João Pessoa () is a port city in northeastern

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 the largest city in, and capital of, the state of

Paraíba Paraíba ( , ; ) is a states of Brazil, state of Brazil. It is located in the Brazilian Northeast, and it is bordered by Rio Grande do Norte to the north, Ceará to the west, Pernambuco to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Paraíba i ...

with an estimated population of 833,932 (as of 2022). It is located on the right bank of the Paraíba do Norte river. The new "Estação Ciência, Cultura e Artes" (Science, Culture and Art Station), located at the most eastern point of the Americas ('' Ponta do Seixas''), is an educational and cultural institution as well as a national landmark. The complex, inaugurated in 2008, was created by Brazilian architect

Oscar Niemeyer Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho (15 December 1907 – 5 December 2012), known as Oscar Niemeyer (), was a Brazilian architect considered to be one of the key figures in the development of modern architecture. Niemeyer was b ...

and is one of his final projects. The capital of Paraíba received the title of

Creative City Creative City (aka Fujairah Creative City – FCC) is a media free zone government-owned company in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. Overview FCC was launched by Fujairah Media as an alternative to Dubai Media City, aims to attract regional ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

in 2017, appointing João Pessoa as "Brazilian city of

handicrafts A handicraft is a traditional main sector of craft making and applies to a wide range of creative and design activities that are related to making things with one's hands and skill, including work with textiles, moldable and rigid material ...

History

The city of João Pessoa was founded on August 5, 1585, during the celebration of the peace pact between the Portuguese represented by the Portuguese João Tavares, and the indigenous people, represented by the Piragibe Indian, chief of the

Tabajara Tabajara (; Tabajaras) are an Indigenous people of Brazil who lived on the easternmost portion of the Atlantic coast of northeast Brazil in the period before and during Portuguese colonization. Their territory extended from Ilha de Itamarac ...

, on the banks of the Paraíba River. The French inhabited the locality, and had an alliance with the indigenous tribe of Potiguaras. With the alliance of the Portuguese with the Tabajaras (rivals of the Potiguaras), the Portuguese colonists, led by Frutuoso Barbosa, finally managed to expel the French and conquer Paraíba. After the conquest, they built the forts of São Tiago and São Felipe. They brought masons, carpenters, engineers and others to build the City of Nossa Senhora das Neves. With the beginning of the works, they went to Baía da Traição to expel the rest of the French who remained in Paraíba. There was the nomination of João Tavares to be the captain of the Fort. The Royal City of Nossa Senhora das Neves was the third city to be founded in Brazil, with the signing of an agreement between João Tavares and the chief Piragibe of the Tabajaras. Called "Royal City of Our Lady of the Snows", in honor of the saint of the day it was founded, its first structures were on the banks of the Sanhauá River, a tributary of the Paraíba River, now known as Porto do Varadouro, in the neighborhood of the same name. In 1588, the city was renamed "Philipeia of Our Lady of the Snows", in honor of King Philip II, who at the time accumulated the thrones of Spain and Portugal. In 1634, attracted by the sugar wealth of the then-capital of the Paraíba, the Dutch invaded and named it Fredrikstad (Frederick City), in honor of the prince of Orange, Frederick of Orange, was one of the two main cities of New Holland, brought the town a period of great prosperity, the installation of mills on the coast enabled greater efficiency in sugar production, with the main consequence being the guarantee of large profits, but, on the other hand, it required the practice of monoculture that was developed in increasing extensions of land, the latifundia. After the decline of New Holland and with the departure of the Dutch, the city was again dominated by the Portuguese and acquired the name "Parahyba do Norte" in 1654. The city was renamed João Pessoa in September 1930 in memory of the former governor of Paraíba, João Pessoa Cavalcanti de Albuquerque, who had been a vice-presidential candidate and was murdered on 26 July that year. João Pessoa is the third oldest city in Brazil.

Geography

Environment

João Pessoa has of beachfront. João Pessoa has many green areas distributed among its avenues, parks, and residential neighborhoods, supporting its claim as "the second greenest city in the world" with more than of forested land, second only to Paris. This claim is a matter of conjecture, however, originating from a publicity stunt carried out by the city's mayor during an

Earth Summit The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Rio de Janeiro Conference or the Earth Summit (Portuguese: ECO92, Cúpula da Terra), was a major United Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro from 3 ...

