Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Santa Maria is a city in the central region of Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state of Brazil. It is known for the presence of a big federal university (Universidade Federal de Santa Maria) and a number of private universities and faculties, due to which fact it has a relatively young population.

The name of the city means "Blessed Virgin Mary" in Portuguese. Santa Maria is also known in the region by being the host city of a big religious festival dedicated to the Virgin Mary called "Romaria da Medianeira" (Medianeira is a name of Our Lady that was created in Venice, Italy). Every year, thousands of people from many cities join the festival.

Santa Maria has a population of 243,611. It has a total area of 1825.2 km².

Santa Maria is often referred as the "culture city" (from Portuguese: cidade cultura) mostly because of the great number of students and young adults who engage in many political movements, cultural and social entrepreneurs, and a wide range of academic researches of international strength.

[edit] External links

• The City's Official Website (in portuguese)
• Federal University of Santa Maria - UFSM (in portuguese)
• Franciscan University Center - UNIFRA (in portuguese)
• Methodist University of Santa Maria - FAMES (in portuguese)
• Santa Clara Faculty - FASCLA (in portuguese)
• Dioceses of Santa Maria - Article in the Catholic Encyclopedia
• 13th May Theater (in portuguese)
• Bloomsday Santa Maria - RS (BRAZIL) / since 1994 a literary party
• Cineclube Lanterninha Aurélio (CESMA) Santa Maria - RS (BRAZIL)/ since 1978
• Cooperativa dos Estudantes de Santa Maria / Santa Maria - RS (BRAZIL)/ since 1978
• Santa Maria Vídeo e Cinema - Festival / Santa Maria - RS (BRAZIL)/ since 2002