Medina is a Brazilian municipality located in the northeast of the state of

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 ...

in the

Jequitinhonha River The Jequitinhonha River () flows mainly through the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. Its source lies near Diamantina in the Espinhaço Mountains at an elevation of , after which it flows northward and then east-northeastward across the uplands. ...

valley. According to the 2022 census, the population of the municipality was 20,156 in a total area of 1,435 km². The city belongs to the mesoregion of Jequitinhonha and the microregion of Pedra Azul.

History

The municipality originated from a village formed by a group of indigenous and slaves led by the Spaniard Leandro de Medina, who arrived in the region in May 1824. Since the day of their arrival coincided with the feast of

Saint Rita of Cascia Rita of Cascia, OSA (born Margherita Ferri Lotti; 1381 – 22 May 1457), was an Italian widow and Augustinian nun. After Rita's husband died, she joined a small community of nuns, who later became Augustinians, where she was known both for prac ...

, this was the name given to the place. In 1847, the first mass was celebrated in the chapel of Saint Rita, built on land donated by the farmer Maria Gonçalves. The village of ''Santa Rita'' was elevated to the category of district, separating from Minas Novas and annexed to the municipality of Fortaleza (currently Pedra Azul), with the name of ''Santa Rita de Medina''. In 1938, it was elevated to the status of municipality and was renamed ''Medina'', and the ''

comarca A ''comarca'' (, , , ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain, and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, mark ...

'' was established in 1948.

Geography

The municipality is located in the Immediate Geographic Region of Pedra Azul, which is part of the

Intermediate Geographic Region of Teófilo Otoni The Intermediate Geographic Region of Teófilo Otoni (code 3103) is one of the 13 intermediate geographic regions in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais and one of the 134 of Brazil, created by the National Institute of Geography and Statistics ...

. It belongs to the Microregion of Pedra Azul and the Mesoregion of Jequitinhonha. Its population censused in 2022 was 20,156 inhabitants.

Hydrography

The municipality is bathed by the

and its tributary the São Pedro River, and several streams, the most important being the Sapucaia, Dos Cães, São Camilo and Ribeirão streams, the latter being responsible for supplying the city.

Economy

The city's

GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performance o ...

is around R$253.1 million

reais The Brazilian real ( pl. '; sign: R$; code: BRL) is the official currency of Brazil. It is subdivided into 100 centavos. The Central Bank of Brazil is the central bank and the issuing authority. The real replaced the cruzeiro real in 1994. ...

, with 41% of the added value coming from services, followed by public administration (40.4%), industry (12%) and agriculture (6.6%). The municipality's

GDP per capita This is a list of countries by nominal GDP per capita. GDP per capita is the total value of a country's finished goods and services (gross domestic product) divided by its total population (per capita). Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is ...

is R$12.2 thousand reais.

Culture

The city holds the festival of the patron saint Rita of Cascia and the city's anniversary every year on May 22nd. The biggest festival held by the municipality is the Festa da Cabeça da Leitoa (lit. "Pig's Head Festival") held annually during the June festivals.

References

Statistics from IBGEIndicadores Minas
��info on health and education {{Municipalities of Minas Gerais Municipalities in Minas Gerais