Catalão () is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

and

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

located in the south of the state of

Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian States of Brazil, state located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District (Brazil), Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Ge ...

, in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. It is a large producer of grains, cattle, and phosphates and has a John Deere and Mitsubishi factory.

Demographics

*Population density: 17.85 inhabitants/km² (2003) *Population growth rate 1991/2000: 1.86.% *Population in 1980: 39,172 *Urban population in 2003: 60,830 *Rural population in 2003: 6,616

Political information

*Eligible voters in 2004: 50,160 *City government in 2005: mayor (Adib Elias Júnior), vice-mayor (João Sebba Neto), and 10 councilmembers

Location and communications

Catalão is the seat of the Catalão Microregion which includes 11 cities with a total population of 114,686 inhabitants in an area of 15,238.60 km². Located in a region of fertile soil rich in phosphates, with excellent highway and railway connections, and watered by several rivers, the municipality has been experiencing rapid growth in recent years and is the third largest payer of state taxes. The city lies a short distance north of the border with 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 ...

where a large dam over the Paranaíba River, the Barragem de Emborcação, separates the two states. It is connected by paved highway with

Goiânia Goiânia ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian federative units of Brazil, state of Goiás. With a population of 1,536,097, it is the second-largest city in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West Region and the 10th-larges ...

(253 km.),

Brasília Brasília ( ; ) is the capital city, capital of Brazil and Federal District (Brazil), Federal District. Located in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region, it was founded by President Juscelino ...

(330 km.), and Uberlândia (114), in the rich Mineiro Triangle. Highway connections with

are by BR-352 / Bela Vista de Goiás / Cristianópolis / GO-020 / BR-352 / Pires do Rio / GO-330 / Ipameri. Municipal boundaries are with: *North: Campo Alegre de Goiás *South: Davinópolis, Ouvidor, Três Ranchos, and Cumari *East:

*West: Goiandira and Ipameri Catalão is connected to the East West railroad system and to the future North-South system, which begins in Anápolis. It also has an airport with a runway for small and medium-sized planes, 1,400 meters long, paved, and lit at night.

Prosperity

The municipality is one of the most prosperous in the state. In a study carried out by Seplan of competitivity in municipalities in the state of

Catalão was ranked third after Anápolis and Rio Verde. Se
Seplan
Catalão got a score of 0.818 on the UN

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

, ranking it 3 out of 242 municipalities in the state. Nationally it was ranked 253 out of 5,507 municipalities. (All data are from 2000.) For the complete list se
Frigoletto.com

Economy

Traditionally a land of cattle raising, Catalão is still a great producer of meat and dairy products (150,000 head of cattle in 2003) and poultry (424,000 head in 2003). There is large production of corn, soybeans, and wheat, with the latest technology of central pivot irrigation being used extensively. Recently the cultivation of garlic has played an important role in the economy.

Economic facts in 2005

*Industrial establishments: 193 *Industrial district: Distrito Mínero-Industrial – DIMIC *Packing houses: Mayor Ind. e Comércio de Carnes Ltda. *Dairies: Cooperativa Agropecuária de Catalão Ltda *Banks: 06 *Retail establishments: 912

Main crops in planted area (2003)

*coffee: 5.2 km² / 1,144 tons *oranges: 1 km² / 2,000 tons *palmito: 0.2 km² / 60 tons *garlic: 3 km² / 1,400 tons *rice: 18 km² / 4,320 tons *sugarcane: 2 km² / 12,000 tons *beans: 7 km² / 1,830 tons (three harvests a year) *corn: 110 km² / 77,000 tons (2 harvests a year) *soybeans: 650 km² / 238,500 tons *wheat: 15 km² / 7,500 tons Data are furnished b
IBGE
The economic success story of Catalão has been partly attributable to the installation of an industrial park where major enterprises like John Deere (producing sugar cane harvesters) and Mitsubishi, with capacity to produce 27,000 cars a year. This first automobile assembly plant in the Centerwest of Brazil generates 900 direct jobs and approximately 2,700 indirect. In addition there are three major fertilizer plants, Copebrás, controlled by the Anglo-American group, Fosfértil, and Mineração Catalão De Goiás, which extract phosphate rocks from the

subsoil Subsoil is the layer of soil under the topsoil on the surface of the ground. Like topsoil, it is composed of a variable mixture of small particles such as sand, silt and clay, but with a much lower percentage of organic matter and humus. The su ...

and transform them into fertilizers.

Motor vehicles

*automobiles and pickup trucks: 15,209 (2004) *trucks: 1,207 *motorcycles: 5,687

Main economic activities of employment

*agriculture: 383 workers *extractive industries: 12 with 323 workers *transformation industries: 267 units with 3,025 workers *construction: 53 units with 218 workers *commerce: 1,629 units with 4,553 workers *hotels and restaurants: 145 units with 477 workers *transport and storage: 181 units with 712 workers *public administration: 1,788 workers

Health and education

In the social area the city is showing signs of continuous development. It is already a medical center for the southeast region of Goiás, with several hospitals and specialized clinics.

Health data

*Health establishments (2002): 33 (16 public) *Hospitals: 04 (02 private) *Hospital beds: 347 (275 available for public use) *Public doctors, nurses, and dentists: 132 / 12 / 46

Educational data

*Pre-primary school enrollment and schools (2004) : 2,327 (967 private), 31 (18 private) *Primary school enrollment and schools: 12,402 (2,835 private), 49 (18 private) *Middle school enrollment and schools: 3,520 (747 private), 12 (6 private) *Higher education: 2,864 in one public school (UFCat). Th

has a campus which offers several courses, such as: Engineering, Computer Science, Physical Education, Geography, History, Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Superior Studies in Letters, Pedagogy (Education), Psychology and Business Administration.

History and the Festival of Congadas

Catalão began to be occupied around 1722 or 1723 when one of the

bandeirantes ''Bandeirantes'' (; ; singular: ''bandeirante'') were settlers in colonial Brazil who participated in expeditions to expand the colony's borders and subjugate Indigenous peoples in Brazil, indigenous peoples during the early modern period. T ...

, Bartolomeu Bueno da Silva planted crops for his supply. The settlement began around 1728, with the construction of a few huts to support the troops who were penetrating this region. Near Catalão, one of the chaplains of the force, Frei Antônio, a native of

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

and called "o Catalão" decided to start a rest point near a small stream. By 1828, the settlement had five houses with tile roofs and twenty grass covered huts. In 1859, Catalão became a legally constituted city. Today the municipality has an area of 3,789 km²,. corresponding to 1.1% of the state territory The story of the , Catalão's popular festival began in 1820, when semi-free slaves arrived in the Vila of Catalão to work in the coffee plantations. The slaves brought with them their customs, one of which was the cult of

Our Lady of the Rosary Our Lady of the Rosary (), also known as Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, is a Titles of Mary, Marian title. The Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, formerly known as Feast of Our Lady of Victory and Feast of the Holy Rosary is celebrated on 7 October ...

. Her commemoration included a mixture of Afro and Catholic rites. Now these dances, with strong influences from the Congo and Moçambique, are celebrated in Catalão in the largest festival of Congadas in Brazil. The festival takes place on the last Friday of September and lasts until the second Sunday of October, when the dancers go to the streets in their colorful costumes, filling the city streets with their songs, which give thanks to their patroness for the blessings given.

Climate

References

Frigoletto

External links

City Hall of Catalão website

Government of the State of Goiás website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Catalao Municipalities in Goiás