Hydrography

In João Pessoa, there are about twelve rivers. The Jaguaribe River is born in the Esplanada complex, crosses the Benjamim Maranhão Botanical Garden, in the middle of the Atlantic Forest, and flows into the Atlantic Ocean on the border with the municipality of Cabedelo. The water to supply the houses is taken from the Gramame-Mumbaba system, from the Paraíba Water and Sewerage Company. In this system, these two rivers take turns to supply the city with water. However, the most historically important river is the Sanhauá River, because it was on its banks that the

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 ...

was born and where the first houses were built. There is also the Solón de Lucena Park Lagoon in the City Center. The lagoon was the main tourist spot in the city during the time when most of the city was far from the beaches. At the end of 2010, during the Christmas celebrations, the lagoon was revitalized and gained devices such as ambient music. The capital of Paraíba has a coastline of about 24 kilometers in length, nine beaches in the municipality alone, in addition to the beaches of the Metropolitan Region, such as the city of Cabedelo, the city of Lucena and the District of Jacumã in the municipality of Conde, where the Tambaba Naturist Beach is located. Urban beaches are characterized by white sand beaches and crystal clear waters. Many have preserved the Atlantic Forest, as well as being ideal for bathing thanks to a natural barrier about 6 kilometers from the coast that protects a large part of the Pessoa and Cabedelo coast, allowing children to play in the calm waters. There is the Urban Tartarugas Project, which operates on the beaches of Bessa and Intermares, a spawning area for the hawksbill turtle, a scenario for environmental preservation. Surfing is also practiced in the city. Among the main beaches, we can mention the ''Praia de Tambau'', about 8 kilometers long, composed of fine, beaten sand, with blue-green waters; the ''bessa beach'' is where the caribessa is located, a quiet beach with crystalline waters; also the ''Praia de Manaíra'', a totally urban beach, formed by coral reefs, which makes its waves weak and clear water in summer. It is the point of several kiosks and bars, with sports fields on its edge. The ''Cabo Branco beach'', white sand and warm water; ''Playa Seixas'', which is where the ''most eastern point of America'' is located. In addition to ''Praia da Penha'', where the historic Chapel of Our Lady of Penha, built in 1763, where the penha pilgrimage takes place every year, from the historic center to the beach.; The ''Jacarape beach'', where the Poet Ronaldo Cunha Lima Convention Center is located; then ''Praia do Sol'', which is a quiet and airy place; and the ''barra de gramame beach'', which situates the meeting of the river gramme with the sea.

Climate

João Pessoa has a

tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate subtype that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ' ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Am'') with very warm to hot temperatures all year long and strong rainfall in most of the months; however, October to December have rather low rainfall. The city has a ''Benjamin Maranhão Botanical Garden'', which preserves the Atlantic forest, the

animals Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, have myocytes and are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and grow from a ...

, and opens the visitation, which is the João Pessoa Botanical Garden, considered one of the largest remains of the natural Atlantic Forest in an urban area of

. It is an excellent opportunity for people to be in contact with pure and crystalline nature. Among these,

environmental education Environmental education (EE) refers to organized efforts to teach how natural environments function, and particularly, how human beings can manage behavior and ecosystems to live sustainably. It is a multi-disciplinary field integrating discipli ...

is a relevant element, allowing interesting approaches, from knowledge and interest in plants to stimulating curiosity and knowledge of this important space for visitation and research. There are 18 stations distributed along the Rio and Preguiça trails using as criteria elements mainly related to history, botany and ecology, contributing to knowledge of the environment and the need for its preservation. The area has about 515ha, of which 343ha are home to the Botanical Garden, where the flora is not very soft in the recreational and educational activities promoted on the spot. It includes the largest natural urban Atlantic forest reserve in the country, and an important historical heritage of the capital of

Demographics

According to the 2022 census, João Pessoa had a population of 833,932. Its racial makeup was 50.6%

Pardo In the former Portuguese and Spanish colonies in the Americas, ''pardos'' (feminine ''pardas'') are triracial descendants of Europeans, Indigenous Americans and Africans. History In some places they were defined as neither exclusively ...

