Pernambuco
Encyclopedia
Pernambuco is a state of Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, located in the Northeast region
Northeast Region, Brazil
The Northeast Region of Brazil is composed of the following states: Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe and Bahia, and it represents 18.26% of the Brazilian territory....

 of the country. To the north are the states of Paraíba
Paraíba
Paraíba Paraíba Paraíba (Tupi: pa'ra a'íba: "bad to navigation"; Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: is a state of Brazil. It is located in the Brazilian Northeast, and is bordered by Rio Grande do Norte to the north, Ceará to the west, Pernambuco to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the east...

 and Ceará
Ceará
Ceará is one of the 27 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is currently the 8th largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the main touristic destinations in Brazil. The state capital is the city of...

, to the west is Piauí
Piauí
Piauí is one of the states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country.Piauí has the shortest coastline of any of the non-landlocked Brazilian states at 66 km , and the capital, Teresina, is the only state capital in the north east to be located inland...

, to the south are Alagoas
Alagoas
Alagoas is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco ; Sergipe ; Bahia ; and the Atlantic Ocean . It occupies an area of 27,767 km², being slightly larger than Haiti...

 and Bahia
Bahia
Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...

, and to the east is the Atlantic Ocean. There are about 187 kilometres (116.2 mi) of beaches
Pernambuco beaches
The Pernambuco coast has 187 kilometres long plus the Fernando de Noronha islands coast.In Pernambuco are located dozens of beaches of all types, since virgins until urban beaches...

, some of the most beautiful in the country, as Porto de Galinhas
Porto de Galinhas
Porto de Galinhas is a beach in the municipality of Ipojuca, Pernambuco, Brazil. Porto de Galinhas is a major tourist destination. The beach is famous for its bright-water beaches and the natural pools.It is part of the municipality of Ipojuca, and located south of the state capital, Recife.It has...

, Carneiros and Calhetas. Together with its neighboring city of Olinda
Olinda
Olinda is a historic city in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco, located on the country's northeastern Atlantic Ocean coast, just north of Recife and south of Paulista...

, it is one of the most cosmopolitan cities
Recife metropolitan area
Recife Metropolitan Area is the largest urban metropolitan area of the Northeast/North regions and the fifth in Brazil with 3,768,902 inhabitants in 2008.Is among with another large cities the first nine established metropolitan regions in Brazil...

 in the northeastern part of Brazil. Both have Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 architecture, with centuries-old casarões and churches, and kilometers of beaches and much culture. Pernambuco also has the archipelago Fernando de Noronha
Fernando de Noronha
Fernando de Noronha is an archipelago of 21 islands and islets in the Atlantic Ocean, offshore from the Brazilian coast. The main island has an area of and had a population of 3,012 in the year 2010...

. The proximity of the Equator guarantees an entire year of sun, with average temperatures of 26 °C (79 °F).

Physical geography

Pernambuco comprises a comparatively narrow coastal zone, a high inland plateau, and an intermediate zone formed by the terraces and slopes between the two.

Its surface is much broken by the remains of the ancient plateau which has been worn down by erosion, leaving escarpments and ranges of flat-topped mountains, called chapada
Chapada
A chapada is a plateau found in the Brazilian Highlands. The chapadas, which are usually described as mountain ranges, are capped by horizontal strata of sandstone and show the original surface, which has been worn away by the rivers, leaving here and there broad flat-topped ridges between river...

s, capped in places by horizontal layers of sandstone. Ranges of these chapadas form the boundary lines with three states–the Serra dos Irmãos and Serra Vermelha with Piauí
Piauí
Piauí is one of the states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country.Piauí has the shortest coastline of any of the non-landlocked Brazilian states at 66 km , and the capital, Teresina, is the only state capital in the north east to be located inland...

, the Serra do Araripe with Ceará
Ceará
Ceará is one of the 27 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is currently the 8th largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the main touristic destinations in Brazil. The state capital is the city of...

, and the Serra dos Cariris Velhos with Paraíba
Paraíba
Paraíba Paraíba Paraíba (Tupi: pa'ra a'íba: "bad to navigation"; Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: is a state of Brazil. It is located in the Brazilian Northeast, and is bordered by Rio Grande do Norte to the north, Ceará to the west, Pernambuco to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the east...

