Baependi
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Baependi is a Brazilian municipality located in the state of
Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...
.


Location

The population of Baependi as of 2020 was estimated to be 19,199 people living at an altitude of 893 meters. The area of the municipality is 751.748 km². The city belongs to the mesoregion of Sul e Sudoeste de Minas and to the microregion of São Lourenço. The municipality contains 39.93% of the Serra do Papagaio State Park, created in 1998.


Toponym

"Baependi" is derived from the
tupi language Old Tupi, Ancient Tupi or Classical Tupi (also spelled as Tupí) is an extinct Tupian language which was spoken by the aboriginal Tupi people of Brazil, mostly those who inhabited coastal regions in South and Southeast Brazil. It belongs to ...
and means "water of the flattened thing"; mba'e ("thing"), peb ("flattened") and 'y ("water or river"). Another theory says that the name comes from the tupi mbaé-pindi, meaning "open glade".


History

According to some reports, mining occurred in the southern region from 1601. The conquest of Baependi happened, however, at the end of the seventeenth century, around 1692, when the Paulistas Antonio Delgado da Veiga, his son Joao da Veiga and uncle Miguel Garcia and Captain Manoel Garcia Velho, started from
Taubaté Taubaté is a medium-sized city in the State of São Paulo, in southeastern Brazil. Location Its strategic location between the two most important Brazilian cities (São Paulo away, and Rio de Janeiro away), connected to both by the President ...
in search of gold. Crossing the
Serra da Mantiqueira The Mantiqueira Mountains (Portuguese: ''Serra da Mantiqueira iterally: Mantiqueira Mountains Chain') are a mountain range in Southeastern Brazil, with parts in the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro. It rises abruptly from the ...
, they reached a site called maependi (mbaé-pindi means "open clearing" in Tupi-guarani). The city is a remnant of the so-called cycle of Gold in Minas Gerais. Baependi developed along the Estrada Real - the first major means of regular communication in Brazil which linked the mines to the port of
Paraty Paraty (or Parati, ) is a preserved Portuguese colonial (1500–1822) and Brazilian Imperial (1822–1889) municipality with a population of about 43,000. Indeed, the name "Paraty" originates from the local Guaianá Indians' Indigenous Tupi ...
in
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...
from where gold was shipped to Europe. The Madeiran Tomé Rodrigues Nogueira do Ó (1715), Captain-mor and Ombudsman of Quintos the "registration of the Mantiqueira" was one of the first residents of the site and is considered the founder of the city as the first builder. Mining was, gradually, replaced by agriculture and cattle breeding. It had a large tobacco plantation, which made Baependi the centre of production of the Province of Minas Gerais and represented a major source of wealth until the mid-nineteenth century. Nowadays the municipality's economy is based on agriculture, handicrafts, gem stones, quartzite and tourism, due to the natural environment of the city, surrounded by mountains, forests, rivers and numerous waterfalls. Craft is an important economic activity in Baependi. Pieces made in bamboo, straw, corn and coffee wood are distributed in large urban centres such as
São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...
,
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...
and Belo Horizonte.


Culture

Baependi, as of 2015, is known to follow natural day-night sleep cycles, despite the availability of artificial lighting and electricity. The countryside surrounding Baependi rise at 6h30 and sleep at 21h20, while the town does so at 7h15 and 22h20 respectively. The difference is thought to be due to the influence of artificial lighting. The community is being studied due to their adherence to a diurnal/nocturnal cycle similar to that of ancestral humans.


Religion

Baependi has had a parish church since 1723. The ceremony of the Holy Week in Baependi has continued for over 200 years, being one of the most traditional of
Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...
. The daily processions accompanied by band and choir represent the passion and death of Jesus Christ. Churches include: * the ''Santuário de Nossa Senhora Conceição'' (better known as church of
Nhá Chica Francisca de Paula de Jesus ( São João del-Rei, Minas Gerais, 1810 – Baependi, Minas Gerais, 14 June 1895), also known as Nhá Chica ("Aunt Francie" in Portuguese), was an Afro-Brazilian Catholic laywoman and popular religious figure known fo ...
) * the parish church ''Nossa Senhora do Montserrat'' (1754) * Nossa Senhora da Boa Morte (1815) * Rosario (1820)


Notable people

*
Celso Murilo Celso Murilo, born Celso Pereira Levenhagen (9 March 1940, Baependi), is a Brazilian musician, composer and arranger. Biography Celso Murilo was born 9 March 1940 in Baependi. He taught himself to play guitar and piano. He moved to Rio de Janeiro i ...
(born 1940), musician, composer and arranger


See also

*
List of municipalities in Minas Gerais This is a list of the municipalities in the state of Minas Gerais (MG), located in the Southeast Region of Brazil. Minas Gerais is divided into 853 municipalities, which are grouped into 66 microregions, which are grouped into 12 mesoregions. ...


References

{{Municipalities of Minas Gerais Municipalities in Minas Gerais