Tomé-Açu, just south of Belém, and near Santarém.[6] Marajó Island, the largest fluvial island in the world, which lies just across the Rio Pará from Belém, has some livestock grazing.[7] Electricity is provided by the massive Tucuruí Dam, some 200 miles (300 km) southwest of the city on the Tocantins River.[8]
Belém has a modern appearance with tree-lined streets, several plazas and public gardens, and many noteworthy buildings. The north's leading educational and cultural centre, it is the seat of a bishopric, and its cathedral (Igreja da Sé, founded in 1917) is one of Brazil's largest. Santo Alexandre, the oldest of Belém's churches, was built in 1616. The Museu (museum) Paraense Emílio Goeldi, the Teatro da Paz (a classical theatre), and the public library and archives are other notable institutions. The Universidade Federal do Pará (1957), a teacher-training school, an agricultural institute, and an institute for research on tropical diseases are also in the city. The Ver-o-Peso (Portuguese: "see the weight") market in the old port centre is a major tourist attraction. The city is also home to a large football (soccer) stadium.
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.
Education institutions
- Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA);
- Universidade do Estado do Pará (UEPA);
- Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia (UFRA);
- Universidde da Amazônia (UNAMA);
- Centro Universitário do Pará (Cesupa);
- and many others.
Culture
Círio de Nazaré
On the second Sunday in October, Pará celebrates the largest and greatest religious event in Brazil. The procession of the Círio of Nazaré. History goes that the popular Círio tradition started when a farmer and lumberman called Plácido José de Souza found an image of the Saint at the margin of the Murucutu creek, where the Basilic of Nazaré stands today. The humble man, then, decided to take the image home. However, the image would mysteriously go back to the place where it was initially found every time he took it home. So Plácido decided to build, at the margin of the creek, a small chapel. This episode was reported throughout the region as miraculous, attracting hundreds of believers to see the image and pay homage to it.
Since then, the Círio is celebrated as a long procession of faith, in which thousands of people follow the saint through the streets of Belém, in a manifestation that lasts around 5 hours for unity, emotion and devotion, with no distinction of social classes, to express the strongest devotion to the belief. The Círio is the regarded as the "Christmas of the Amazon" because it's a moment of congregation in which everyone is involved in the arrangements to receive the saint, in an atmosphere of fraternity with people becoming more sympathetic and happier. In early September, minor celebrations take place as a spiritual preparation for the Círio, with thousands of images scattered all over the capital and neighboring cities, gathering families from different parts of the capital to run pilgrimage of Our Lady among choirs and prayers.
In the old times the celebration was limited to the Trasladação (Transfer), the Círio, the Procession and the Re-círio (post-Círio). But it was necessary to incorporate new manifestations to the tradition due to the people's yearning to honor their patron saint. On Saturday morning, prior to the Círio, the Saint is taken to the square of Ananindeua, a nearby city, in front of the Main Church to start at 6 am the Road Pilgrimage, organized by the Pará State Cargo Transportation Companies' Union (SINDICARPA), which conducts the image to the Icoaraci pier by road for a field mass.
Then, the river pilgrimage starts. It was created and organized by the former president of the Pará Tourism Company (PARATUR), Carlos Roque, to honor the "water men" who regard the Virgin of Nazareth as their patron saint. PARATUR also promotes a traditional ship contest to award the most originally decorated boat. When the Sacred Image leaves Icoaraci in the event's official ship, a Navy's Corvette, it is followed by tens of boats and ships of all colors and types, decorated to greet the Virgin and follow her through the waters of the Guajará Bay to the pier of Belém, where it will be escorted by motorcyclists all the way to the Gentil Bittencourt School, only leaving at 6 pm for the Trasladação (Transfer), which is a symbolism for reviving the story of the discovery of the Saint and its return to the place where it was found, in a candle-lit procession, following the Carriage that is tied to a rope that is carried by the faithful until it arrives at the Sé Cathedral.