.

The coastal area is fertile, and was formerly covered by the humid Pernambuco coastal forests
Pernambuco coastal forests
The Pernambuco coastal forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of northeastern Brazil, part of the larger Atlantic Forest region.-Setting:...

, the northern extension of the Atlantic Forests (Mata Atlântica) of eastern Brazil. It is now place to extensive sugar cane plantations. It has a hot, humid climate, relieved to some extent by the south-east trade winds.

The middle zone, called the agreste region, has a drier climate and lighter vegetation, including the semi-deciduous Pernambuco interior forests
Pernambuco interior forests
The Pernambuco interior forests is an ecoregion of eastern Brazil. It is part of the larger Atlantic forests complex, and lies between the coastal Pernambuco coastal forests and the dry Caatinga shrublands of Brazil's interior.-Setting:...

, where many trees lose their leaves in the dry season.

The inland region, called the sertão
Sertão
In Portuguese, the word sertão first referred to the vast hinterlands of Asia that Lusitanian explorers encountered. In Brazil, the geographical term referred to backlands away from the Atlantic coastal regions where the Portuguese first settled in South America in the early sixteenth century...

 is high, stony, and dry, and frequently devastated by prolonged droughts (secas). The climate is characterized by hot days and cool nights. There are two clearly defined seasons, a rainy season from March to June, and a dry season for the remaining months. The interior of the state is covered mostly by the dry thorny scrub vegetation called caatinga
Caatinga
Caatinga is a type of vegetation, and an ecoregion characterized by this vegetation in the northeastern part of Brazil. The name "Caatinga" is a Tupi word meaning "white forest" or "white vegetation"...

. The Rio São Francisco is the main water source for this area.

The climate is more mild in the countryside of the state because of the Borborema Plateau
Borborema Plateau
The Borborema Plateau is a plateau in northeastern Brazil which extends across the states of Pernambuco, Paraíba, and Rio Grande do Norte....

 ("Planalto da Borborema", popularly known as "Serra das Russas" or "Russians' Mountain"). Some towns are located more than 1000 meters above sea level, and the temperatures there can descend to 10 °C (50 °F) and even 5 °C (41 °F) in some cities (i.e., Triunfo
Triunfo
Triunfo is a municipality in the state Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.It is also the richest municipality in Brazil, with a per capita income of R$122,750 .-See also:*List of municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul...

) during the winter.

The island of Fernando de Noronha
Fernando de Noronha
Fernando de Noronha is an archipelago of 21 islands and islets in the Atlantic Ocean, offshore from the Brazilian coast. The main island has an area of and had a population of 3,012 in the year 2010...

 in the Atlantic Ocean, 535 km northeast of Recife
Recife
Recife is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Brazil with 4,136,506 inhabitants, the largest metropolitan area of the North/Northeast Regions, the 5th-largest metropolitan influence area in Brazil, and the capital and largest city of the state of Pernambuco. The population of the city proper...

, has been part of Pernambuco since 1988.

The rivers of the state include a number of small plateau streams flowing southward to the São Francisco River
São Francisco River
The São Francisco is a river in Brazil. With a length of , it is the longest river that runs entirely in Brazilian territory, and the fourth longest in South America and overall in Brazil...

, and several large streams in the eastern part flowing eastward to the Atlantic. The former are the Moxotó
Moxotó River
The Moxotó River is a tributary of the São Francisco River in northeastern Brazil. The Moxotó originates on the Borborema Plateau in Pernambuco state, and flows southwest to join the São Francisco. The lower portion of the river forms the border between Pernambuco state to the west and Alagoas...

, Ema, Pajeú
Pajeú River
The Pajeú River is a tributary of the São Francisco River in Pernambuco state of northeastern Brazil. The Pajeú originates on the Borborema Plateau, and flows southwest to join the São Francisco....

, Terra Nova
Terra Nova River
The Terra Nova River is a Canadian river in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.It drains an area in the centre of the island of Newfoundland, discharging into Bonavista Bay at Glovertown....

, Brigida, Boa Vista and Pontai, and are dry channels the greater part of the year.

