Santa Catarina (state)

Santa Catarina ("Saint Catherine"; Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈsɐ̃ta kataˈɾina][1]) is a state in southern Brazil with one of the highest standards of living in Latin America. Its capital is Florianópolis, which mostly lies on the Santa Catarina Island. Neighboring states are Rio Grande do Sul to the south and Paraná to the north. It is bounded on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, and to the west it borders the province of Misiones, Argentina. Most of its inhabitants are descendants of Portuguese, German and Italian immigrants.

The beaches along the coast of 561 kilometers (348 miles) are a great attraction for tourists visiting the smallest State of the South Region. Florianópolis, the capital, is on an island and is one of the Brazilian cities that receives the most foreign tourists. To the south, Garopaba is the preferred destination of surfers looking for good waves. In the mountain region, São Joaquin is the attraction during winter because of its low temperatures. Blumenau, in the interior of Santa Catarina, is the stage for one of the biggest events of the country: the Oktoberfest, a traditional beer party originated from Germany, that happens in October. The heritage of the Italian, German and Portuguese immigrants can be seen in the architecture and the customs of the state. Lages is Santa Catarina's largest city.

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Geography

Santa Catarina is in a very strategic position in Mercosur, the South American Common Market. Its position in the map is situated between the parallel 25º57'41" and 29º23'55" of the Southern latitude and between the meridians 48º19'37" and 53º50'00" of Western longitude. Florianópolis, its capital, is 1,673 km (1,039 miles) from Brasilia, 705 km (438 miles) from São Paulo, 1,144 km (710 miles) from Rio de Janeiro and 1,850 km (1,149 miles) from Buenos Aires.

The Serra Geral, a southern extension of the Serra do Mar, runs north and south through the state parallel to the Atlantic coast, dividing the state between a narrow coastal plain and a larger plateau region to the west.

The Atlantic coast of Santa Catarina has many beaches, islands, bays, inlets, and lagoons. The humid tropical Serra do Mar coastal forests cover the narrow coastal zone, which is crossed by numerous short streams from the wooded slopes of the serras.

The central part of the state is home to the Araucaria moist forests, dominated by emergent Brazilian pines (Araucaria angustifolia). The drainage of the plateau is westward to the Paraná River, the rivers being tributaries of the Iguaçu, which forms its northern boundary, and of the Uruguay, which forms its southern boundary. The semi-deciduous Paraná-Paraíba interior forests occupy the westernmost valleys of the Iguaçu and Uruguay rivers.

The highest point of the state is the Morro da Boa Vista, with an altitude of 1,827 m, and the second highest point is the Morro da Igreja, in the town of Urubici, with an altitude of 1,822 m.

History

Snow in the Planalto Serrano.

European settlement began with the Spanish settlement of Santa Catarina island in 1542. The Portuguese took control in 1675 and established the captaincy of Santa Catarina in 1738.

Large numbers of European immigrants, especially from Germany, began arriving early in the nineteenth century. Immigrants from Italy, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Japan and other parts of Europe followed. These immigrants created an abundance of small, family-held farms, many of which continue to exist in the interior of the state.

Late in March of 2004, the state was hit by the first hurricane ever recorded in the South Atlantic. Because there is no naming system for such an event in Brazil, Brazilian meteorologists called it Cyclone Catarina, after the state.

Demographics

Pomerode, known as the most German city in Brazil.

According to the IBGE of 2008, there were 6,091,000 people residing in the state. The population density was 61.53 inhabitants per square kilometre (159.4 /sq mi).

Urbanization: 82.5% (2006); Population growth: 1.9% (1991–2000); Houses: 1,836,000 (2006).[2]

The last PNAD (National Research for Sample of Domiciles) census revealed the following numbers: 5,297,000 White people (86.96%), 608,000 Brown (Multiracial) people (9.98%), 160,000 Black people (2.63%), 15,000 Asian people (0.25%), 5,000 Amerindian people (0.09%).[3]

People of Portuguese ancestry, mostly Azoreans, predominate on the coast. People of German descent predominate in the northeast region (Itajaí Valley) and in the north (Joinville region). There are many German communities in the west. People of Italian descent predominate in the south, as well in many areas in the west. People of African, Amerindian or Japanese origins are small communities in a few towns.[4]

European settlement

Santa Catarina is one of the Brazilian states that exhibits the most signs of 19th century European immigration. The vast majority of the population are descendants of European settlers. Santa Catarina also presents, like the others states of the southern Brazil, a low level of miscigenation, a phenomenom less common in southern Brazil.