During its course, a firework show takes place with thousands of colorful fireworks, sponsored by the Stevedores' Union, marking the passage of the Saint until its arrival at the Cathedral, where it is received, gently, with a religious program. At daybreak of the next day, the faithful start to gather at the Old City, believing that this will bring them closer to the Virgin. At around 4 am, the rope is stretched by Our Lady's guards and, within minutes, is held by the "vowers", who have long looked forward to an incredible back-and-forth choreography, like human waves, sparking the solidarity from the bystanders, who try to quench the thirst of those carrying the rope by offering them water.
While the 12 cars that take part in the procession, like the scouts' barge, the new barge, the angels' barge, the miracle's barge, amongst others, are orderly positioned to receive wax figures, wooden house miniatures and other images to thank for their achievements over the year. At 7 o'clock, the archbishop conducts Our Lady's image to the carriage as the bells toll and the fireworks explode, thus setting the beginning of the biggest religious event of Latin America.
Throughout the course, the faithful make reflections on biblical themes, pray, sing, pay homage with a shredded paper shower, lifting their arms towards the sky, acclaiming during the procession and praising the Virgin. From the Padre Champagnat Street towards the Ver-o-Peso Market, passing by Portugal Avenue and Castilho França Boulevard, going up the Presidente Vargas Avenue, reaching the Republic Square to get to the Nazaré Avenue as far as the Architectonic Centre of Nazareth, known for its Sanctuary Square.
As it arrives at the square, the image is removed from the carriage for the celebration of a mass and then lifted so that everybody will be blessed by the patron saint of Pará. This marks the end of the procession, which is filled with emotion and endless applause by the crowd.
The festivities are 15 days long, with religious celebrations, like the Children's Círio, and its procession, held two Sundays after the Círio. Cultural activities, visiting the Círio Museum, and leisure, with an amusement park at the Arraial de Nazaré. The Re-Círio marks the end of the celebrations, with a shorter course, but with no less emotion, for the Saint's farewell, with tears, waving with white handkerchiefs, hope and thanks, to the Gentil Bittencourt chapel, bringing a feeling of lightness and renovation to expect for another year.
Convention and Fair Center of the Amazon
Built in a 23.000-square-meter area, the Hangar – Convention and Fair Center of the Amazon has 12 rooms, ticket offices, baggage keeping, press room, food court, among other administrative areas, distributed in two big buildings with a parking lot for 800 vehicles. In the entire outdoor area, genuine Amazonian trees will soon be planted. With Hangar, Belém joins the market of the national congresses that, at each time, take place in a different city, and that had never been held in the Northern region. An example is the Brazilian Computer Network Society Congress.
Actually, Hangar has one of the best technologies available in the world, it is the most modern and functional space of events of the country. The business tourism sector really grew in the last years all over Brazil. According to the Brazilian Association of Convention and Fair Centers (Abraccef), on average, there are 17.500 events happening in the 53 main convention and exhibition centers of Brazil. These activities bring together approximately 28 million participants. Belém has a great potential for this type of tourism, one of the segments that most produces jobs and income in the whole world. Such potentiality can be better explored by one of the most modern centers for the development of the activity in Brazil. The auditorium, where the main SBC 2008 debates are going to be held, has room for 2.160 participants.
Architecture
In many ways, Belém's colonial architecture reflects the seventeenth century architecture of Lisbon in Portugal which served as the inspiration for the main housing projects of the time, with the frequent use of tile-hung facades. Many of the buildings at the end of the nineteenth century and early twentieth century also echo French architecture.
Tourism and recreation
Among Belém's main tourist attractions are:
Amazonia Biopark Zoo
Rodrigues Alves Wood–Botanic Garden
Inspired by the "Bois de Boulogne" Park in Paris), the Rodrigues Alves Wood is a little piece of Amazonia preserved in the middle of the city. Comprising of 16 hectares, in the ample Avenida Almirante Barroso, one of the city's busiest thoroughfares, having 2,500 native species, an orchidary, lakes, caverns, waterfalls and even a replica mountain. There you can see small animals characteristic to the region, such as squirrel monkeys agoutis and macaws.
