São José do Rio Preto () 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 ...

in the

state of São Paulo State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

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 city is located at the northwest portion of the state, 440 km (273 mi) from the city of

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 GaW ...

and 700 km (435 mi) from

Brasília Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...

. As of the 2021 census, the population of the city was 469,173 inhabitants making it the 11th largest city in the state of São Paulo and the 36th largest city in Brazil. Also known as Rio Preto, it was founded in 1852 and its history is strongly linked to the commercial activity, provision of services, and agriculture. Demographically, São José do Rio Preto is the principal city of the

Mesoregion of São José do Rio Preto The Mesoregion of São José do Rio Preto is one of the 15 mesoregions of the São Paulo state, Brazil. It is located at the north/northwest portion of the state, and has an area of 29,394.7 km². The mesoregion has a population of 1,569, ...

(population 1,569,220). In 2020, the

Microregion of São José do Rio Preto The Microregion of São José do Rio Preto ( pt, Microrregião de São José do Rio Preto) is located on the north of São Paulo state, Brazil, and is made up of 29 municipalities. It belongs to the Mesoregion of São José do Rio Preto. The mic ...

had a population of 763,534 inhabitants. The anniversary of the city is celebrated on the same day of

Saint Joseph's Day Saint Joseph's Day, also called the Feast of Saint Joseph or the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, is in Western Christianity the principal feast day of Saint Joseph, husband of the Virgin Mary and legal father of Jesus Christ, celebrated on 19 March. ...

History

Before the 19th century the region of São José do Rio Preto was inhabited by the

Kaingang The Kaingang (also spelled ''caingangue'' in Portuguese or ''kanhgág'' in the Kaingang language) people are an Indigenous Brazilian ethnic group spread out over the three southern Brazilian states of Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande ...

that were gradually reduced due to migration,

bandeiras The ''Bandeirantes'' (), literally "flag-carriers", were slavers, explorers, adventurers, and fortune hunters in early Colonial Brazil. They are largely responsible for Brazil's great expansion westward, far beyond the Tordesillas Line of 149 ...

, and

miscegenation Miscegenation ( ) is the interbreeding of people who are considered to be members of different races. The word, now usually considered pejorative, is derived from a combination of the Latin terms ''miscere'' ("to mix") and ''genus'' ("race") ...

. The city was founded on March 19, 1852 by João Bernardino de Seixas Ribeiro (a migrant from

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 (literall ...

), when the local farmer Luiz Antônio da Silveira gave part of his lands to establish the new city as a devotion to the patron

Saint Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers ...

. São José do Rio Preto was officially established in 1894 and the territory ceased to be part of

Jaboticabal Jaboticabal is a municipality in the state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo in Brazil. The population is 77,652 (2020 est.) in an area of 707 km². The town takes its name from the ''jabuticaba'' tree. Jaboticabal is home to the UNESP univer ...

. The railway reached the city in 1912 after the expansions of the Araraquarense Railway (pt: Estrada de Ferro Araraquarense), once completed, the railway was an important factor for the development of São José do Rio Preto as the city served as a commercial center for people of the region, as well as a point for stocking and movement of goods between the region and the city of

Vista parcial São José do Rio Preto SP em 1909

Origin of the name

The literal translation is "Saint Joseph of the Black River". The name of the city comes from the junction of the words ''São José'' and ''Rio Preto'' respectively. ''São José'' (

) is the patron saint of the city, and ''Rio Preto'' (en: black river) is the name given to the local river that crosses the city. Between 1906 and 1944, the city was named ''Rio Preto''. In 1944 there was a proposal to change the name to ''Iboruna'' (Black river in

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 ...

) but this did not come to pass.

Geography

São José do Rio Preto is located in northwest of the state of

in a region between the rivers Grande, Paraná and Tietê. The ecosystem in the region lies between the ''

Cerrado The ''Cerrado'' (, ) is a vast ecoregion of tropical savanna in eastern Brazil, particularly in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Minas Gerais, and the Federal District. The core areas of the Cerrado biome are the ...