The largest of the coastal rivers are the Goiana River
Goiana River
The Goiana River is a river in Pernambuco state of northeastern Brazil. It is formed by the confluence of the Tracunhaém and Capibaribe Mirim rivers, and drains eastward into the Atlantic Ocean....

, which is formed by the confluence of the Tracunhaem and Capibaribe-mirim, and drains a rich agricultural region in the north-east part of the state; the Capibaribe
Capibaribe River
The Capibaribe River is a river located in Pernambuco state, Brazil, with a length of 240 kilometers. The Capibaribe originates in the Serra do Jacarará, in the municipality of Poção, and flows to the Atlantic Ocean.-Etymology:...

, which has its source in the Serra de Jacarara and flows eastward to the Atlantic at Recife
Recife
Recife is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Brazil with 4,136,506 inhabitants, the largest metropolitan area of the North/Northeast Regions, the 5th-largest metropolitan influence area in Brazil, and the capital and largest city of the state of Pernambuco. The population of the city proper...

 with a course of nearly 300 miles (482.8 km); the Ipojuca
Ipojuca River
-References:*...

, which rises in the Serra de Aldeia Velha and reaches the coast south of Recife; the Serinhaen; and the Uná. A large tributary of the Uná, the Rio Jacuhipe, forms part of the boundary line with Alagoas
Alagoas
Alagoas is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco ; Sergipe ; Bahia ; and the Atlantic Ocean . It occupies an area of 27,767 km², being slightly larger than Haiti...

.

History

Originally inhabited by various indigenous peoples, Pernambuco was first settled by the Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 in the 16th century. The French under Bertrand d'Ornesan
Bertrand d'Ornesan
Bertrand d'Ornesan, also Bertrand d'Ornezan, Baron de Saint-Blancard, was a French admiral in the service of King Francis I of France...

 tried to establish a French trading post at Pernambuco in 1531. Shortly after King João III of Portugal created the Hereditary Captaincies in 1534, Pernambuco was granted to Duarte Coelho, who arrived in Nova Lusitânia (or "New Lusitania
Lusitania
Lusitania or Hispania Lusitania was an ancient Roman province including approximately all of modern Portugal south of the Douro river and part of modern Spain . It was named after the Lusitani or Lusitanian people...

") in 1535.

Duarte directed military actions against the French-allied Caetés
Caetés
The Caetés were an indigenous people of Brazil, linguistically belonging to the Tupi people.During the 16th Century, this tribe inhabited the Brazilian coast from the mouth of river São Francisco to the island of Itamaracá, by the River Paraíba, in an area limited, in the north, by the land of the...

 Indians and upon their defeat in 1537 established a settlement at the site of a former Marin Indian village, henceforth known as Olinda, as well as another village at Igarassu
Igarassu
Igarassu is a city in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco. It is situated on the north coast of the metropolitan region of Recife, approximately 32 km north of the city of Recife...

.

Due to the cultivation of sugar and cotton, Pernambuco was one of the few prosperous captaincies (the other notable one being São Vicente
São Vicente Ferrer, Pernambuco
São Vicente Ferrer is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Pernambuco. According with IBGE in 2009, has an estimated population of 17.333 inhabitants...

). With the support of the Dutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company was a chartered company of Dutch merchants. Among its founding fathers was Willem Usselincx...

, sugar mills (engenho) were built and a sugar-based economy developed. In 1612, Pernambuco produced 14,000 tons of sugar; in the 1640s, more than 24,000 tons of sugar were exported to Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

 alone. While the sugar industry relied at first on the labor of indigenous peoples, especially the Tupis and Tapuyas, high mortality and economic growth led to the importation of African slaves from the late 17th century. Some of these slaves escaped the sugar-producing coastal regions and formed independent inland communities called mocambos
Mocambos
The mocambos were village-sized communities mainly of runaway slaves in colonial Brazil, during the Portuguese rule....

, including Palmares
Palmares, Pernambuco
Palmares is a city in northeastern Brazil, in the State of Pernambuco, with 58.819 inhabitants, according with IBge 2009. Its main activity is the combined field of agriculture and livestock...

.

