Votuporanga is a municipality in the Northwest of the

São Paulo state SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.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 520 km from

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 GaWC a ...

. The population of the city, according to the

IBGE The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics ( pt, Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística; IBGE) is the agency responsible for official collection of statistical, geographic, cartographic, geodetic and environmental information ...

, is 95,338 inhabitants. Votuporanga is the center of a

Microregion Microregion is a designation for territorial entities. Austria *Microregion (Tyrol) Brazil * Microregion (Brazil) Klaus Roth and Ulf Brunnbauer A microregion is a geographic region of a size between that of a community and that of a district.p. ...

with 159,475 inhabitants. In 2018, the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Votuporanga The Roman Catholic Diocese of Votuporanga is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Ribeirão Preto, in the northwest of São Paulo State, southern Brazil. Its cathedral seat is the Catedral Nossa ...

was formed by Pope Francis.

History

Votuporanga's history is closely linked to that of the coffee trade in Brazil. The land where the city is located originally belonged to the Marinheiro de Cima Farm, owned by Francisco Schmidt. Schmidt was forced to sell the land to Theodor Wille, owner of the Wille, Schmillinski e Cia. company, to settle outstanding debts. The land was thus divided up into plots and sold at a low price. Little by little the area's population began to grow, until at last, becoming part of the district of Vila Monteiro, now

Álvares Florence Álvares Florence is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It has a population of 3,647 inhabitants (IBGE/2020) and an area of 362.9 km². The city is located on the northwest of the state, 538 km from the city of São Paul ...

, and the municipal district of

Monte Aprazível Monte Aprazível is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The population is of 25,373 inhabitants, and the area is 496.9 km2. Known as "The Dream's Dam City", because of a dam located nearby the city center. Monte Aprazível bel ...

. The name, Votuporanga, was suggested by Sebastião Almeida de Oliveira, notary public for the local town of

Tanabi Tanabi is a municipality in the northwestern part of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The population is 26,101 inhabitants (IBGE/2020). The city is located 447 km from the city of São Paulo and 30 km from São José do Rio Preto. Tanabi ...

. Votuporanga, 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 the ...

, means "Good winds" or "Soft breezes". The town on Votuporanga was founded on August 8, 1937. Father Isidoro Cordeiro Paranhos celebrated a Catholic mass on this same day, thus becoming one of the pillars of the town's heritage. In 1945 Votuporanga was decreed to be a municipal district, and center for the local county. The first mayor was Francisco Villar Horta. In the same year, an important development took place with the arrival of the Railroad ''Araraquarense'', providing a vital rail connection to the

Port of Santos The Port of Santos (in Portuguese: ''Porto de Santos'') is located in the city of Santos, state of São Paulo, Brazil. As of 2006, it is the busiest container port in Latin America. In 2016, it was considered the 39th largest port in the world f ...

. Two other principal features of the city are the Santa Casa de Misericórdia hospital and the contemporary Igreja de Nossa Senhora Aparecida (Church of Our Lady Aparecida). In the 1970s, the state highway Rodovia Euclides da Cunha, SP-320, which connects Votuporanga to the state capital, was tarmacked, helping to develop the growth of the town. Also around this time, the educational institution UNIFEV was created. In the 1980s, the city experienced economic growth, mainly in the

Furniture Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Fu ...

agricultural machinery industry The agricultural machinery industry or agricultural engineering industry is the part of the industry, that produces and maintain tractors, agricultural machinery and agricultural implements used in farming or other agriculture. This branch is cons ...

and

metalworking Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on every scale ...

for the

haulage Haulage is the business of transporting goods by road or rail between suppliers and large consumer outlets, factories, warehouses, or depots. This includes everything humans might wish to move in bulk - from vegetables and other foodstuffs, to cloth ...

industry.

The Name

In the

, ''votu'' means "air", "breeze" and ''poranga'' means "nice", "good". Literally this term means "good air", "good winds" or "soft breezes". The city is known as the "City of soft breezes".

Economy

73.85% of the city's GDP is generated by the

Tertiary sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...

, and 23.61% comes from

Industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...

. Votuporanga has a significant

furniture Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Fu ...

industry, characterized by small and medium companies. These firms employ around 15,000 workers.

Demographics

The

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, whi ...

of the city, measured by the

UNDP The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

, was 0.817 in 2000.

Urban structure

Healthcare

Votuporanga has 2 hospitals, ''Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Votuporanga'' and ''Casa de Saúde e Maternidade Nossa Srª Aparecida''. There are also 2 free access priority healthcare facilities for non-critical emergency treatment, ''Mini-Hospital "Fortunata G. Pozzobon"'' and an UPA 24hrs.

Education

There are 4 universities in the city: the UNIFEV, IFSP Câmpus Votuporanga, the REGES, and a branch of the FATEC (''Faculdade de Teologia e Ciências

http://portal.mec.gov.br/index.php?option=com_docman&view=download&alias=11340-pces201-12&Itemid=3019

https://www.al.sp.gov.br/norma/?id=160818]).

Infrastructure

Culture

Votuporanga is well known for its nightlife. With the local motto "ímã da diversão" (Magnet of Entertainment), it is recognized as one of the most vibrant nightlife centres in the microregion. Pride in Votuporanga's cow-breeding heritage is one of the cornerstones of Votuporangese identity. "Ópera," the most expensive cow ever sold in Brazil, is from the Votuporanga microregion. Numerous streets, a shopping centre and a local brothel are named in her honour.

Sports

The city has one professional Association football, football club, ''

Clube Atlético Votuporanguense Clube Atlético Votuporanguense, commonly referred to as Votuporanguense, is a professional association football club based in Votuporanga, São Paulo, Brazil. The team competes in Campeonato Paulista Série A3, the third tier of the São Paulo s ...

''.

References

External links

Official Votuporanga Website
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