'' (Brazilian savanna) with traces of the

Atlantic Forest The Atlantic Forest ( pt, Mata Atlântica) is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as Paraguay and th ...

. Topographycally, it is characterized by a slightly undulated relief, with a medium elevation of 489 m (1,604 ft).

Climate

The climate in São José do Rio Preto is

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

( Aw), experiencing hot, rainy summers, and mild, dry winters. The annual average temperature of 23 °C. The city receives on average between 1,300 mm (51.1 inches) and 1,500 mm (59 inches) of precipitation a year. In 2008, it was registered 1,593 mm (62.7 inches) of rain.

Neighborhoods

*North: Ipiguá and Onda Verde *South:

Cedral Cedral is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The population is 9,346 (2020 est.) in an area of 197.9 km². The municipality belongs to the mesoregion and microregion of São José do Rio Preto The Microregion of São Jos� ...

and

Bady Bassitt Bady Bassitt is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The population is 17,761 (2020 est.) in an area of 110 km². The town is located 7 km from São José do Rio Preto, and the municipality belongs to the Microregion of Sã ...

*East: Guapiaçu *West:

Mirassol Mirassol is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The city is located in the northern part of the state, 453 km from the city of São Paulo and 15 km from São José do Rio Preto. Mirassol has 60,303 inhabitants (IBGE/2020). ...

Districts

* South: Engenheiro Schmitt * North: Talhado

Economy

The service sector is the main economy of São José do Rio Preto representing 84,53% of the total income and followed by the industry (15,19%). In 2020, the gross value of São José do Rio Preto was R$18,7 billion reais which makes it the 53rd largest economy in Brazil. Over the decades the city has diversified as a regional hub being the home to medical centers, education institutions, parks, concert venues, and shopping centers. The industrial park of the São José do Rio Preto is composed of 03 industrial districts and 13 mini-districts, the primary employers are small and medium-sized businesses which were accounted 75 companies. Agriculture and livestock represents less than 1% of the GDP. The main products are Sugarcane, Rubber, Orange, and Maize.

Demographics

According to the Brazilian

HDI The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistic composite index of life expectancy, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income indicators, wh ...

, São José do Rio Preto's value for 2010 was rated as High (0,797) positioning it at 50 out of 5.565 Brazilian municipalities, and 27 out of 645 municipalities of

Religion

The city is home to the ''Diocese of São José do Rio Preto'', a local heritage located in the same place the first chapel was built in 1852. The cathedral is also the ground zero of the city and containing art works which includes a 19th-century sculpture of Saint Joseph. As of the 2010 census the population in the city is made up of

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

(58.7%), Brazilian Protestants (23.79%),

Spiritists Spiritism (French: ''spiritisme''; Portuguese: ''espiritismo'') is a spiritualist, religious, and philosophical doctrine established in France in the 1850s by the French teacher, educational writer, and translator Hippolyte Léon Denizard Riv ...

(6.81%), People with no religion (5.57%), Witnesses of Jehovah (1.47%),

Atheists Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...

(0.38%),

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ...

(0.18%),

Buddhists Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

(0.18%),

Umbanda Umbanda () is a syncretic Afro-Brazilian religion that blends traditional African religions with Roman Catholicism, Spiritism, and Indigenous American beliefs. Although some of its beliefs and most of its practices existed in the late 19th ce ...

and

Candomblé Candomblé () is an African diasporic religion that developed in Brazil during the 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between several of the traditional religions of West Africa, especially that of the Yoruba, and the Roman ...

(0.17%), Orthodox (0.07%), and

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

(0.03%).

Public Security

São José do Rio Preto recorded 2018 the most violent year in 16 years, recording 45 murders against 47 in 2002. In 2019 the number of homicides decreased to 24 but rose to 30 in the following year, on the other hand the number of robberies slightly reduced in 2020 registering 968 against 1.258 in the previous year.

