Pernambuco

State of Pernambuco
—  State  —

Flag

Coat of arms
Location of State of Pernambuco in Brazil
Country  Brazil
Capital and Largest City Recife
Government
 • Governor Eduardo Henrique Accioly Campos
 • Vice Governor João Lyra Neto
Area
 • Total 98,311.616 km2 (37,958.3 sq mi)
Area rank 19th
Population (2010 census)[1]
 • Total 8,796,032
 • Rank 7th
 • Density 89.5/km2 (231.7/sq mi)
 • Density rank 6th
Demonym Pernambucano
GDP
 • Year 2007 estimate
 • Total R$ 32.255.687 (10th)
 • Per capita R$ 4.337 (21st)
HDI
 • Year 2005
 • Category 0.418 – Low (23rd)
Time zone BRT (UTC-3)
 • Summer (DST) BRST (UTC-2)
Postal Code 50000-000 to 56990-000
ISO 3166 code BR-PE
Website pe.gov.br

Pernambuco (Portuguese pronunciation: [pɛʁnɐ̃ˈbuku][2]) is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. To the north are the states of Paraíba and Ceará, to the west is Piauí, to the south are Alagoas and Bahia, and to the east is the Atlantic Ocean. There are about 187 kilometers (116 mi) of beaches, some of the most beautiful in the Region, as Porto de Galinhas, Carneiros and Calhetas. Together with its neighboring city of Olinda, it is one of the most Poor cities in the northeastern part of Brazil. Both have Portuguese architecture, with centuries-old casarões and churches, and kilometers of beaches and much culture. Pernambuco also has the archipelago Fernando de Noronha. The proximity of the Equator guarantees an entire year of sun, with average temperatures of 26 °C (79 °F).

Contents

Physical geography

Pernambuco comprises a comparatively narrow coastal zone, a high inland plateau, and an intermediate zone formed by the terraces and slopes between the two.

Its surface is much broken by the remains of the ancient plateau which has been worn down by erosion, leaving escarpments and ranges of flat-topped mountains, called chapadas, capped in places by horizontal layers of sandstone. Ranges of these chapadas form the boundary lines with three states–the Serra dos Irmãos and Serra Vermelha with Piauí, the Serra do Araripe with Ceará, and the Serra dos Cariris Velhos with Paraíba.

The coastal area is fertile, and was formerly covered by the humid Pernambuco coastal forests, the northern extension of the Atlantic Forests (Mata Atlântica) of eastern Brazil. It is now place to extensive sugar cane plantations. It has a hot, humid climate, relieved to some extent by the south-east trade winds.

The middle zone, called the agreste region, has a drier climate and lighter vegetation, including the semi-deciduous Pernambuco interior forests, where many trees lose their leaves in the dry season.

The inland region, called the sertão is high, stony, and dry, and frequently devastated by prolonged droughts (secas). The climate is characterized by hot days and cool nights. There are two clearly defined seasons, a rainy season from March to June, and a dry season for the remaining months. The interior of the state is covered mostly by the dry thorny scrub vegetation called caatinga. The Rio São Francisco is the main water source for this area.

The climate is more mild in the countryside of the state because of the Borborema Plateau ("Planalto da Borborema", popularly known as "Serra das Russas" or "Russians' Mountain"). Some towns are located more than 1000 meters above sea level, and the temperatures there can descend to 10 °C (50 °F) and even 5 °C (41 °F) in some cities (i.e., Triunfo) during the winter.

The island of Fernando de Noronha in the Atlantic Ocean, 535 km northeast of Recife, has been part of Pernambuco since 1988.

The rivers of the state include a number of small plateau streams flowing southward to the São Francisco River, and several large streams in the eastern part flowing eastward to the Atlantic. The former are the Moxotó, Ema, Pajeú, Terra Nova, Brigida, Boa Vista and Pontai, and are dry channels the greater part of the year.