In 1630, Pernambuco, as well as many Portuguese possessions in Brazil, was occupied by the Dutch
Dutch Brazil
Dutch Brazil, also known as New Holland, was the northern portion of Brazil, ruled by the Dutch during the Dutch colonization of the Americas between 1630 and 1654...

. The occupation was strongly resisted and the Dutch conquest was only partially successful. In the interim, thousands of the enslaved Africans had fled to Palmares, and soon the mocambos there had grown into two significant states. The Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...

, who allowed sugar production to remain in Portuguese hands, regarded suppression of Palmares important, but they were unsuccessful.
Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen, count of Nassau, was appointed as ruler of the Nieuw Holland (Dutch colonization enterprise in Brazil).

Nassau's government built Maritania or Mauritsstad (Recife
Recife
Recife is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Brazil with 4,136,506 inhabitants, the largest metropolitan area of the North/Northeast Regions, the 5th-largest metropolitan influence area in Brazil, and the capital and largest city of the state of Pernambuco. The population of the city proper...

) on delta islands, which have similarities to Holland's topography. This moved the political focus from Olinda to Recife. Nassau's Dutch administration was noted for advancements in urbanism, culture, and science. The Dutch legacy is still recognizable in Pernambuco's people, accent and architecture.

Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 reconquered Recife in 1654 and Olinda
Olinda
Olinda is a historic city in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco, located on the country's northeastern Atlantic Ocean coast, just north of Recife and south of Paulista...

 regained its status of political center. However, Recife
Recife
Recife is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Brazil with 4,136,506 inhabitants, the largest metropolitan area of the North/Northeast Regions, the 5th-largest metropolitan influence area in Brazil, and the capital and largest city of the state of Pernambuco. The population of the city proper...

 remained the commercial /port city. If the Dutch were gone, however, the threat of the now unified quilombo of Palmares remained. In spite of a treaty negotiated in 1678 with its ruler Ganga Zumba
Ganga Zumba
Ganga Zumba was the first of the leaders of Quilombo dos Palmares, or Angola Janga, in the present-day state of Alagoas, Brazil. Zumba was a slave who escaped bondage on a sugar plantation and assumed his destiny as heir to the kingdom of Palmares and the title Ganga Zumba...

, a war between the two remained. Zumbi
Zumbi
Zumbi , also known as Zumbi dos Palmares, was the last of the leaders of the Quilombo dos Palmares, in the present-day state of Alagoas, Brazil.-Quilombos:...

 who became ruler following the peace treaty and later repudiated it, fought the Portuguese government until 1694 when soldiers brought from the south eventually defeated him.

In 1710 the Mascate War
Mascate War
Mascate War, The War of the Peddlers or Guerra dos Mascates was a conflict fought between rival groups of commerce in Olinda and Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil from 1710 to 1711....

 took place in Pernambuco. This conflict set the mascates (traveling salesman) from Recife against the establishment hosted in Olinda and led by the Senhores de Engenho (owners of the sugar mills, literally: sugar mill lords).

Pernambuco was the site of the most important rebellions and insurrections in Brazilian history, especially in the 19th century.

1817 was the year of the Pernambucan Revolution
Pernambucan Revolt
The Pernambucan Revolt of 1817 occurred in the province of Pernambuco in the Northeastern region of Brazil, and was sparked mainly by the decline of sugar cane production and the influence of the Freemasonry in the region...

, a republican separatist movement which resulted in the creation of the Republic of Pernambuco. The main cause of the revolution was dissatisfaction with the colonial administration. The republic was declared on 7 March 1817. After military intervention, the secession ended on 20 May 1817. The current flag of Pernambuco is actually the flag of that Republic.

As a reaction to the Emperor Dom Pedro I dissolution of the Constituent Assembly
Constituent assembly
A constituent assembly is a body composed for the purpose of drafting or adopting a constitution...

, the Confederation of the Equator
Confederation of the Equator
The Confederation of the Equator was a short-lived rebellion that occurred in the northeastern region of Brazil during that nation's struggle for independence from Portugal. The secessionist movement was led by wealthy landowners who opposed early reforms by the nation's first leader, Emperor...

 was set up on 2 July 1824. The Confederation was another separatist movement which encompassed the provinces of Pernambuco, Paraíba
Paraíba
Paraíba Paraíba Paraíba (Tupi: pa'ra a'íba: "bad to navigation"; Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: is a state of Brazil. It is located in the Brazilian Northeast, and is bordered by Rio Grande do Norte to the north, Ceará to the west, Pernambuco to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the east...