Indicators

*Population: 464,983 (2020) *Households: 137,233 (2010) *Area (2020): 431.31 km² (166.5 sq mi) *Urban area: 117.43 km² (45.3 sq mi) *

Population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

(2020): 946.53/km² (2,451.5/sq mi) *Urbanization: 93.9% (2010) *

Sex ratio The sex ratio (or gender ratio) is usually defined as the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. Many species dev ...

(Males to Females): 92.58 (2012) *

Birth rate The birth rate for a given period is the total number of live human births per 1,000 population divided by the length of the period in years. The number of live births is normally taken from a universal registration system for births; populati ...

: 12.63/1,000 inhabitants (2011) *

Infant mortality Infant mortality is the death of young children under the age of 1. This death toll is measured by the infant mortality rate (IMR), which is the probability of deaths of children under one year of age per 1000 live births. The under-five morta ...

: 7.11/1,000 births (2011) *Literacy rate: 96.8 (2010) *Number of vehicles: 405.608 (2020) Sources: SEADE, IBGE.

Culture

Music

''The'' ''Symphony Orchestra of São José do Rio Preto'' is a non-profit institution founded in 1942 and the oldest in the city. It was listed as a historical heritage.

Literature

The Public Library of São Jose do Rio Preto (Dr. Fernando Costa) currently holds about 46,000 volumes. It was officially opened in 1943.

Theater

The city is home to a number of local concert venues, including: The Primitivist Art Museum (MAP), Naif - Art Museum, The Public Archive, The Municipal Theater (Humberto Sinibaldi Neto), The municipal theater: Paulo Moura, and so on. There are also cultural events such as The International Theater Festival (FIT), and the Book Biennial (Bienal do Livro).

Parque da Represa

Is an urban linear park located in the west side of São José do Rio Preto. It was opened to the public in 1955 in order to improve the water supply in the city and preserve local aspects of the nature along the bank of the black river. In 2011, it was installed new trails and a bike path across the length of the park. Today the park contains a variety of over 10 000 native species of local fauna, kiosks and free outdoor gym equipments.

Infrastructure

Healthcare

São José do Rio Preto is home to eith general medical hospitals: one public, four private, and three philanthropic. In 2009 the city was home to 157 medical facilities of which 124 were private hospitals with a total of 1611 beds, and 33 public hospitals with a total of 28 beds.

Education

The ''Hospital de Base'' (FAMERP) is the second largest

teaching hospital A teaching hospital is a hospital or medical centre that provides medical education and training to future and current health professionals. Teaching hospitals are almost always affiliated with one or more universities and are often co-located ...

in Brazil. In 2010, it was reported a total of 860 physicians and 4,100 employees providing 3,500 inpatients per month and 708 beds. The hospital currently supports around 1.5 million residents in 101 municipalities. It is renowned for the successful transplant procedures, recording 292 procedures in 2010. The ''Children's hospital'' (HCM) was opened in 2013 with 255 beds in the FAMERP campus and currently being the largest pediatric hospital in Brazil. In 2018, it was registered 48,200 enrollments in

Primary School A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

, and 15,335 enrollments in

Secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

. In 2017, it was also registered 27,352 enrollments for

Higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after compl ...

. The city is served by 36 public schools, 51 private schools from

Preschool A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary sch ...

Secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final ph ...

, and other 153 public schools operated by the municipality through elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools. Rio Preto is also served by 02 public universities: IBILCE (Biosciences, languages, and exact sciences), FATEC (Technology), and a relevant number of for-profit institutions.

Transportation

Bus

There are 2 companies operating the public transit system in the municipality with 230 buses on 80 different routes: ''Circular Santa Luzia'', and ''Itamarati''.

Rail

Rumo Logística is currently operating freight transport in São José do Rio Preto.