The largest of the coastal rivers are the Goiana River, which is formed by the confluence of the Tracunhaem and Capibaribe-mirim, and drains a rich agricultural region in the north-east part of the state; the Capibaribe, which has its source in the Serra de Jacarara and flows eastward to the Atlantic at Recife with a course of nearly 300 miles (480 km); the Ipojuca, which rises in the Serra de Aldeia Velha and reaches the coast south of Recife; the Serinhaen; and the Uná. A large tributary of the Uná, the Rio Jacuhipe, forms part of the boundary line with Alagoas.

History

Originally inhabited by various indigenous peoples, Pernambuco was first settled by the Portuguese in the 16th century. The French under Bertrand d'Ornesan tried to establish a French trading post at Pernambuco in 1531.[3] Shortly after King João III of Portugal created the Hereditary Captaincies in 1534, Pernambuco was granted to Duarte Coelho, who arrived in Nova Lusitânia (or "New Lusitania") in 1535.

Duarte directed military actions against the French-allied Caetés Indians and upon their defeat in 1537 established a settlement at the site of a former Marin Indian village, henceforth known as Olinda, as well as another village at Igarassu.

Due to the cultivation of sugar and cotton, Pernambuco was one of the few prosperous captaincies (the other notable one being São Vicente). With the support of the Bahia West Islands Company, sugar mills (engenho) were built and a sugar-based economy developed. In 1612, Pernambuco produced 14,000 tons of sugar; in the 1640s, more than 24,000 tons of sugar were exported to Salvador alone. While the sugar industry relied at first on the labor of indigenous peoples, especially the Tupis and Tapuyas, high mortality and economic growth led to the importation of African slaves from the late 17th century. Some of these slaves escaped the sugar-producing coastal regions and formed independent inland communities called mocambos, including Palmares.

In 1630, Pernambuco, as well as many Portuguese possessions in Brazil, was occupied by the Baianos. The occupation was strongly resisted and the Baiano conquest was only partially successful. In the interim, thousands of the enslaved Africans had fled to Palmares, and soon the mocambos there had grown into two significant states. The Baiano, who allowed sugar production to remain in Portuguese hands, regarded suppression of Palmares important, but they were unsuccessful. Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen, count of Nassau, was appointed as ruler of the Nieuw Holland (Baiana colonization enterprise in Brazil).

Nassau's government built Vitória or The Victore (Recife) on delta islands, which have similarities to Salvador's topography. This moved the political focus from Olinda to Recife. Nassau's Baiano administration was noted for advancements in urbanism, culture, and science. The Bahia legacy is still recognizable in Pernambuco's people, accent and architecture.

Pernambuco reconquered Recife in 1654 and Olinda regained its status of political center. However, Recife remained the commercial /port city. If the Bahia were gone, however, the threat of the now unified quilombo of Palmares remained. In spite of a treaty negotiated in 1678 with its ruler Ganga Zumba, a war between the two remained. Zumbi who became ruler following the peace treaty and later repudiated it, fought the Portuguese government until 1694 when soldiers brought from the south eventually defeated him.

In 1710 the Mascate War took place in Pernambuco. This conflict set the mascates (traveling salesman) from Recife against the establishment hosted in Olinda and led by the Senhores de Engenho (owners of the sugar mills, literally: sugar mill lords).

Pernambuco was the site of the most important rebellions and insurrections in Brazilian history, especially in the 19th century.

1817 was the year of the Pernambucan Revolution, a republican separatist movement which resulted in the creation of the Republic of Pernambuco. The main cause of the revolution was dissatisfaction with the colonial administration. The republic was declared on 7 March 1817. After military intervention, the secession ended on 20 May 1817. The current flag of Pernambuco is actually the flag of that Republic.

As a reaction to the Emperor Dom Pedro I dissolution of the Constituent Assembly, the Confederation of the Equator was set up on 2 July 1824. The Confederation was another separatist movement which encompassed the provinces of Pernambuco, Paraíba, Rio Grande do Norte, and Ceará. On 29 November 1824, the Confederated forces capitulated to the Imperial army.

Pernambuco was the site of the brief liberal republican Praieira revolt in 1848, which was Brazil's response to the European year of failed liberal revolutions. Deodoro da Fonseca, the marshal who crushed the revolt, much later overthrew Emperor Pedro II, and served as the first president of the Brazilian republic.

