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ZENICA
Belo Horizonte is the third largest metropolitan area
and fourth largest city in Brazil (after São Paulo, Rio
de Janeiro, and Salvador). It is the capital of Minas
Gerais state, located in the southeast of the country.
With a population of almost 2.4 million and over 5
million in the official metropolitan area, Belo
Horizonte — or "Beagá" as it is more familiarly known
from the sound of its initials BH in Portuguese — is a
place of intense economical and cultural activity. It
has a good infrastructure for national and international
events.
The city is notorious for its visionary construction and
for some contrast between new and old buildings.
Belo Horizonte, full of cultural and touristic activity,
had a number of significant landmarks. In the nearby
suburb of Pampulha is a collection of important
buildings, including one of the largest soccer stadiums
in Brazil, the Mineirão, and the Capela de São Francisco
de Assis (Igreja da Pampulha), designed by the famous
Brazilian architect of the modern school, Oscar Niemeyer.
Pampulha is also home to the Universidade Federal de
Minas Gerais, the largest university in the city, and
one of the five largest in Brazil. In downtown (mostly
run-down) Belo Horizonte, there are the neogothic Boa
Viagem Cathedral, the Lourdes Basilica, the Praça da
Estação (an old train station that now is also the
Museum of Arts and Workmanship), the Municipal Park, the
Nossa Senhora de Fátima church (Assembléia Church), and
the Praça Carlos Chagas, widely known as Praça da
Assembléia.
Near downtown is the famous Savassi area, where most
gastronomic and cultural activities occur. It's more of
an area than a neighborhood, encompassing parts of
several neighborhoods such as Funcionários, São Pedro,
Lourdes, and Centro (Downtown mostly run-down) itself.
Locals consider Savassi one of the city's main nightlife
spots.
While in Savassi, tourists may enjoy seeing the Praça da
Liberdade (Liberty Square) and its surrounding buildings,
including the old Governor's house (Liberty Palace), the
first building to be finished during the city's planned
development in the 1890's. Nearby Parque Municipal (The
Municipal Park) offers a refuge from the congested city.
Tourists may also visit "Rua do Amendoim" (Peanut Street)
where parked automobiles appear to roll upwards, defying
gravity. Whether this is an illusion or a magnetic
phenomenon is left to the visitor to decide. However,
most of the effect seems to have disappeared due to
housing development in the area, but mostly people still
believe the street is magic.
Praça do Papa (Plaza of the Pope), located at a high
point just outside the municipal area, offers a
spectacular view of the entire city. There pope John
Paul II himself discoursed and commented: "What a
beautiful horizon!". That's why the plaza got this
popular name. Nearby Parque das Mangabeiras (Mangabeiras
Park) boasts extensive wildlife, with an area so huge it
has its own internal bus service. It's not uncommon for
tourists to see monkeys and other animals.
One of the characteristics for which Belo Horizonte is
best known in Brazil is its overwhelming proportion of
women to men. In the mid 1990's there were more than
175,000 more women than men. Nobody knows why, but some
say that job opportunities outside the state have
attracted men away from Belo Horizonte, while women have
tended to stay close to their families. |
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