Santa Catarina (state)
Santa Catarina (
pron. IPA: //
[The presented pronunciation is in Brazilian Portuguese. The European Portuguese pronunciation is: //.]) is a
state in southern
Brazil with one of the highest standards of living in the country. Its capital is
Florianópolis, which lies on the
Santa Catarina's island.
Its largest city is
Joinville.
Neighboring states are
Rio Grande do Sul to the south and
Paraná to the north. To the west it also borders
Argentina.
Santa Catarina is in a very strategic position in
Mercosul, the South American Common Market. Its position in the map is situated between the parallel 25º57'41" and 29º23'55" of the Southern latitude and between the meridians 48º19'37" and 53º50'00" of Western longitude.
Florianópolis, its Capital, is 1.850 km from
Buenos Aires, 705 km from
São Paulo, 1.144 Km from
Rio de Janeiro and 1.673 Km from
Brasilia.
The
Atlantic Ocean coast of Santa Catarina has many beaches, islands, bays and inlets. The center of the State is covered with groves of Brazilian pines; the southwest has prairies; and the east and west regions has strips of forests.
Santa Catarina is considered one of the coldest states in
Brazil. It is also one of the few Brazilian states where it snows, occasionally during the winter, because of its highlands. In the mid 1990s, during a rigorous winter, it snowed on the state's countryside about 2 meters of snow, equivalent to the quantity of snow that falls in the winter of
Russia or
Canada.
European settlement began with the Spanish settlement of
Santa Catarina island in
1542. The Portuguese took control in
1675. The captaincy of Santa Catarina was established in
1738. Large numbers of European immigrants, especially from
Germany, began arriving in the early
19th century. Immigrants from
Italy,
Poland,
Russia,
Ukraine,
Japan and other parts of
Europe later arrived, with one result being an abundance of small, family held farms in the state's interior. In late
March 2004, the state was hit by the first ever
hurricane recorded in the
South Atlantic. Because there is no naming system for such an event in Brazil, Brazilian
meteorologists called it
Catarina, after the state.
*92% white
**
German-Brazilians (35%);
**
Italian-Brazilians (30%);
**
Portuguese-Brazilians (22%);
**5% others (
Polish-Brazilians
Russian-Brazilians,
Norwegian-Brazilians etc)
*8%
otherSanta Catarina is considered the most
European State of Brazil. The vast majority of the population are descendants of European settlers.
Portuguese
The
Portuguese started arriving in the 1750s, mainly from the
Azores islands, and colonized the coast. In the late 18th century, half of Santa Catarina's population was Portuguese-born. These Portuguese established many important towns of the State, such as
Florianópolis, the capital.
Germans
Germans started arriving in 1828. They were peasants that were attracted to Brazil to get their own lands, since
Germany was overpopulated and many people had no lands to work. German immigration was very low, until the 1850s, when waves of Germans started arriving in Southern Brazil. To stimulate the development of the German colonization in Southern Brazil, the Brazilian government has created many
German colonies. These colonies were ethnically Germanic areas, where people from many parts of Germany settled. Initially, these colonies were rural lands, where the immigrants were able to cultivate their own lands. Many of these German colonies had a great development and became big towns, such as
Blumenau and
Joinville, the largest city in Santa Catarina.
Germans had been isolated in rural communities for decades. They did not have much contact with other people of Brazil, and for generations they were able to speak
German and keep their German traditions in Brazil. This situation changed in the 1930s, when Brazil declared war against Germany in 1942, and the German immigrants were 'obligated' to learn
Portuguese and to follow a
Brazilian way of life.
Nowadays, the German influence in the State of Santa Catarina is still very strong and visible. Many towns, especially the small ones, still retain many aspects of the German culture, such as
Pomerode, a small town where 90% of the population are of
German-Brazilian heritage and most of the inhabitants speak
German fluently or the
Oktoberfest of
Blumenau and many other towns in the region. The architecture also shows German influence, as well in people's customs and food.
Italians
Italian settlers started arriving in Santa Catarina in 1875 and immigrated in large numbers until the 1910s. They were peasants from
Northern Italy and established themselves in ethnically Italian colonies close to the coast. In the beginning, the Italian settlement had failed, because many Italians died of tropical diseases or left the colonies to find better conditions. However, in
Vale do Tubarão region (southern Santa Catarina), Italian immigrants found cooler weather and better lands, and the colonies prospered. Many Italians worked in the coal industry and, unlike the German immigrants, they did not dedicate themselves very much to agriculture. As they were not isolated in rural colonies, Italian immigrants were quickly integrated into the Brazilians of
Portuguese descent, that were living there since the 18th century.