Portuguese

Azorean Portuguese house in Florianópolis.

The Portuguese started arriving in the 1750s, mainly from the Azores islands, and colonized the coast. In the late 18th century, half of Santa Catarina's population was Portuguese-born. These Portuguese established many important towns in the state, such as Florianópolis, the capital.

Germans

German people started arriving in 1828. These were peasants attracted by the opportunity to have their own land, for Germany was overpopulated and many people had no land to work. German immigration was very low until the 1850s, when waves started arriving in southern Brazil. To stimulate the German colonization of southern Brazil, the Brazilian government created many German colonies: these were ethnically Germanic areas where people from many parts of Germany settled. Initially, these colonies were in rural areas, where immigrants were able to cultivate their own farms. Many of these German colonies developed greatly and became large towns, Blumenau and Joinville, the largest city in Santa Catarina, among them.

Joinville, the largest city of Santa Catarina, settled by Germans in 1851.

Germans were isolated in rural communities for decades. They did not have much contact with the other peoples of Brazil, and for generations they were able to speak the German language and maintain German traditions in Brazil. This situation changed in 1942, during World War II, when Brazil declared war on Germany, and German immigrants and their descendants were required to learn the Portuguese language and to follow a Brazilian way of life.

Yet German influence in the State of Santa Catarina remains very strong and visible. Many towns, especially the small ones, retain notable aspects of German culture: in Pomerode, for example, a small town in which nine-tenths of the population is of German-Brazilian descent, most inhabitants still speak German fluently; and Oktoberfest continues to be celebrated in Blumenau and in many other towns in the region. Architecture, too, shows German influence, as do popular customs and local cuisine.

Stone house in Nova Veneza, in the south, landmark of Italian immigration.

Italians

Italian settlers started arriving in Santa Catarina in 1875 and immigrated in large numbers until the 1910s. They were peasants from Northern Italy and established themselves in ethnically Italian colonies close to the coast. In the beginning, the Italian settlement had failed, because many Italians died of tropical diseases or left the colonies to find better conditions. However, in Vale do Tubarão region (southern Santa Catarina), Italian immigrants found cooler weather and better lands, and the settlements prospered. Many Italians worked in the coal industry and, unlike the German immigrants, they did not dedicate themselves very much to agriculture. As they were not isolated in rural colonies, Italian immigrants were quickly integrated into the Brazilians of Portuguese descent, that had been living there since the 18th century.

Economy

The industrial sector is the largest component of GDP at 52.5%, followed by the service sector at 33.9%. Agriculture represents 13.6% of GDP (2004). Santa Catarina exports: aviculture 26.1%, wood products 15.4%, compressors 8.5%, cotton 6.8%, and vehicles 5.8% (2002).

Share of the Brazilian economy: 4% (2005).

Florianópolis, the capital.
Blumenau has the 2nd biggest Oktoberfest of the world.
Downtown Itajaí.

Santa Catarina has one of the highest standards of living in Brazil, and is a major industrial and agricultural center.

The capital city, Florianópolis, has a diversified economy, being an important pole for the technology industry and a major touristic destination. Commerce and services are also very strong in the capital. Cities from Florianópolis metro area, like São José, Palhoça and Biguaçu are important and diverse industrial poles, as well as strong commerce areas.

In the northeast of the state, electric-mechanical, textile and furniture industries are strong; in the west, cattle and poultry breeding predominate, while in the south it is ceramics and shellfish.

The corridor between Joinville, Jaragua do Sul and Blumenau is heavily industrialized - more than 50% of the state's industrial output is concentrated in this small, but highly developed area.

Santa Catarina has some of the most beautiful beaches in Brazil - Summer months (Dec-Mar) make the state one of the most sought-after travel destinations in Brazil and South America. Tens of thousands of Argentines and Paraguayans flock to the state's beaches from mid December to late January.

The major cities and their respective fields are:

Statistics

Vehicles: 2,489,343 (March/2007); Mobile phones: 3.7 million (April/2007); Telephones: 1.6 million (April/2007). Cities: 293 (2007).[5]

Education

Federal University of Santa Catarina in Florianópolis.

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.

Colleges and Universities

Infrastructure

Hercílio Luz International Airport in Florianópolis.