, Rio Grande do Norte, and Ceará
Ceará
Ceará is one of the 27 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is currently the 8th largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the main touristic destinations in Brazil. The state capital is the city of...

. On 29 November 1824, the Confederated forces capitulated to the Imperial army.

Pernambuco was the site of the brief liberal republican Praieira revolt
Praieira revolt
The Praieira revolt, also known as the Beach rebellion, was a movement in the Pernambuco region of Brazil that lasted from 1848 to 1849. The revolt, influenced by revolutions taking place in Europe, was due in part to unresolved conflicts left over from the period of the Regency and local...

 in 1848, which was Brazil's response to the European year of failed liberal revolutions
Revolutions of 1848
The European Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations, Springtime of the Peoples or the Year of Revolution, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe in 1848. It was the first Europe-wide collapse of traditional authority, but within a year reactionary...

. Deodoro da Fonseca
Deodoro da Fonseca
Marshal Manuel Deodoro da Fonseca became the first president of the Republic of Brazil after heading a military coup that deposed Emperor Pedro II and proclaimed the Republic in 1889, disestablishing the Empire of Brazil.- Biography :...

, the marshal who crushed the revolt, much later overthrew Emperor Pedro II
Pedro II of Brazil
Dom Pedro II , nicknamed "the Magnanimous", was the second and last ruler of the Empire of Brazil, reigning for over 58 years. Born in Rio de Janeiro, he was the seventh child of Emperor Dom Pedro I of Brazil and Empress Dona Maria Leopoldina and thus a member of the Brazilian branch of...

, and served as the first president of the Brazilian republic.

Dutch domain

In the 17th century, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 was experiencing a surge of freedom and progress, free from the anchors of delay that lingered in other parts of Europe. Its society, its economy and the arts (which included a painting of great beauty and high artistic level) experienced the benefits of modern capitalism, driven by the ambition of a powerful bourgeoisie. A symbolic expression of this new economy was a branch of the Dutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company was a chartered company of Dutch merchants. Among its founding fathers was Willem Usselincx...

 – today we would call a transnational corporation – which extended its tentacles throughout the world and controlled large portion of trade between East and West. A Board of nineteen members appointed as Governor of Pernambuco Prince Johan Maurits, Count of Nassau. It was an auspicious choice for Brazil, because he was a lover of the arts, a versatile and competent talent, with a deep interest in the New World. In 1637 he opened his government guidelines quite different from those of the Portuguese colonialists, declaring "Freedom of Religion and Trade.
From his entourage contained traders, artists, planners, Flemish
Southern Netherlands
Southern Netherlands were a part of the Low Countries controlled by Spain , Austria and annexed by France...

 and German citizens. There are reports that have been accompanied by six painters, such as Frans Post
Frans Post
Frans Janszoon Post was a Dutch painter. He was the first European artist to paint landscapes of America. In 1636 he traveled to Dutch Brazil at the invitation of Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen.- Biography :...

 and Albert Eckhout
Albert Eckhout
Albert Eckhout was a Dutch portrait and still life painter.Eckhout was among the first European artists to paint scenes from the New World. In 1636, he traveled to Dutch Brazil, invited by count John Maurice, Prince of Nassau-Siegen. There, he painted portraits of natives, slaves and mulattos...

