Santa Rita do Sapucaí () is a

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' ...

situated in the southernmost part of 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 ...

. The city is known as the "electronic valley", since it has plenty of electronic industries, and both a technical school ( ETE - Escola Técnica de Eletrônica Francisco Moreira da Costa) and a University ( Inatel - Instituto Nacional de Telecomunicações) which hold courses in electronic knowledge. It also has another university – FAI, which has majors in administration and informatics. It has an area of 350,874 km² (135.473 sq mi). Santa Rita has an old freemasonry fraternity, called Loja Caridade Sul Mineira. According to the last estimate (2020), it has a population of 43,753 people. The town holds the ''Festa de Santa Rita'' every year in May, which attracts people to the town.

Carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

() in Santa Rita is also a very celebrated party, traditionally Bloco do Ride and Bloco dos Democráticos are the major street amusement, and for the young adults there is Bloco do Urso, which brings thousands of young people each year to the city in February. In July 2012, Santa Rita do Sapucaí became the first jurisdiction in Minas Gerais to adopt same-sex marriage, and the first municipality in Brazil to individually legalize it. (See:

Same-sex marriage in Brazil Same-sex marriage has been legal in Brazil since 16 May 2013, following a decision by the National Justice Council ordering notaries of every state to license and perform same-sex marriages. Before nationwide legalisation in May 2013, the state ...

History

Santa Rita do Sapucaí is a

in the southern region of

state (MG) 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 ...

. Traditionally, the foundation date of Santa Rita, short name for the city, is considered to be 1825-05-22, when the first

mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

was held in the

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

built on orders of Dona Genoveva Maria Martins da Fonseca, honoring a promise made by her late husband Manoel José da Fonseca. The Fonseca family arrived in the region in the early 19th century and is considered the founding family of Santa Rita do Sapucaí.

Geography

Santa Rita is located in a privileged site, a few hundred kilometers away from the states of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

and

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, in one of Minas Gerais' richest regions. It dwells between mountains and has a pleasant weather, with mild and dry winters, warm and dry springs, warm and wet summers and mild and wet autumns as typical of historically Atlantic Forest-covered Southeastern Brazil, throughout the year. It is warmer than São Paulo, but colder than Rio de Janeiro, Volta Redonda, Juiz de Fora and Belo Horizonte (Brazilians call the climate of the town ''tropical de altitude'', which means it is kind of subtropical for such low latitude). The municipality contains the Santa Rita Biological Reserve, a strictly protected conservation unit created in 1980.

Economy

Although located in a rich

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

-growing region, Santa Rita is known for its high

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

industries, being home to one of Brazil's foremost electronic,

telecommunications Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communication technologies. These means of ...

and

computer A computer is a machine that can be Computer programming, programmed to automatically Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (''computation''). Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic set ...

engineering colleges, INATE

- Instituto Nacional de Telecomunicações, which was founded in 1965. As to the Escola Técnica de Eletrônica "Francisco Moreira da Costa

the first electronic technical school of Latin América, it was founded in 1959 by lady Sinha Moreira. The city possesses today more than 110 companies of technological bases. Santa Rita uses prisoners to power street lamps in a local plaza. Inmates are offered the opportunity to shorten their sentences by pedaling a bike that is connected to a car battery, which then are used to power the lighting grid.

Notable people

* International soccer player

Roque Júnior José Vítor Roque Júnior (; born 31 August 1976), more commonly known as Roque Júnior, is a Brazilian football pundit and former player who played as a defender. He won 48 caps for Brazil and was part of the winning squad at the 2002 Wo ...

, who was in the Brazil's world champions squad of 2002, was born in Santa Rita. He also started in the local team, Santarritense. * Olavo Bilac Pinto was president of

Chamber of Deputies of Brazil The Chamber of Deputies () is a federal legislative body and the lower house of the National Congress of Brazil. The chamber comprises 513 deputies, who are elected by proportional representation to serve four-year terms. The current presiden ...

in 1965 and an ambassador of Brazil in France from 1966 to 1970. * Former Brazilian president Delfim Moreira ( List of presidents of Brazil), although not being born in Santa Rita, spent much of his life there. * Pedro Rodrigues Filho, a

serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...

who claims to have made more than 100 victims, was born in Santa Rita at the Rio Sapucai shores.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Rita Do Sapucai Municipalities in Minas Gerais

History

Geography

Economy

Notable people

See also

References