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Rivera () is the capital of
Rivera Department Rivera Department () is a Departments of Uruguay, department of the northern region of Uruguay. It has an area of and a population of 109,300. Its capital is the city of Rivera. It borders Brazil to the north and east, Cerro Largo Department to t ...
of
Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...
. The border with Brazil joins it with the Brazilian city of Santana do Livramento, which is only a block away from it, at the north end of Route 5. Together, they form an urban area of around 200,000 inhabitants. As of the census of 2011, it is the sixth most populated city of Uruguay.


History

On 21 March 1860 a ''pueblo'' (village) named Pereira was created by the Act of Ley Nº 614. On 7 May 1862, it was substituted by the ''villa'' (town) named Ceballos and founded by the Act of Ley Nº 704, in honour of the Spanish viceroy Pedro de Cevallos. In July 1867 it took on the official name Rivera and was recognized as a ''villa''. The Brazilian town Santana do Livramento already existed just across the border. On 1 October 1884, it became capital of the Department of Rivera by the Act of Ley Nº 1.757. Its status was elevated to ''ciudad'' (city) on 10 June 1912 by the Act of Ley Nº 4.006. In 1943, the Plaza Internacional Rivera-Livramento (see photo) was built to celebrate the Fifth Conference of the Commission Mixta for Mixed Limits and as a hope for the future integration of the two towns, claimed to be the only international square in the world. From 1851 to this day, inhabitants of both communities are free to move in both sides. Today, duty-free shops are one of the main economic resources of Rivera. The first inhabitants of the city were
Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance-speaking ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern nation-state of Spain. Genetically and ethnolinguistically, Spaniards belong to the broader Southern a ...
,
Italians Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...
, Portuguese and some
Brazilians Brazilians (, ) are the citizens of Brazil. A Brazilian can also be a person born abroad to a Brazilian parent or legal guardian as well as a person who acquired Brazilian nationality law, Brazilian citizenship. Brazil is a multiethnic society, ...
immigrants who lived in Santana do Livramento, on the Brazilian side of the border.


Border control

The two cities of Rivera (Uruguay) and Santana do Livramento (Brazil) maintain an open border without any physical border barriers or checkpoints. Inhabitants of the twin cities are free to move anywhere within the two communities without having to undergo checks. Travellers crossing the border here and proceeding further into the other country are required to complete border formalities at an integrated border control post located at Siñeriz Shopping in Rivera. The integrated border control post housing the immigration and customs offices of both countries was inaugurated on 28 December 2016. Previously, travellers had to visit various offices located in different parts of the twin cities.


Economy

One of the main economic activities of the city of Rivera is the duty free stores. These are aimed at Brazilian neighbors, mainly coming from the cities of
Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...
, near the border with Uruguay. The close proximity of Rivera makes it a popular destination for buying imported dollar products. With the fall in the price of the US currency, many devices can be bought for prices up to 40% less than similar ones sold in Brazil. The Rivera shopping limit is $300 per person. Purchases above this amount must be declared at the Federal Revenue Office for the payment of the corresponding import tax so that the product can legally enter
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 ...
. There is also a
casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...
, located on one of the avenues where the border between the two countries runs. Within the department, livestock farming, agriculture and afforestation predominate.


Population

In 2023, Rivera had a population of 84,775 Source: ''Instituto Nacional de Estadística de Uruguay'' Many residents of Rivera speak
Uruguayan Portuguese Uruguayan Portuguese (, ), also known as () and riverense, and referred to by its speakers as (), is a variety of Portuguese in South America with heavy influence from Rioplatense Spanish. It is spoken in north-eastern Uruguay, near the Br ...
, a variety of Portuguese heavily influenced by
Rioplatense Spanish Rioplatense Spanish ( , ), also known as Rioplatense Castilian, or River Plate Spanish, is a variety of SpanishAlvar, Manuel, "''Manual de dialectología hispánica. El español de América''", ("Handbook of Hispanic Dialectology. Spanish Lan ...
.


Geography


Climate

The climate in Rivera, as well as in Santana do Livramento, is
humid subtropical A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between la ...
(''Cfa'', according to the
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
), temperate in the winter and relatively hot in the summer.


Places of worship

* Church of the Immaculate Conception (
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
) * Parish Church of St. Dominic (Roman Catholic) * Parish Church of the Sacred Heart (Roman Catholic) * St. Peter Parish Church (Roman Catholic)


Consular representation

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 ...
has a Consulate-Geral in Rivera, located at 1159 Calle Ceballos.


Notable people

*
Ronald Araújo Ronald Federico Araújo da Silva (born 7 March 1999) is an Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a defender for club Barcelona and the Uruguay national team. Primarily a centre-back, he is also capable of playing as a right-back on ...
, professional
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
for
FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...
, was born in Rivera. * Luiz Eduardo Garagorri, professional mixed martial artist, currently signed for
UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...
. *
Aparicio Méndez Aparicio Méndez Manfredini (24 August 1904 – 27 June 1988) was a Uruguayan lawyer and politician. He was a de facto President of Uruguay from 1976 to 1981 as a non-democratically elected authority of the civic-military dictatorship. Backg ...
, from Rivera, was
President of Uruguay The president of Uruguay (), officially known as the president of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay (), is the head of state and head of government of Uruguay. The president presides over the Cabinet of Uruguay, Council of Ministers, directing ...
from 1976 to 1981. He was never elected democratically and was chosen by the military dictatorship. * Rodrigo Mora, professional footballer for
Club Atlético River Plate Club Atlético River Plate is an Argentine professional sports club based in the Belgrano, Buenos Aires, Belgrano neighborhood of Buenos Aires. Founded in 1901, the club is named after the English name for the city's estuary, Río de la Plata. ...
, was born in Rivera. * Sebastián Puchetta, professional footballer, born in Rivera.


Transportation

There are regular bus services to
Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
. A rail service to
Tacuarembó Tacuarembó ( Guaraní language, Guarani: ''Takuarembo'', literally: "Bamboo shoot") is the capital city of the Tacuarembó Department in north-central Uruguay. History On 24 October 1831, a presidential decree by Fructuoso Rivera ordered the cr ...
has been run intermittently. Rivera is served by Pres. Gral. Óscar D. Gestido International Airport. On August 14, 2023 Uruguay and Brazil signed an agreement to internationalize the airport. According to this agreement, as a binational facility, flights originated in Brazil are treated as domestic, even though the facility is in Uruguayan territory.


Sports

The Estadio Atilio Paiva Olivera holds 27,115 people and was used in the
1995 Copa América The 1995 Copa América football tournament was staged in Uruguay. The host country, Uruguay, won it for a record-tying 14th time by beating Brazil 5–3 in the penalty shootout after a 1–1 draw in the final. All 10 CONMEBOL members took part, w ...
. The Skatepark of Rivera is on Presidente Viera Street.


Twin towns – sister cities

Rivera is twinned with: * Santana do Livramento,
Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...
, Brazil * Uruguaiana,
Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...
, Brazil


See also

*
Rivera Department Rivera Department () is a Departments of Uruguay, department of the northern region of Uruguay. It has an area of and a population of 109,300. Its capital is the city of Rivera. It borders Brazil to the north and east, Cerro Largo Department to t ...
* List of diplomatic missions in Uruguay#Consulate-General in Rivera * Rivera HVDC Back-to-back station


References


External links


INE map of Rivera, Santa Teresa, Mandubí and Lagunón
{{Authority control Rivera Department Populated places in the Rivera Department Populated places established in 1867 Divided cities Brazil–Uruguay border crossings