International Airport

Florianópolis is served by Hercílio Luz International Airport for both domestic and international flights. The traffic has grown significantly at the airport and therefore the city will shortly build a new airport able to serve 2.7 million passengers a year. The architectural design of the new airport was chosen by a public competition held by Infraero in partnership with the Brazilian Architects Institute (IAB). Among the over 150 original entries, the proposal of São Paulo architect Mário Bizelli was chosen. The construction work will be tendered in 2005 and should be finished in two years.

Tourism

Balneário Camboriú.
Itajaí in the afternoon.
The biggest resort of the Brazilian Southern Region in Florianópolis.

Santa Catarina offers a number of sights and events throughout the year: rural tourism, thermal mineral resorts, ecological tourism and adventure sports, historic monuments and sights, religious tourism, Beto Carrero World and Unipraias parks, and beach resorts of Florianópolis.

Some of these sights can only be seen in the off-season, like the snow on the Catarinense Mountain Range - the only place in Brazil where it snows every year.

Between July and November, the Right whales visit the state's coast. The great festivities take place in October. The main Oktoberfest in Blumenau is Brazil's largest and the world's second largest (after Germany's Munich).

Joinville is the host city in July to the widely acclaimed "Joinville Dance Festival", the annual "Festival of Flowers" in November which showcases orchids produced in the region, and several business events in its Convention Center.

Florianópolis, the city/island State Capital attracts a large numbers of tourists during the summer months who visit its 42 beaches.

There are also many smaller resort towns, including Itapema, Piçarras, Barra Velha and Penha, home to the famous amusement park "Beto Carrero World".

Sports

Criciúma's soccer stadium and partial downtown.

Football

There are two professional football teams in the city. Both of them have 13 Santa Catarina State Championship titles, which is a state record. The derby between them is known as "O Clássico da Capital" ("The Capital's Classic").

Figueirense FC - black and white. Its nickname is Figueira ("Figtree") and it is also known as O Furacão do Estreito ("The Estreito's Hurricane"). Its stadium is the Orlando Scarpelli, located in the Estreito neighborhood, in the continental part of the city. Figueirense is currently playing in the Brazilian second division.

Avaí FC - blue and white. It is also known as O Leão da Ilha ("The Lion of the Island"). Its stadium is the Aderbal Ramos da Silva, popularly known as Ressacada, located in the Carianos neighborhood, in the south part of the island. Avaí is currently playing in the Brazilian national first division.

But the most famous football team in the state are Malwee from Jaraguá do Sul, the best futsal (indoor football) team in the world with the best futsal player (Falcão) in the world.

Florianópolis is one of the 18 remaining candidates to host games of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, for which Brazil is the only South American bidder.

Tennis

Florianópolis is the hometown of tennis star Gustavo Kuerten.

Surfing

Florianópolis.

The island is generally considered to be blessed with the best and most consistent waves in Brazil, and in April of each year hosts what is currently South America's only ASP (Association of Surfing Professionals) World Championship Tour professional surfing competition. Brazil has played host to many an ASP tour event over the past 30 years. Former contest sites include Rio de Janeiro, Barra de Tijuca and Saquarema, but the past four years have seen the tour set up shop in Florianopolis. Previously held towards the end of the tour, the past few years have seen several ASP world champions crowned in Brazil. In 2004 it was Andy Irons, and in 2005 it was Kelly Slater (who had his 2006 ASP World Title already stitched up by Brazil).

Minority languages

German architecture in Joinville.

The minority languages of the state of Santa Catarina can be divided into two distinct groups:

In some cities and villages, German and Italian are still the first spoken language.

Main cities

Contestado Museum.
  1. Florianópolis
  2. Joinville
  3. Blumenau
  4. São José
  5. Criciúma
  6. Chapecó
  7. Lages
  8. Itajaí
  9. Jaraguá do Sul
  10. Palhoça

Other important cities

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ In Brazilian Portuguese. The European Portuguese pronunciation is ([ˈsɐ̃tɐ kɐtɐˈɾinɐ].
  2. ↑ Source: PNAD.
  3. ↑ (in Portuguese) (PDF). Santa Catarina, Brazil: IBGE. 2008. ISBN 85-240-3919-1. http://www.sidra.ibge.gov.br/bda/tabela/listabl.asp?z=pnad&o=3&i=P&c=262. Retrieved 2010-01-18. 
  4. ↑ Santa Catarina - Terra de Contrastes - Os Jeitos da Terra
  5. ↑ Source: IBGE.

References

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (Eleventh ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

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