The Estação das Docas Complex
The Estação das Docas Complex reopened the windows of Belém to Guajará Bay. The restoration project covers the area of old warehouses of the Pará Docks Company. Constructed from prefabricated metal structures in England and that were built at the beginning of the twentieth century in Belém.[10]
There are 18 thousand square meters of urbanised area, with coffee bar services, various restaurants, stores, travel agencies, banks, in addition to an auditorium and two memorials: The Porto Memorial and the Fortaleza de São Pedro Nolasco Memorial There is, also, a fluvial station and extensive external area.
Mercado Ver-o-Peso (Check-the-weight Market)
Created in 1688, as a result of the Portuguese deciding to levy a tax for everything entering and leaving Amazonia. Despite resembling a large retailer, the mixture of colours, fragrances and objects is very interesting as well as folkloric.
Medicinal herbs, various regional fruits, arts and crafts, domestic utilities, meats, fish and seasonings and spices can be found there. The Market brings together two thousand stalls and traders in every part and is located near to the old Mercado de Ferro (Iron market), on the quays.
World Social Forum
The World Social Forum 2009 takes place from January 27 to February 1 in the Brazilian city of Belém, the capital of the State of Pará and the northeastern gateway to the Amazon jungle region. The global economic crisis and its effects, as well as environmental and climate issues will be high on the agenda at this forum that gathers civil society and social movements around the world.[11]
The World Social Forum (WSF) is an opened space, plural, diverse, non-governmental and non-partisan, that stimulates the decentralized debate, reflection, proposals building, experiences exchange and alliances among movements and organizations engaged in concrete actions towards a more solidary, democratic and fair world. The World Social Forum shown the civil society mobilization capacity when organized in new ways of political action, based on diversity and co-responsibility.
The success of the first edition resulted in the formation of the International Council, and it's first meeting a Charter of Principles was approved in order to guarantee the World Social Forum as a permanent space and process to build alternatives to neoliberalism. In the present time, there are local, regional and thematic Foruns all over the World following this Charter of Principles. In the year of 2008, to highlight this process, a Global Day of Action and Mobilization happened in January 26th.
Infrastructure
International airport
Belém International Airport is the airport serving the city of Belém. Since 2001, Belém International Airport has been an example of the standard Infraero implements at its airports. Standing out in the midst of the Amazon vastness, the building design uses plane curves on its roof to permit light to enter its entire large terminal hall.
The architect Sérgio Parada used his creativity to adopt multiple-use totems integrated with light projectors, a sound system, air conditioning and public telephones. Currently Belém International Airport serves demand of 2.7 million passengers a year, in a constructed area of 33,255.17 square meters.[12]
Traditionally called Val-de-Cans Airport, it is responsible for increasing tourism in the Amazon region, as well as for the outflow of products and attracting new investments. The passenger terminal is fully air conditioned on two levels and has futuristic architecture, designed to take advantage of natural lighting. People with special needs have individualized service with own equipment at specific locations to facilitate their circulation. The terminal's interior is decorated with plants native to the Amazon region and is enclosed by a source able to imitate the sound of the rains that fall every day in the region.
Highways
Main access to Belém is through the BR-153 motorway, better known as the Belém-Brasília motorway, and from BR-316, coming from northeast Brazil.
Distances
- São Paulo: 2933 Km
- Rio de Janeiro: 3250 Km
- Brasília: 2120 Km
- Manaus: 5298 Km
Sister City
References
- ^ Turner, I.M. 2001. The ecology of trees in the tropical rain forest. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. ISBN 0-521-80183-4
- ^ Amazon Rainforest, Amazon Plants, Amazon River Animals
- ^ History of Belém
- ^ Rubber era in Belém
- ^ Metals in Belém
- ^ Japanese Immigration to Pará and Belém
- ^ About Marajó Island
- ^ Tucuruí Dam
- ^ Bioparque Amazônia
- ^ Estação das Docas
- ^ World Social Forum in Belém
- ^ International Airport of Belém
External links
Definitions from Wiktionary
Media from Commons
News from Wikinews
Quotations from Wikiquote
Texts from Wikisource
Textbooks from Wikibooks
Resources from Wikiversity
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