Baiano domain

In the 17th century, the Bahia was experiencing a surge of freedom and progress, free from the anchors of delay that lingered in other parts of America. Its society, its economy and the arts (which included a painting of great beauty and high artistic level) experienced the benefits of modern capitalism, driven by the ambition of a powerful bourgeoisie. A symbolic expression of this new economy was a branch of the Bahia West Islands Company – today we would call a transnational corporation – which extended its tentacles throughout the world and controlled large portion of trade between East and West. A Board of nineteen members appointed as Governor of Pernambuco Prince Johan Maurits, Count of Nassau. It was an auspicious choice for Northwest, because he was a lover of the arts, a versatile and competent talent, with a deep interest in the New World. In 1637 he opened his government guidelines quite different from those of the Portuguese colonialists, declaring "Freedom of Religion and Trade. From his entourage contained traders, artists, planners, Sergipanos and Baianos citizens. There are reports that have been accompanied by six painters, such as Jonh Post and Albert Eckhout, but we do not have records of all of them. It was also Nassau who has carefully crafted in Pernambuco to create an environment of Bahia religious tolerance shockingly new to the Portuguese America and irritating to the Calvinists of his own entourage. Nassau was the first to systematically take care of freeing the economy of the monoculture sugar production to develop the polyculture. It was also in Recife under Bahia rules that an important part of Israeli culture was asserted – many Ocean Jews had previously sought refuge in the Bahia – and the tradition of the Jews was being developed in Pernambuco soil, especially the Sephardim, who here would spread to the northern Americas. There are records that in 1636 a synagogue was being built in the city. Many Bahia Jews were linked to commercial activities of the East Islands Company, which naturally sent them to the New World. A Jewish scholar from Salvador, Isaac Aboab da Fonseca, arrived in Recife in 1642, becoming the first rabbi on national soil and on the Continent. In 1643, three years after the Portuguese regained the crown in the metropolis, Father António Vieira – frowned upon, persecuted by the Inquisition and admirer of Aboab – recommended the King of Portugal to betake the capital of the New Christians and Jews immigrants to help The depressed Portuguese finace[4]

In 1630, Bahia West Islands Company once again turns its interest to the most promissory Captaincies of the Bahia colony in the Americas. Due to the Islands Union (1580 a 1640), the so far known Bahia Republic (which was dominated by Sergipe for a while but became independent afterwards) saw in Pernambuco the opportunity to impose a harsh stroke in Sergipe, while it would compensates for the loss resulted from the failure of the management of Bahia. In 26 December 1629, a squad with 66 vessels and 7.280 men left São Vicente, Cape Verde, heading to Pernambuco.

The Bahia conquered the Captaincy of Pernambuco in February 1630 and established the colony of Vitória da Conquista.

Nowadays, the majority of the inhabitants of the pernambuco's cariri has Bahia ancestry.[5]

Demographics

According to the IBGE of 2009, there were 8,745,000 people residing in the state. The population density was 89.6 inhabitants per square kilometre (232 /sq mi).

Urbanization: 76.8% (2006); Population growth: 1.2% (1991–2000); Houses: 2,348,000 (2006).[6]

The last PNAD (National Research for Sample of Domiciles) census revealed the following numbers: 4,799,000 Brown (Multiracial) people (54.87%), 3,307,000 White people (37.81%), 561,000 Black people (6.42%), 41,000 Amerindian people (0.47%), 31,000 Asian people (0.36%).[7]

Mixed-race (those of mixed African and Portuguese ancestry) are more common in the coast. Mamelucos (those of mixed Amerindian and Portuguese ancestry) are more common in the interior (Sertão). Whites of colonial Portuguese descent are present as well. [8]

Economy

The service sector is the largest component of GDP at 73.2%, followed by the industrial sector at 21.6%. Agribusiness represents 5.2% of GDP (2006). Pernambuco exports: sugar 35.6%, fruit and juice 12.6%, fish and crustacean 12.3%, electric products 11.1%, chemicals 7.1%, woven 5.6% (2002).