(two or more races), 39.7%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 9.2%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

, 0.2%

Amerindian In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...

and 0.1% Asian.

Religion

''Source:

IBGE The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (; IBGE) is the agency responsible for official collection of statistical, geographic, cartographic, geodetic and environmental information in Brazil. IBGE performs a decennial national cen ...

2000. ''

Transportation

International airport

Joao Pessoa is served by Presidente Castro Pinto International Airport.

Rail system

The João Pessoa Urban Trains System is operated by diesel components on one railway line with a 30 km extension spanning four municipalities, João Pessoa, Cabedelo, Bayeux and Santa Rita, constituted by the Cabedelo stretch, with 10 stations in operation, carrying around 10,100 passengers a day. Composed of three locomotives and 17 passenger cars, the trains form two compositions that conduct 28 trips a day.

Economy

João Pessoa's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was R$ 14,841,805 as of 2010. The city's per capita income was R$ 19,284 as of 2010.

Tourism

* Picãozinho: One of the city's most significant sights is the São Reef Formation, located about from Tambaú Beach on the coast of João Pessoa. * Natural Pools of Seixas Beach: The Seixas Natural Pools, where hundreds of species of fish, seaweed, reptiles (sea turtles), mollusks, crustaceans and other marine organisms are found. * Penha Beach: This traditional beach's name derives from the symbol of one of the great religious events in Brazil: the Chapel of Our Lady of Penha. For more than 250 years, thousands of faithful have been accompanying the Penha Procession through the streets of João Pessoa. * Manaira Beach: Joao Pessoa's most economically developed neighborhood. Its sidewalks are commonly used for physical activities and are well frequented by tourists and locals. * Beach Tambaú: The sands of Praia de Tambaú are one of the busiest in Joao Pessoa. Praia de Cabo Branco - panoramio

* Bessa Beach: At the extreme north of João Pessoa, with of white sand beach beside calm green waters, reefs and coconut trees, Bessa Beach is among the most sought after by tourists. Joao Pessoa-PB Praia Ponta do Seixas

* Seixas Beach: This beach is situated on the easternmost end of the Americas. Nationally known as the land area closest to the African continent, Praia do Seixas. * Convention Center Poet Ronaldo Cunha Lima: The convention center of João Pessoa has four main buildings, the Lookout Tower, the Congress and Convention Hall, and the Pedra do Reino Theater. * Espaço Cultural José Lins do Rego: Built through a project developed by architect Sérgio Bernardes, it includes the Archidy Picado Gallery, Lutheria, Planetarium, José Lins do Rêgo Museum, Anthenor Navarro Music School, Arena Theater, Paulo Pontes Theater.

Museums

Source: * '' Museu Sacro e de Arte Popular'', within the São Francisco church. * '' Espaço Cultural José Lins do Rego''. A cultural centre including history and science museums. * ''City Museum''. The former Casa da Pólvora, an old gunpowder store. * ''Museu Fotográfico Walfredo Rodríguez''. * ''Bica Natural History Museum''. * ''Museum Foundation house of Jose Américo''. * ''Hotel Globo Museum'': Formerly a luxury hotel in the city, it consists of two buildings of eclectic style, with its lines influenced by Neo-classical, Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles. Today it functions as a museum, where it houses the permanent exhibition of part of the hotel's furniture in addition to a collection of popular art. It is frequently visited for its view of the Sanhauá River and the sunset seen from its garden.