Santa Catarina has one of the highest standards of living in
Brazil- comparable to the Iberian Peninsula countries, and is a major industrial and agricultural center.
In the northeast of the state, electric-mechanical, textile and furniture industries are stronger; in the west, cattle and poultry breeding, and in the south, ceramics and shellfishes.
The corridor between Joinville, Jaragua do Sul and Blumenau is heavily industrialized - more than 50% of the state's industrial output is concentrated in this small, but very developed area.
Santa Catarina has some of the most beautiful beaches in
Brazil - Summer months (Dec-Mar) make the state one of the most sought after travel destinations in Brazil and South America. Argentinians and Paraguayans invade the state beaches from mid December till the end of January.
The major cities and their respective fields are:
*
Joinville, metal-mechanic; tourism/events; software; commerce.
*
Florianópolis, tourism; government; technology; education.
*
Blumenau, software, textile and beer.
*
Jaraguá do Sul, electric engines and textile.
*
Balneário Camboriú major beach resort.
*
Itajai, seaport.
*
Criciúma, ceramics.
*
Chapecó, cattle and poultry breeding.
*
São Bento do Sul, furniture.
.
Santa Catarina is not only just a summer destination. The State which was initially known for its beautiful coastline with more than 500 beaches grew to acknowledge that its geographic and cultural diversity was also a big tourist attraction and as a result, tourists can today enjoy contrasting sceneries and climates which are very close to each other " only two hours by car separate paradisiacal beaches from some 2000 meters high mountains.
Santa Catarina offers a number of products and specialized segments throughout the year: rural tourism, thermal mineral resorts, ecological tourism and adventure sports, historic monuments and sights, religious tourism, Beto Carrero World and Unipraias parks) and the unforgettable beach resort of Balneário Camboriú...
Some of the products can only be sold in the off-season, like the snow spectacle on the Catarinense Mountain Range - the only place in Brazil where it snows every year. This region which is the birthplace of rural tourism has good farm hotels where trout fishing in the ice-cold rivers, horse riding, trekking and outdoors sports activities, make you want to enjoy local home cooking.
Between July and November, the Right whales visit the state's coast " and the number of tourists wishing to see this spectacle has increased year after year.
The big festivities are in October " 12 altogether " the main one is the Oktoberfest in
Blumenau.
Joinville is the host city - in July -of the "Joinville Dance Festival"
3 and several business events in its Convention Center;
Blumenau is the site of Brazil's largest and the world's second largest (after Germany's
Munich) annual beer festival
Oktoberfest Florianópolis the city/island State Capital attracts a large numbers of tourists during the summer months lured by its 42 beaches and great life style.
Santa Catarina has one of the most beautiful coastlines in Brazil, with one very busy beach resort:
Balneário Camboriú.
There are also many smaller resort towns, including ,
Itapema,
Piçarras,
Barra Velha and
Penha, home to the famous amusement park "Beto Carrero World".
The minority languages of the state of Santa Catarina can be divided into two distinct groups:
The
Autoctone Languages or
Indigenous Languages:
Kaingang;
Guaraní; others...
The
Extoctone Languages or
Immigration Languages:
German (
Hunsrückisch,
Pomeranian/
Plautdietsch);Italian (
Italian or
veneto), Ukrainian (
Ukrainian ; others (
Polish, etc.)
In some cities and villages, German and Ukrainian are still the first spoken language.
*
Araranguá*
Águas Mornas*
Blumenau*
Braço do Norte*
Brusque*
Capivari de Baixo*
Chapecó*
Criciúma*
Florianópolis*
Gaspar*
Gravatal*
Imbituba*
Itaiópolis*
Itajaí*
Itapoá*
Jaraguá do Sul*
Joaçaba*
Joinville*
Lages*
Laguna*
Palhoça*
Piçarras*
São José*
São Francisco do Sul*
São Bento do Sul*
Santo Amaro da Imperatriz*
São João do Itaperiú*
Sombrio*
Tubarão*
TurvoSee also:
*
List of cities in Brazil (all cities and municipalities)
*
Official homepage (Portuguese)
*
Official Hotel Guide; Webhotel.
*
Brazilian Embassy in London*
Polícia Militar do Estado de Santa Catarina (Santa Catarina's State Military Police)*
Santa Catarina Property