, but we do not have records of all of them.
It was also Nassau who has carefully crafted in Brazil to create an environment of Dutch religious tolerance shockingly new to the Portuguese America and irritating to the Calvinists of his own entourage. Nassau was the first to systematically take care of freeing the economy of the monoculture sugar production to develop the polyculture. It was also in Recife
Recife
Recife is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Brazil with 4,136,506 inhabitants, the largest metropolitan area of the North/Northeast Regions, the 5th-largest metropolitan influence area in Brazil, and the capital and largest city of the state of Pernambuco. The population of the city proper...

 under Dutch rule that an important part of Israeli culture was asserted – many Iberian Jews had previously sought refuge in the Netherlands – and the tradition of the Jews was being developed in Brazilian soil, especially the Sephardim, who here would spread to the northern Americas. There are records that in 1636 a synagogue was being built in the city.
Many Dutch Jews were linked to commercial activities of the East India Company, which naturally sent them to the New World. A Jewish scholar from Amsterdam, Isaac Aboab da Fonseca
Isaac Aboab da Fonseca
Isaac Aboab da Fonseca was a rabbi, scholar, kabbalist and writer. In 1656, he was one of several elders within the Portuguese-Israelite community in the Netherlands who excommunicated Baruch Spinoza for the statements this philosopher made concerning the nature of God.Isaac Aboab da Fonseca was...

, arrived in Recife
Recife
Recife is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Brazil with 4,136,506 inhabitants, the largest metropolitan area of the North/Northeast Regions, the 5th-largest metropolitan influence area in Brazil, and the capital and largest city of the state of Pernambuco. The population of the city proper...

 in 1642, becoming the first rabbi on national soil and on the Continent. In 1643, three years after the Portuguese regained the crown in the metropolis, Father António Vieira
António Vieira
Father António Vieira was a Portuguese Jesuit and writer, the "prince" of Catholic pulpit-orators of his time.-Life:Vieira was born in Lisbon to Cristóvão Vieira Ravasco, the son of a mulatto woman, and Maria de Azevedo. Accompanying his parents to Brazil in 1614, he received his education at the...

 – frowned upon, persecuted by the Inquisition and admirer of Aboab – recommended the King of Portugal to betake the capital of the New Christians and Jews immigrants to help The depressed Portuguese finace

In 1630, Dutch West India Company once again turns its interest to the most promissory Captaincies of the Portuguese colony in the Americas. Due to the Iberian Union
Iberian Union
The Iberian union was a political unit that governed all of the Iberian Peninsula south of the Pyrenees from 1580–1640, through a dynastic union between the monarchies of Portugal and Spain after the War of the Portuguese Succession...

 (1580 a 1640), the so far known Dutch Republic
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...

 (which was dominated by Spain for a while but became independent afterwards) saw in Pernambuco the opportunity to impose a harsh stroke in Spain, while it would compensates for the loss resulted from the failure of the management of Bahia
Bahia
Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...

. In 26 December 1629, a squad with 66 vessels and 7.280 men left São Vicente, Cape Verde, heading to Pernambuco.

The Dutch conquered the Captaincy of Pernambuco in February of 1630 and established the colony of New Holland.

Nowadays, the majority of the inhabitants of the pernambuco's cariri has Dutch ancestry.

Demographics

According to the IBGE
IBGE
The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics or IBGE , is the agency responsible for statistical, geographic, cartographic, geodetic and environmental information in Brazil...

 of 2009, there were 8,745,000 people residing in the state. The population density was 89.6 PD/km2.

Urbanization: 76.8% (2006); Population growth
Population growth
Population growth is the change in a population over time, and can be quantified as the change in the number of individuals of any species in a population using "per unit time" for measurement....

: 1.2% (1991–2000); Houses: 2,348,000 (2006).

The last PNAD (National Research for Sample of Domiciles) census revealed the following numbers: 4,799,000 Brown (Multiracial) people (54.87%), 3,307,000 White
White Brazilian
White Brazilians make up 48.4% of Brazil's population, or around 92 million people, according to the IBGE's 2008 PNAD . Whites are present in the entire territory of Brazil, although the main concentrations are found in the South and Southeastern parts of the country...

 people (37.81%), 561,000 Black
Afro-Brazilian
In Brazil, the term "preto" is one of the five categories used by the Brazilian Census, along with "branco" , "pardo" , "amarelo" and "indígena"...

 people (6.42%), 41,000 Amerindian
Indigenous peoples in Brazil
The Indigenous peoples in Brazil comprise a large number of distinct ethnic groups who inhabited the country prior to the European invasion around 1500...

 people (0.47%), 31,000 Asian
Asian Brazilian
An Asian Brazilian is is a Brazilian citizen of full or partial Asian ancestry, who remains culturally connected to Asia, or an Asian-born person permanently residing in Brazil. Brazil received many immigrants from Asia, both from Middle East and East Asia...

 people (0.36%).

