Guaratinguetá is a municipality in the state of

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

in Brazil. It is part of the

Metropolitan Region of Vale do Paraíba e Litoral Norte Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

. The population is 122,505 (2020 est.) in an area of 752.64 km². It is located in the region of

Vale do Paraíba A vale is a type of valley. Vale may also refer to: Places Georgia * Vale, Georgia, a town in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region Norway * Våle, a historic municipality Portugal * Vale (Santa Maria da Feira), a former civil parish in the municip ...

; prominent individuals from the area include

Saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

Frei Galvão Anthony of St. Ann Galvão, Order of Friars Minor, O.F.M. (Portuguese: Antônio de Sant'Anna Galvão; 13 May 1739 – 23 December 1822), more commonly known as Frei Galvão, was a Brazilian people, Brazilian friar of the Order of Friars Minor, Fr ...

, Brazilian President

Rodrigues Alves Francisco de Paula Rodrigues Alves, PC (; 7 July 1848 – 16 January 1919) was a Brazilian politician who first served as president of the Province of São Paulo in 1887, then as Treasury minister in the 1890s. Rodrigues Alves was elected the ...

and the

cardiologist Cardiology () is the study of the heart. Cardiology is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery di ...

Dr Euryclides de Jesus Zerbini. The name of the city derives from the words in the

Tupi language Old Tupi, Ancient Tupi or Classical Tupi () is a classical Tupian language which was spoken by the indigenous Tupi people of Brazil, mostly those who inhabited coastal regions in South and Southeast Brazil. In the words of Brazilian tupinol ...

: ''gûyra'' (

heron Herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 75 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genus ''Botaurus'' are referred to as bi ...

), ''tinga'' (

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

) and ''etá'' ( many), resulting in ''Gûyrating'etá'' (meeting of white herons). The municipality contains part of the

Mananciais do Rio Paraíba do Sul Environmental Protection Area The Mananciais do Rio Paraíba do Sul Environmental Protection Area () is an environmental protection area in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Location The Mananciais do Rio Paraíba do Sul Environmental Protection Area has an area of about . I ...

, created in 1982 to protect the sources of the

Paraíba do Sul The Paraíba do Sul (), or simply Paraíba, is a river in southeast Brazil. It flows west to northeast from its farthest source at the source of the river Paraitinga to the sea near Campos dos Goytacazes. The river receives its name when it m ...

river.

History

Since early times, Guaratinguetá was known by the Indians of the region for the abundance of herons that lived on the edges of the

river. The first Portuguese settlers arrived at the end of the 16th century, after rumours of mineral wealth hidden in Serra da Mantiqueira, in the lands known today as

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...

. The settlement of the region began in 1628, with the donation of lands by Jacques Felix and his children. On June 13, 1630, construction began of a chapel, that was registered first in Livro-Tombo da Matriz of Santo Antonio. On February 13, 1651, by intervention of Captain Domingos Leme, a village was raised for the Saint Antonio of Guaratinguetá, with the opening of the main road. By tradition, the

pillory The pillory is a device made of a wooden or metal framework erected on a post, with holes for securing the head and hands, used during the medieval and renaissance periods for punishment by public humiliation and often further physical abuse. ...

was also raised. During the 18th century, Guaratinguetá became the main point of supply for the

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

miners coming from

as commerce on the route developed. During that period, the foreign travellers who had passed through there perpetuated the image of Guaratinguetá, as much in books as in paintings, and the village grew. The few narrow streets were filled by people at the end of the century on Sundays, holidays, and religious celebrations. Freigalvao11052007

Guaratinguetá entered a more religious significance in 1717. In 1757, it held the second biggest party in Louvor to a Saint in the city. Diogo Antônio de Feijó, future priest and

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

of the

empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

Dom Pedro II ''Don (honorific), Dom'' PedroII (Pedro de Alcântara João Carlos Leopoldo Salvador Bibiano Francisco Xavier de Paula Leocádio Miguel Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga; 2 December 1825 – 5 December 1891), nicknamed the Magnanimous (), was the List o ...

, studied in Guaratinguetá with the Manoel Frank Gonçalves during the years of 1795 and 1798. In the 19th century, Guaratinguetá grew in

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

production, at the same time as it suffered a decline of

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

production. During the Brazilian independence, Dom Pedro I spend the night in the city on August 18 of 1822, stimulating more economic development, and more growth in the

industry. The village became a city in 1844, and was incorporated in 1852. During this time,

was used as a hard currency, and the daily life of the city was changed forever. It raised man power in the farms, the city grew, and the children of the farmers were sent to study.

Commercial Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...

merchandise came by donkey to the port of Parati and grew even more.

Francisco de Paula Rodrigues Alves Francisco de Paula Rodrigues Alves, PC (; 7 July 1848 – 16 January 1919) was a Brazilian politician who first served as president of the Province of São Paulo in 1887, then as Treasury minister in the 1890s. Rodrigues Alves was elected the ...

, born on July 7, 1848, was the council member of the empire, a member of the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

, president of the Province of

and twice

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the Republic (Brazil). He was inaugurated by a daily '' O Mosaico'', Development came with the iron horse in 1877 with the construction made way for the immigrants who came to substitute man power. The end of the 19th century marked the inauguration of a theater Carlos Gomes, Da Ponte Metálica, the Banco Popular, the market, the water supply, the urban net of sewer and the installation of the first pertained Grupo Escolar in the city in the building Dr. Flamínio Lessa. In the 20th century lands became exhausted from over farming, and

production declined. The fall extensive farming brought a new economic focus of

industrialization Industrialisation (British English, UK) American and British English spelling differences, or industrialization (American English, US) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an i ...

and the return to

commerce Commerce is the organized Complex system, system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions that directly or indirectly contribute to the smooth, unhindered large-scale exchange (distribution through Financial transaction, transactiona ...

. Education became another focus with the installation of the Escola de Especialista de Aeronáutica (School of Specialist of Aeronautics), the campus of UNESP with the Faculdade de Engenharia (College of Engineering) of the Faculdade de tecnologia (College of Technology FATEC), and the SENAC.

Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

is also important, with the increase of popularity of

, the visitation of caves, and the local churches and monasteries. Inside the city itself, there are many colonial houses with the beautiful architecture of the last century. In addition to this, Agricultural tourism and Eco-Tourism are becoming popular, owing to the beauty of the wilderness and agricultural areas.

Transportation

The city is served by Edu Chaves Airport.

Data

(Source: IBGE/ 2014 -

IBGE The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (; IBGE) is the agency responsible for official collection of statistical, geographic, cartographic, geodetic and environmental information in Brazil. IBGE performs a decennial national cen ...

) Total population: 118 378 hab. (SP: 62º) *Urban: 109.012 *Rural: 9.366 *Male: 52.895 *Female: 65.483

Media

In telecommunications, the city was served by Telecomunicações de São Paulo. In July 1998, this company was acquired by Telefónica, which adopted the Vivo brand in 2012. The company is currently an operator of cell phones, fixed lines, internet (fiber optics/4G) and television (satellite and cable).

References

External links