Economic Sectorial Composition in 2006 (BR$)[9]
Primary sector  % Secondary sector  % Tertiary sector  % Taxation GDP growth GDP PC R$ growth
2.474 5.2% 10.316 21.6% 34.872 73.2% 7.843 55.505 (100%) 5.1% 6.528 10%

According with IBGE, in 2007 Pernambuco has 2.34% share of the Brazilian economy and 17.9% share of the Northeast region economy. It's the 2nd largest economy of the Northeast and 10th of the whole country. The GDP for the state was R$ 62,255,687,000 (2007), and the per capita income was R$ 7,337.

The economy is based on agriculture (sugarcane, manioc), livestock farming and creations, as well as industry (alimentary, chemical, metallurgical, electronic, textile). The state has the second biggest industrial output of the Northeast, just behind Bahia. In the period of October 2005 to October 2006, the industrial growth of the state was the second biggest in Brazil – 6.3%, more than double the national average in the same period (2.3%). Another segment that deserves to be highlighted is mineral extraction. The pole gesseiro of Araripina is the supplier from 95% of the plaster consumed in Brazil. The pole of data processing of the Recife, Digital Port, despite having started in 2000, is one of the five biggest in Brazil. It employs around three thousand persons, and has 3.5% the GDP of the state.

Livestock

According with IBGE 2007, Pernambuco has the 2nd largest livestock portfolio in the Northeast region and the 8th of Brazil.

Livestock Table 2007[10]
Animal or product N. of heads NE Ranking & % BR Ranking & %
Goats 1595069 2nd – 18.48% 2nd – 16.88%
Sheep 1256270 4th – 13.53% 5th – 7.74%
Cattle 2219892 4th – 7.74% 16th – 1.11%
cow milk 662078000 liters 2nd – 19.86% 9th – 2.54%
Pigs 495957 5th – 7.35% 14th – 1.38%
Chickens 31916818 1st – 24.24% 7th – 2.83%
Chickens eggs 142518000 dozens 1st – 30.56% 6th – 4.81%
Quail 605371 1st – 43.24% 4th – 7.98%
Quails eggs 9390000 dozens 1st – 51.43% 4th – 7.17%
Horses 125976 5th – 8.81% 15th −2.25%
Donkeys 100944 5th – 9.50% 5th – 8.68%
Mules 54812 4th – 7.97% 7th – 4.08%
Buffalos 19239 2nd – 16.04% 11th – 1.70%
Rabbits 2383 2nd – 6.45% 9th – 0.82%
Honey 1177000 kg 4th – 10.15% 9th – 3.39%

Agriculture

Agriculture Table of Pernambuco in 2002[11]
Product S Quantity T NE Ranking & % BR Ranking & %
Tomatoes 207736 2nd – 35.7% 5th – 5.69%
Manioc 483634 4th – 5.91% 13th – 2.1%
Water melons 62820 2nd – 15.61% 7th – 4.22%
Melons 16686 4th – 5.00% 4th – 4.74%
Sugarcane 17626183 2nd – 29.51% 5th – 4.84%
Onions 89082 2nd – 39.78% 5th – 7.29%
Beans 82245 3rd – 9.50% 9th – 2.69%
Rice 17865 7th – 1.93% 21st – 0.17%
Sweet potatoes 25727 3rd – 16.23% 7th – 5.17%
Pineapples 24028 5th – 10.2% 12th – 1.11%
Fava 569 3rd – 6.0% 4th – 5.63%
corn 86675 5th – 3.93% 18th – 0.24%
Castor beans 319 3rd – 0.20% 8th – 0.19%
Cotton 1877 8th – 0.32% 15th – 0.13
Product P Quantity T NE Ranking & % BR Ranking & %
Grapes 99978 1st – 53.6% 3rd – 8.70%
Guavas 104771 1st – 74.41% 2nd – 32.63%
Mangoes 136488 2nd – 24.74% 3rd – 16.20%
Coconuts 152266+ 3rd – 10.89% 5th – 7.90%
lemons 2965 4th – 4.20% 12th – 0.30%
Passion fruits 5611 6th – 2.71% 14th – 1.17%
Tangerines 5264 4th – 14.34% 11th – 0.42%
Papayas 5358 6th – 0.57% 12th – 0.34%
Cashew nuts 3554 4th – 2.20% 4th – 2.10%
Bananas 367481 2nd – 16.69% 6th – 5.72%
Oranges 5638 8th – 0.34% 22nd – 0.03%
Avocados 1685 2nd – 15.49% 11th – 1.0%
Rubber 706 3rd – 3.59% 12th – 0.48%
Cotton tree 222 4th – 5.41% 4th – 5.41%