Culture

The Historic Center of João Pessoa, recognized as

National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage The National Historic and Artistic Heritage Institute (, IPHAN) is a heritage register of the federal government of Brazil. It is responsible for the preservation of buildings, monuments, structures, objects and sites, as well as the register an ...

in December 2007, covers areas in the neighborhoods of the center, Róger, Jaguaribe, Tambiá and Varadouro. There are listed 37

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

s in area and estimated around 700 buildings, in addition to streets, squares and historic parks that integrate this set, comprising most of the neighborhoods of Varadouro and the Center of the city. Its buildings make up a scenario of different styles and eras full of townhouses, squares, colonial houses and secular churches, being considered the main architectural collection of Paraíba, reporting the various phases of local history, and one of the largest and most important historical sites in Brazil. The delimited area has assets that represent various periods in the history of João Pessoa, such as the

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

of the Igreja da Ordem Terceira de São Francisco; from the

rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

of the Church and Convent of the Third Order of Our Lady of Carmo, Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Snows; of the

Neoclassical architecture Neoclassical architecture, sometimes referred to as Classical Revival architecture, is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy, France and Germany. It became one of t ...

of the Church of Saint Peter Gonzalez, Church and Convent of Our Lady of the Rosary, of the

Baroque architecture Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the late 16th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means to ...

of the São Francisco Cultural Center, Monastery of St. Benedict, of the Mannerist style of the Church of Our Lady of Mercy, all from the

17th century The 17th century lasted from January 1, 1601 (represented by the Roman numerals MDCI), to December 31, 1700 (MDCC). It falls into the early modern period of Europe and in that continent (whose impact on the world was increasing) was characterized ...

; of the

colonial architecture Colonial architecture is a hybrid architectural style that arose as colonists combined architectural styles from their country of origin with design characteristics of the settled country. Colonists frequently built houses and buildings in a sty ...

and

eclectic architecture Eclecticism in architecture is a 19th and 20th century architectural style in which a single piece of work incorporates eclecticism, a mixture of elements from previous historical styles to create something that is new and original. In architec ...

of civil houses, in addition to

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

and

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

, from the 20s and

30s The prokaryotic small ribosomal subunit, or 30Svedberg, S subunit, is the smaller subunit of the 70S ribosome found in prokaryotes. It is a complex of the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and 19 proteins. This complex is implicated in the binding of tr ...

decades, predominant in square Antenor Navarro and in the former Hotel Globo, now transformed into a cultural center.

Sports

Stadiums

* José Américo de Almeida Filho Stadium * Stadium of Grace

Football

The city is home to Auto Esporte, CSP and

Botafogo Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood (''bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of M ...

American football

João Pessoa Espectros: This football team is regarded as the best football team in the northeastern region of Brazil, having earned a national title, seven regional titles and three state titles.

Kayaking

Bessa Beach offers kayaking, popular among tourists, to reach four beautiful kilometers (2.5 mi) of coral and marine life in the blue sea of the "Caribessa".

Surfing

The

nurtures great surfers, with athletes winning in many nationally prominent contests in the sport.

Diving

The

coastline A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

of João Pessoa includes the ''Alvarenga'' shipwreck, an artificial reef for developing marine life. * Alvarenga Shipwreck : The Alvarenga was a vessel used to transport supplies to ships. It wrecked about 9.6 km from the tip of ''Bessa's Beach'' and is submerged deep. It remains whole, in length by in beam. It is possible for divers to penetrate the small bow and stern compartments safely. On the prow the winch to hoist the anchor remains in view. It is also common to find large stingrays and shoals of fish, such as the top cock and the hook.

Sister cities

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, Connecticut, United States. * Pompano Beach, Florida, United States.

Notable people

* Kaio de Almeida, Brazilian swimmer * Zé Marco, beach volleyball player *

Matheus Cunha Matheus Santos Carneiro da Cunha (born 27 May 1999) is a Brazilian professional association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for club Manchester United F.C., Manchester United and the Brazil national ...

, Brazilian football player * Douglas Santos, Brazilian football player *

Álvaro Álvaro or Álvar (, , ) is a Spanish, Galician and Portuguese male given name and surname of Germanic Visigothic origin. The patronymic surname derived from this name is Álvarez. Given name Artists * Álvaro Carrillo, Afro-Mexican songwrit ...

, Brazilian beach volleyball player * João Batista, Brazilian sprinter.

Notes

References

External links

*
Official Promotional video of João Pessoa , English
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joao Pessoa 1585 establishments in the Portuguese Empire Populated places established in 1585 Municipalities in Paraíba State capitals in Brazil