Santos Dumont (formerly known as Palmira) is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in southern

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 ...

state,

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. The population (2020) is estimated to be 46,421 and the total area of the municipality is . It lies at an elevation of just off the main interstate highway, BR040, between the urban centers of

Barbacena Barbacena is a municipality in the States of Brazil, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. As of 2020, the municipality had 138,204 inhabitants. The total area of the municipality is . It is in the foothills of the Serra da Mantiqueira south of the ...

(north) and

Juiz de Fora Juiz de Fora (, '' Outsider Judge''), also known as J.F., is a city in the southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, approximately from the state border with Rio de Janeiro. According to 2020 estimates the current population is about 57 ...

(south). It is from the state capital,

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte (, ; ) is the sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population around 2.7 million and with a metropolitan area of 6 million people. It is the 13th-largest city in South America and the 18th-largest in the Americas. The metropol ...

, and from

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 b ...

. It became a city in 1889.

Climate

The average annual temperature is approximately , with the average maximum of , and the average minimum of .

Economy

Agriculture

Livestock raising is the main economic activity with approximately 30,000 head of cattle and an annual production of milk of about . The region produces corn, strawberries, guava, nectaries, manioc, beans, oranges, coffee, peach and banan

Industry

Santos Dumont has the Companhia Brasileira de Carbureto de Cálcio, (CBCC), which produces silicone iron and metallic silicone, exporting to several countries.

History

Santos Dumont is the birthplace of aviation pioneer

Alberto Santos-Dumont Alberto Santos-Dumont (Santos Dumont, Minas Gerais, Palmira, 20 July 1873 — Guarujá, 23 July 1932) was a Brazilian aeronaut, sportsman, inventor, and one of the few people to have contributed significantly to the early development of both l ...

and is named in his honour. Prior to the renaming the city was known as ''Palmira''. The Cabangu museum, located from the centre of the city () is dedicated to his memory. It is located in the house where he was born and has personal objects, photos and an aviation museu

Demographics

Since the 1980s the municipality has been experiencing a period of slight demographic standstill. Between the census held in 1996 and the census held in 2000 the population increased at the rate of 0.32% per annum which is much lower than other places in the country. This is partially explained by the economic attraction of the nearby city of Juiz de Fora, making it the destination of many immigrants. According to the 2000 census, the average income of the workers of the municipality was calculated at R$450 (237 USD at that time), but workers earning less than the national minimum wage (R$151, 80 USD) accounted for 38.8% of the total employees, meanwhile only 1.00% of them earned more than the equivalent to 20 minimum wages (R$3,020 or 1,590 USD).

Tourism

Santos Dumont has a rich tourism. It includes the

Estrada Real Estrada Real (, ''Royal Road'') was an epithet applied to the roads built and maintained by the Portuguese Crown both in Portugal itself and in the Portuguese overseas territories. Presently it is used to designate a set of colonial-era to ...

(Royal Road, a set of colonial-era roads in Brazil), associated to an ecological tourism. There are 10 Kilometers of road until the division with the town of Antônio Carlos. During the route, it is possible to observe a nice natural landscape, old farms and two fountains, from the time of their construction, also well some rock records. Theses fountains were used for a parade of drovers while came from the interior of

, bringing gold to

, at the time of Colonial Brazil. Besides that, in the city stand out the Cabangu Museum birthplace of

Alberto Santos Dumont Alberto Santos-Dumont ( Palmira, 20 July 1873 — Guarujá, 23 July 1932) was a Brazilian aeronaut, sportsman, inventor, and one of the few people to have contributed significantly to the early development of both lighter-than-air and heavier- ...

, in the district of Mantiqueira, 16 km from the city center. The Ponte Preta Dam, in the neighborhood of Ponte Preta, allows leisure activities where people go swimming, boating, fishing, camping and spending the day free for leisure. From September to January, the dam is empty, but on-site leisure activities are possible such as campgrounds and events like “Off Road”.

Sports

The local football club, Mineiro Futebol Clube play in a small stadium north of the city center.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Santos Dumont Municipalities in Minas Gerais