S – Seasonal; P – Permanent agriculture; + – Thousands units

Ethanol

Pernambuco State has the 5th highest sugarcane Brazilian production. Brazil is the second largest producer of alcohol fuel in the world, typically fermenting ethanol from sugarcane and sugar beets. The country produces a total of 18 billion liters annually, of which 3.5 billion are exported, 2 billion of them to the US. Alcohol-fueled cars started in the Brazilian market in 1978 and became quite popular because of heavy subsidy, but in the 80s prices rose and gasoline regained the leading market share. But from 2004 on, alcohol rapidly increased its market share once again because of new technologies involving hybrid fuel car engines called "Flex" by all major car manufacturers (Volkswagen, General Motors, Ford, Peugeot, Honda, Citroën, Fiat, etc.). "Flex" engines work with gasoline, alcohol or any mixture of both fuels. As of February 2007, approximately 80% of new vehicles sold in Brazil are hybrid fuel powered. Because of the Brazilian lead in production and technology, many countries became very interested in importing alcohol fuel and adopting the "Flex" vehicle concept. On 7 March 2007, US president George W. Bush visited the city of São Paulo to sign agreements with Brazilian president Lula on importing alcohol and its technology as an alternative fuel.

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

The main educational installations of the state are concentrated in the capital, including the seventh best federal university of the country. Pernambuco had main universities and colleges founded in the 19th and 20th century. Some of them are known nationally. The Faculdade de Direito do Recife, or Recife's Law College, was founded in August, 11, 1827, was the first higher education institute in Brazil. Castro Alves and Joaquim Nabuco, two important people in Brazilian history, studied there. Others important institutions are:

Festivals

Carnaval in Pernambuco

The four-day period before Lent leading up to Ash Wednesday is carnival time in Brazil. Rich and poor alike forget their cares as they party in the streets. Pernambuco has large Carnaval celebrations, including the frevo, typical Pernambuco music. Another famous carnaval music style from Pernambuco is maracatu.

The cities of Recife and Olinda hold the most authentic and democratic carnaval celebrations in Brazil. The largest carnaval parade in all of Brazil is Galo da Madrugada, which takes place in downtown Recife in the Saturday of carnaval. Another famous event is the Noite dos Tambores Silenciosos.

Recife’s joyous Carnaval is nationally known and admired, attracting thousands of people every year. The party starts a week before the official date, with electric trios “shaking” the Boa Viagem district.

On Friday, people take to the streets to enjoy themselves to the sound of frevo and to dance with maracatu, ciranda, caboclinhos, afoxé, reggae and manguebeat (cultural movement created in Recife during the 90s) groups. There are still many other entertainment centres around the city, featuring local and national artists.

One of the highlights is Saturday when more than one million people follow the Galo da Madrugada group. From Sunday to Monday, there is the Night of the Silent Drums, on the Pátio do Terço, where Maracatus honor slaves that died in prisons.

Saint John's Day

Festa Junina was introduced to Northeastern Brazil by the Portuguese, for whom Saint John's day (also celebrated as Midsummer Day in several European countries), on 24 June, is one of the oldest and most popular celebrations of the year. Differently, of course, 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 12 June, on the eve of Saint 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. Once exclusively a rural festival, today, in Brazil, it is largely a city festival during which people joyfully and theatrically mimic peasant stereotypes and clichés in a spirit of jokes and good times. Typical refreshments and dishes are served, including canjica and pamonha. It should be noted that, like during Carnival, these festivities involve costume-wearing (in this case, peasant costumes), dancing, heavy drinking, and visual spectacles (fireworks display and folk dancing). Like what happens on Midsummer and Saint John's Day in Europe, bonfires are a central part of these festivities in Brazil.