Air

The Airport of São José do Rio Preto ( Prof. Eribelto Manoel Reino Airport) has service on 03 commercial airlines with flights to São Paulo, Campinas, Guarulhos, Cuiabá and Porto Seguro.

Roads

SP-310 SP-31 is a state highway in the state of São Paulo in 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 mi ...

(Washington Luís - State highway) -

(450 km / 280 mi) *

BR-153 BR-153 is a major federal highway of Brazil, officially named the Transbrasiliana Highway. It also serves as part of the Belém–Brasília Highway in the stretch located between the cities of Wanderlândia, in the state of Tocantins, and Anáp ...

(Transbrasiliana - Federal highway) -

(700 km / 435 mi) *

SP-425 Rodovia Assis Chateubriand (officially designated SP-425) is a highway in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Its name honours the Brazilian journalist and press tycoon, Assis Chateaubriand, owner of Diários Associados. The highway, which is singl ...

(Assis Chateaubriand - State highway) - Presidente Prudente (267 km / 165 mi) * SP-427 (Délcio Custódio da Silva - State highway) -

Mirassolândia Mirassolândia is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The population is of 4,919 inhabitants and the area is 166.2 km2. Mirassolândia is located on the north of São Paulo state, 25 km from the city of São José do Rio ...

(25 km / 15.5 mi)

Communications

Three daily newspapers are published in São José do Rio Preto: ''Diário da Região'', and ''Bom Dia''. Brazilian free-to-air TV network

Rede Vida Rede Vida (also styled as REDEVIDA) is a Brazilian Catholic television network headquartered in São José do Rio Preto, SP, covering 90% of the Brazilian territory through affiliated networks and satellite. It was founded on 1 May 1995. The cha ...

is headquartered in São José do Rio Preto. The channel broadcasts catholic programming such as TV masses,

novena A novena (from Latin: ''novem'', "nine") is an ancient tradition of devotional praying in Christianity, consisting of private or public prayers repeated for nine successive days or weeks. The nine days between the Feast of the Ascension and Pe ...

s and

rosaries The Rosary (; la, , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), also known as the Dominican Rosary, or simply the Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or b ...

, news, variety shows, and sports coverage broadcasting programing through the affiliates and satellite services in almost the entire Brazilian territory.

Sports

The city is home to América Futebol Clube, and

Rio Preto Esporte Clube Rio Preto Esporte Clube, commonly referred to as Rio Preto, is a Brazilian professional association football club based in São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo. The team competes in the Campeonato Paulista Série A3, the third tier of the São ...

. América Futebol Clube usually plays in the

Teixeirão Estádio Benedito Teixeira, usually known as Teixeirão, is a multi-purpose stadium in São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo State, Brazil. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium holds 32,168 people. It was built in 1996. ...

Stadium which owns a total capacity of over 32,000 people. Rio Preto Esporte Clube, plays in the Rio Pretão (Stadium Anisio Haddad) with a capacity of 17,000. The Rio Preto Weilers is an

American football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all-s ...

based in São José do Rio Preto. It was founded in 2010 by the initiative of a group of enthusiasts who intended to disseminate their sport in the city and other regions in Brazil. The Weilers compete in the Liga BFA - Elite, and has already won 2 national titles, and 1 state. The team also support alternative sport groups with disabilities including

wheelchair basketball Wheelchair basketball is basketball played by people with varying physical disabilities that disqualify them from playing a non-disabled sport. These include spina bifida, birth defects, cerebral palsy, paralysis due to accident, amputations (of ...

, swimming groups, and more. These groups are formed by philanthropic members of the ''Clube Amigos dos Deficientes'' (Friends of Disabled, Club) that also compete at national level.

International relations

São José do Rio Preto is twinned with: *

Nantong Nantong (; alternate names: Nan-t'ung, Nantung, Tongzhou, or Tungchow; Qihai dialect: ) is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Jiangsu province, China. Located on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, near the river mouth. Nantong is a vit ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with it ...

–

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...