Boa Vista, Roraima
| Boa Vista | |||
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| — Municipality — | |||
| The Municipality of Boa Vista | |||
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| Motto: "Segurança, Desenvolvimento, Integração" ("Security, Development, Integration") | |||
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| Country |  Brazil |
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| Region | North | ||
| State |  Roraima |
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| Founded | June 9, 1890 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Iradilson Sampaio PPS | ||
| Area | |||
| - Total | 5,687 km2 (2,195.8 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 85 m (279 ft) | ||
| Population (2006) | |||
| - Total | 249.655 | ||
| - Density | 43.8/km2 (113.4/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | UTC-4 | ||
| Postal Code | 69300-000 | ||
| HDI (2000) | 0.779 – medium | ||
| Website | Boa Vista, Roraima | ||
Boa Vista (lit. Good View) is the capital of the Brazilian state of Roraima. Situated on the western bank of the River Branco, 220 km (136 mi) from Brazil's border with Venezuela. It is the only Brazilian capital located entirely above the Equator. Equatorial climate predominates in Boa Vista. The temperature in the city is hot throughout the year, with a very low temperature range usually of less than 3 degrees celsius. It is also a very wet climate with annual precipitation often more than 2000 mm. These hot and wet conditions are ideal for the growth of plants so the vegetation is both dense and varied. The Equatorial Rainforests also have an extremely diverse fauna.
Boa Vista is also the most populous municipality in Roraima.[1] Approximately half of the population of the state lives in the city. Business is done mostly with Manaus, capital of the State of Amazonas, and with the cities of Lethem, in Guyana and Santa Elena de Uairén, in Venezuela. These cities are the only major cities that can be accessed from Boa Vista via road, although other smaller state municipalities are also connected by road with the capital city. The airplane is the only way of transportation for other regions in the country.
The federal government has started a project to link Manaus and Boa Vista via roads to the major centers of Brazil, by asphalting the BR 319 and building several bridges in the Amazon forest, allowing a direct road link between Manaus and the central and southern regions of Brazil.[2]
This modern city is distinguished among the capitals in the North Region of Brazil as a planned city with a radial plan. It was planned by the architect Darci Aleixo Deregusson who designed the city in a similar fashion to that of Paris, France. It was built under the direction of Captain Ene Garcez, the first governor of Roraima. The main avenues converge at the Civic Center Plaza, where the headquarters of three governmental branches reside (legislative, judiciary, and executive). Aside from the cultural attractions (theaters and palaces), there are hotels, banks, post offices, and cathedrals.
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History
The municipality of Boa Vista formed the first urban area of the state of Roraima. The São Joaquim Fort, founded in 1775, is located about 32 km from the capital and is considered to be of great importance to the region.
The city was created on July 9, 1890 as Boa Vista do Rio Branco. It was founded by Augusto Villeroy (Amazonas's Governor). The first mayor was João Capistrano da Silva Mota, known as Coronel Mota. After the mayor, two councilors (José Francisco Coelho and José Gonzaga de Souza Junior) were appointed.
Capital
In the middle of World War II, in 1943, Boa Vista became the capital of the recently created Federal Territory of Rio Branco. The territory grew due to the mining in the area. The then Federal Territory of Rio Branco was elevated to statehood, and after some time it was known as "Roraima". Later, mining with machines became prohibited (because of damage to the landscape) which hindered the economy of the state and the municipality.
Economy
The GDP for the city was R$ 2,265,603,000 (2005).[3]
The per capita income for the city was R$ 9,366 (2005).[4]
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.
Educational institutions
- Universidade Federal de Roraima (UFRR);
- Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica de Roraima (Cefet-RR);
- Faculdades Cathedral - Boa Vista (Cathedral-Boa Vista);
- Faculdade de Teologia de Boa Vista (Fatebov);
- and many others.
Tourism and recreation
- The biggest park of the north region of Brazil is placed here, the Anaua Park, a major recreational park that has inside it a Forrodromo (show place), a square, a lake and a kartracing facility.
- Taumanam is a small artificial coast on Rio Branco. It has several stores and snack bars and was created in 2005.
- Ayrton Senna complex is the most visited touristic area in Boa Vista, it is composed by Ayrton Senna, Velia Coutinho (Alimentation square and a show place), Praça das Águas (a square where there is a water show), Millennium portal (it was created to commemorate the 21's) and Praça das Artes (the newest and the largest squares of the complex, built together with park area).