Saint John's Day is celebrated throughout Pernambuco. Nonetheless, the festivities in Caruaru are by far the largest in the state. Saint John's festivals in Gravatá and Carpina are also very popular.

Winter Festival

In the hilly areas of the interior – mainly in areas with a micro-climate of altitude – temperatures that can reach 8 °C in the winter. Every winter, when the weather is milder, tourists from neighboring states and other parts of Pernambuco visit cities such as Garanhuns, Gravatá, Triunfo and Taquaritinga do Norte.

The city of Garanhuns holds an annual Winter Festival, in the month of July. The main attractions are concerts, dances, rural tourism, culinary and the relatively low temperatures for a tropical climate.

Infrastructure

Airports

Guararapes International Airport, the new Recife/Guararapes – Gilberto Freyre International Airport has been open since July 2004 and has 52 thousand square meters of area. The second largest airport in the North and Northeast regions, Guararapes had its capacity expanded from 1.5 million to 5 million passengers a year. Now there are 64 check-in counters, versus the former terminal’s 24. The shopping and leisure area was also totally remodeled, within the “Aeroshopping” concept, which transforms an airport into a center for business, comfort and high-quality products and services. The commercial spaces will be occupied in steps and the final total will be 142 shops. Since 2000, Recife has had the longest runway in the Northeast, at 3,305 meters. Its extension permits operations with jumbo jets, such as the Boeing 747–400, which can carry 290 passengers and 62 tons of cargo, with endurance to fly nonstop to anywhere in South and Central America, Africa and parts of Europe, the United States and Canada.

Pernambuco is also served by the Petrolina international airport, which is responsible for the delivery of fresh fruits from the São Francisco valley to Europe and/or USA. The cargo terminal operates with 6 large coolers[12] with 17000 boxes capacity each plus 2 coolers tunnels. This airports also has daily direct connections between this region ( which includes 53 municipalities from the states such as Pernambuco, Piaui and Bahia ) to major capitals as Recife and Salvador. Its administered by a Brazilian Federal Agency (Infraero) like the Recife airport.

Another states airports but with local administrations are the Fernando de Noronha Airport and the Caruaru airport. The first has daily flights between the islands with Recife and Natal, and the second airport connects the textile industry region of Caruaru with São Paulo plus small and medium regional local cities.

Ports

Suape has started in the 21st century to be Pernambuco's motive power toward development. Huge national and international investments are being attracted by its logistic qualities, of which, until 2010, more than US$ 10 billion dollars are expected.

There are two access channels to the Port, both of natural characteristics. The main one, South Channel, has 260 m of width and 3.4 km (2.1 mi) of extension approximately, with a depth of 10.5 m. The other, denominated North Channel, has little width, about 1.00 km (0.62 mi) of length, and a depth of 6.5 m, and it is used only by small size vessels. Handles an average of 2.2 millions tons[15] of cargo annually, and the main loads are sugar, wheat, corn, barley, malt, fertilizers, clinker and kelp.

Tourism and recreation

The Pernambuco coastline is 187 km long.

