Várzea Alegre 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' ...

in the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Ceará Ceará (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It is the List of Brazilian states by population, eighth-largest Brazilian State by ...

in the Northeast region of

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 ...

. Its area is 835.706 km², including the Calabaça (pumpkin), Canindezinho, Ibicatu, Naraniú and Lagoa Verde (green lagoon) districts.

History

There is little information on the early settlement of Várzea Alegre. Pioneer explorers of the region saw the valley on the dangerous walk towards

Cariri Kiriri people are indigenous people of Eastern Brazil. Their name is also spelled Cariri or Kariri and comes from the Tupi word meaning "silent" or "taciturn". History The French Capuchin missionary Martin of Nantes (1638–1714) was the ap ...

and named it Várzea Alegre after the floodplain or lowland where the city is located. It is one of the few cities in Ceará that has never changed its name. On October 10, 1870, Provincial Law No. 1.329 established the municipality. Várzea Alegre was separated from Lavras da Mangabeira, previously part of Cedro, in November 1863. The city's assets consisted of a patch of land, donated by Major Joaquim Alves Bezerra, his wife and others, on October 19. The local parish was established on November 30, 1863. According to tradition, the church of São Raimundo Nonato was built by the sons of Raimundo Bezerra, known as "Father Raymond". Várzea Alegre is known as the "Land of Contrasts". Those contrasts have inspired songs like Luiz Gonzaga's "Contrastes de Várzea Alegre", with lyrics by the composer José Clementino.

Geography

Located 290 miles from

Fortaleza Fortaleza ( ; ; ) is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeastern Brazil. It is Brazil's 4th largest city—Fortaleza surpassed Salvador, Bahia, Salvador in 2022 census with a population of slightly over 2.4 mi ...

, Várzea Alegre has an area of 81,120 km² and a population of 40,903. Annual income per capita is R$325.85, the 79th highest in the state. The high concentration of wealth is such that more than half the population must survive on a monthly income of less than half the minimum wage. The municipality has a population density of 42.95 inhabitants per km². Urbanization is 55.30% (19,268 inhabitants in the urban area) and increasing. Natural resources include soil, water and vegetation favoring agricultural development, but the city has never had a policy of land recovery and constantly finds itself plagued by drought, forcing people to seek survival in urban areas. The climate of Várzea Alegre is

semi-arid A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a aridity, dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below Evapotranspiration#Potential evapotranspiration, potential evapotranspiration, but not as l ...

and does not vary greatly. The average temperature is 27 °C and average annual rainfall is 965.3 mm. The rainy season generally begins in January and continues until June. Drought sometimes occurs.

Hydrography

The main streams are the Machado, São Miguel, and the Riacho do Meio (Middle Creek) and its tributaries the Mocotó, Caiana, Feijão and Umari dos Carlos, irrigating the entire territory and serving as natural boundaries between Cedro and Lavras da Mangabeira. The following water sources serve the municipality: * Main dams: Caraíbas, Riacho Verde, Lagoa Seca, Vacaria, Mameluco, Brejo, Olho D'água and Ubaldinho. * Main reservoirs: Fortuna and Cachoeira Dantas. * Main lagoons: Lagoa de São Raimundo, Lagoa de Iputi, Lagoa dos Nunes,

Lagoa de Dentro Lagoa de Dentro is a municipality in the state of Paraíba in the Northeast Region of Brazil. See also *List of municipalities in Paraíba This is a list of the municipalities in the States of Brazil, state of Paraíba, Paraíba (PB), located i ...

Culture

The main cultural events are: * Várzea Alegre Carnival * Holy Week * ''Festas Juninas'' (June) * São Raimundo Nonato Week (August) * Week of the Municipality (October) * Christmas of Peace (December)

References

External links

Várzea Alegre official web site

Várzea Alegre, Ceará, at IBGE's web site

Lyrics of the song "Contrastes de Várzea Alegre"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Varzea Alegre Municipalities in Ceará