Culture
Festa Junina (Saint John Festival)
Festa Junina was introduced to Northeastern Brazil by the Portuguese for whom St John's day (also celebrated as Midsummer Day in several European countries), on the 24th of June, is one of the oldest and most popular celebrations of the year. Differently from what happens on the European Midsummer Day, the festivities in Brazil do not take place during the summer solstice but during the tropical winter solstice. The festivities traditionally begin after the 12th of June, on the eve of St Anthony's day, and last until the 29th, which is Saint Peter's day. During these fifteen days, there are bonfires, fireworks, and folk dancing in the streets (step names are in French, which shows the mutual influences between court life and peasant culture in the 17th, 18th, and 19th-century Europe). Once exclusively a rural festivity, today, in Brazil, it is largely a city festival. Typical foods and beverages are served. It should be noted that, like during Carnival, these festivities involve costumes-wearing (in this case, peasant costumes), dancing, heavy drinking, and visual spectacles (fireworks display and folk dancing). Like what happens on Midsummer and St John's Day in Europe, bonfires are a central part of these festivities in Brazil.
The Civic Centre
This sight, in form of an opened fan, starts from the right edge of Rio Branco. This was made by the engineer Darci Aleixo Deregusson during Ene Garcez's government, the first one in Roraima.
From the Civic Centre run 16 avenues in an inspirated system in the sight of Paris, France, and Belo Horizonte and Goiânia, Brazil. In this square are placed the head offices of the Executive, Law and Legislative forces. Other public buildings are also placed there like: Culture Palace, Amazônia Bank, Government's education secretary, the cathedral and so on.
The civic Centre has a monument paying tribute to the miners, who were the first inhabitants of this land.
Demographic growth
In the beginning, indigenous people were the only inhabitants of Boa Vista. Boa Vista had the highest growth rate of any Brazilian capital in the 1970s which was 3% per year. What attracts immigrants most about this city is employment generated by public service for Brazilians and general commerce attracts immigrants from neighboring countries. In 1950 Boa Vista had about 5,200 inhabitants. This number has grown 47 fold in only 56 years to approximately 250,000 inhabitants.
Sports
There are several professional football clubs in Boa Vista:
- Atlético Roraima Clube
- Baré Esporte Clube
- Grêmio Atlético Sampaio (GAS)
- São Raimundo Esporte Clube
- River Esporte Clube
- Atlético Rio Negro Clube
- Náutico Futebol Clube
The city's most important stadium is Estádio Flamarion Vasconcelos, better known as Canarinho, located in the neighborhood of the same name, Canarinho, in the Southern Zone, with a maximum capacity of 10.000 people. There is also the Ribeirão stadium, located in the city suburb.
Infrastructure
International Airport
Boa Vista is served by Boa Vista-Atlas Brasil Cantanhede International Airport with flights to Belém, Brasília, Georgetown (Guyana), Manaus, Paramaribo (Suriname), and Rio de Janeiro. Boa Vista International Airport was opened on February 19, 1973, and underwent major remodelings in 1998 and 2009. The passenger terminal, runway and apron were all enlarged, and a separate taxiway was built.
The airport currently has capacity to receive 330,000 passengers a year in total comfort and security.
Highways
- BR-174;
- BR-210;
- BR-431;
- BR-432;
- BR-410;
- RR-171;
- RR-175;
- RR-202;
- RR-203.
References
- ↑ Boa Vista, capital city of Roraima, Brazil
- ↑ Boa Vista, Roraima, Brasil - HotelStore.net - Hotel Reservations / Reservas de Hotel
- ↑ (in Portuguese) (PDF) GDP. Boa Vista, Brazil: IBGE. 2005. ISBN 85-240-3919-1. http://www.ibge.gov.br/home/estatistica/economia/pibmunicipios/2005/tab01.pdf. Retrieved 2007-07-18.
- ↑ (in Portuguese) (PDF) per capita income. Boa Vista, Brazil: IBGE. 2005. ISBN 85-240-3919-1. http://www.ibge.gov.br/home/estatistica/economia/pibmunicipios/2005/tab01.pdf. Retrieved 2007-07-18.
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