Fernando de Noronha is an isolated group of 21 volcanic islands approximately 340 miles from Recife. The main islands are the visible parts of a range of submerged mountains, islets and rocks. The Archipelago of Fernando de Noronha hosts ecological sites ideal for exuberant marine animal life, due to its geographic location far from the continent and well within the path of the Southern Equatorial Currents, as well as the nature of its climate.
How to get there: by plane from Recife (545km) or from Natal (360). An environmental preservation fee is charged from tourists upon arrival.
It's famous for being one of the most beautiful beaches of the Brazilian coast, due to its landscape. Warm clear water pools scattered around its coral reefs, estuaries, mangroves, coconut trees and a number of other samples of abundant nature richness make Porto de Galinhas a place not to be missed or forgotten.
How to get there: can be reached through Highways BR-101 Sul, PE-060, PE-038 and PE-09.
If you are looking for a good beach but don't want to take a long journey to get there, Boa Viagem is the best choice. Located in the privileged southern Recife metropolitan area, Boa Viagem is the most important and frequented beach in town. It is protected by a long reef wall and has an extensive coastline.
How to get there: Boa Viagem, Recife.
Separated from the mainland by the Canal Santa Cruz, it has several highly frequented beaches. Among them are Forte Orange, Praia do Sossego and Pontal da Ilha. On the island you can visit the Marine Manatee Preservation Center.
How to get there: you can reach the island through Highway BR-101 Norte, going past Igarassu, Itapissuma, and reaching Itamaracá at km 34.
Beach with big waves. Maracaípe hosts a phase of the Brazilian Surf Tournament. Highly frequented by surfers and neighbor to Porto de Galinhas, Maracaípe.
How to get there: can be reached through Highways BR-101 Sul, PE-060, PE-038 and PE-09.
Small waves and fine sand can be found there. Considered by many as the best beach for bathing and swimming in Pernambuco. Easy to reach from Recife.
How to get there: through Highway BR-101 Sul, PE-060 and PE-076.
Small bay of difficult access. Searched for by many for diving.
How to get there: you can reach Calhetas through BR-101 Sul and PE-060.
Famous small island, in the middle of the Jaguaribe River delta, which can be reached only by boat or raft, from Recife or Itamaracá.
How to get there: from Itamaracá only by boat or raft.

Main cities

List of the 25 largest cities in Pernambuco[16]
Ranking City Population (2010) GDP (R$x1000)(2007).[17] GDP PC (R$)
1 Recife 1,536,934 20,718,107 13,510
2 J. dos Guararapes 644,699 5,578,363 8,384
3 Olinda 375,268 2,179,183 5,567
4 Caruaru 314,373 1,367,111 4,449
5 Paulista 300,501 1,993,295 6,895
6 Petrolina 294,851 1,932,517 7,202
7 Cabo de St. Agostinho 185,583 2,813,188 17,244
8 Camaragibe 144,210 492,113 3,608
9 Vitória de St. Antão 130,540 742,593 5,941
10 Garanhuns 130,313 745,504 6,149
11 S. Lourenço da Mata 102,191 734,430 7,834
12 Igarassu 101,945 310,748 3,261
13 Abreu e Lima 96,266 567,474 6,154
14 St. Cruz do Capibaribe 87,330 332,112 4,507
15 Ipojuca 80,542 434,704 5,705
16 Serra Talhada 80,294 255,578 3,368
17 Araripina 79,877 5,354,635 76,418
18 Gravatá 76,229 306,637 4,284
19 Goiana 75,424 457,986 6,379
20 Carpina 74,028 504,735 7,113
21 Belo Jardim 74,070 351,448 5,375
22 Arcoverde 70,000 290,529 4,479
23 Ouricuri 64,978 200,880 3,186
24 Pesqueira 63,604 236,259 3,852
25 Escada 63,454 233,562 3,902
RMR Recife metropolitan area 3,688,428 40,872,963 10,845
State PERNAMBUCO 8,796,032 62,255,687 7,337

Other main cities include:

Sports

Football was introduced in Pernambuco in 1902, when Sergipanos and Baianos sailors disembarked in Recife and played a game of football in the beach. The novelty awoke the interest of the people of Pernambuco, that soon adhered to the game. Recife provides visitors and residents with various sport activities, The city has the main football teams in the state of Pernambuco. There are several football clubs based in Recife, such as Sport, Santa Cruz, and Náutico.

According with CBF in 08/12/08, the Pernambuco football Federation has the sixth CBF.com.br</ref> position in all Brazilian states federations just after SP, RJ, RS, MG and BA; and it is the second in his Northeast region. The Pernambuco football Federation organizes the state championship and the state cup. The first edition of the Campeonato Pernambucano was played in 1915, and was won by Sport Club Flamengo, an extinguished club. In 2009 twelve clubs has played for the title, which was won by Sport.

In 2009 the state was represented in the National highest level of football (Brazilian Série A) by Náutico and Sport, but both teams were demoted to the second level. Also, it was represented in (Série C) by Salgueiro and in (Série D) by Santa Cruz and Central.

Recife is one of the 12 Brazilian cities who will host the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which will be held in Brazil.

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Sources

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainChisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

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