Mixed-race
Mixed-race Brazilian
Brazilian censuses do not use a "multiracial" category. Instead, the censuses use skin colour categories, with a Pardo one, that may include people of varied "mixed racial" ancestry, but probably also accounts for non-mixed acculturated Amerindians...

 (those of mixed African
Afro-Brazilian
In Brazil, the term "preto" is one of the five categories used by the Brazilian Census, along with "branco" , "pardo" , "amarelo" and "indígena"...

 and Portuguese ancestry) are more common in the coast. Mameluco
Mameluco
Mameluco the word is believed to be of Arabic origin. The word in Arabic is Mamluk or Mamluka مملوك or مملوكة...

s (those of mixed Amerindian
Indigenous peoples in Brazil
The Indigenous peoples in Brazil comprise a large number of distinct ethnic groups who inhabited the country prior to the European invasion around 1500...

 and Portuguese ancestry) are more common in the interior (Sertão
Sertão
In Portuguese, the word sertão first referred to the vast hinterlands of Asia that Lusitanian explorers encountered. In Brazil, the geographical term referred to backlands away from the Atlantic coastal regions where the Portuguese first settled in South America in the early sixteenth century...

). Whites of colonial Portuguese descent are present as well.

Economy

The service sector is the largest component of GDP at 73.2%, followed by the industrial sector at 21.6%. Agribusiness
Agribusiness
In agriculture, agribusiness is a generic term for the various businesses involved in food production, including farming and contract farming, seed supply, agrichemicals, farm machinery, wholesale and distribution, processing, marketing, and retail sales....

 represents 5.2% of GDP (2006). Pernambuco exports: sugar 35.6%, fruit and juice 12.6%, fish and crustacean
Crustacean
Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...

 12.3%, electric products 11.1%, chemicals 7.1%, woven
Woven
A woven is a cloth formed by weaving. It only stretches in the bias directions , unless the threads are elastic. Woven cloth usually frays at the edges, unless measures are taken to counter this, such as the use of pinking shears or hemming.Woven fabrics are worked on a loom and made of many...

 5.6% (2002).

Economic Sectorial Composition in 2006 (BR$)
Primary sector % Secondary sector % Tertiary sector % Taxation GDP growth GDP PC R$ growth
2.474 5.2% 10.316 21.6% 34.872 73.2% 7.843 55.505 (100%) 5.1% 6.528 10%


According with IBGE
IBGE
The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics or IBGE , is the agency responsible for statistical, geographic, cartographic, geodetic and environmental information in Brazil...

, in 2007 Pernambuco has 2.34% share of the Brazilian economy and 17.9% share of the Northeast
Northeast Region, Brazil
The Northeast Region of Brazil is composed of the following states: Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe and Bahia, and it represents 18.26% of the Brazilian territory....

 region economy. It's the 2nd largest economy of the Northeast and 10th of the whole country
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

. The GDP for the state was R$ 62,255,687,000 (2007), and the per capita income was R$ 7,337.

The economy is based on agriculture (sugarcane, manioc), livestock farming and creations, as well as industry (alimentary, chemical, metallurgical, electronic, textile).
The state has the second biggest industrial output of the Northeast, just behind Bahia
Bahia
Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...

. In the period of October 2005 to October 2006, the industrial growth of the state was the second biggest in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 – 6.3%, more than double the national average in the same period (2.3%). Another segment that deserves to be highlighted is mineral extraction. The pole gesseiro of Araripina is the supplier from 95% of the plaster consumed in Brazil. The pole of data processing of the Recife, Digital Port, despite having started in 2000, is one of the five biggest in Brazil. It employs around three thousand persons, and has 3.5% the GDP of the state.

Livestock

According with IBGE
IBGE
The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics or IBGE , is the agency responsible for statistical, geographic, cartographic, geodetic and environmental information in Brazil...

 2007, Pernambuco has the 2nd largest livestock portfolio in the Northeast
Northeast Region, Brazil
The Northeast Region of Brazil is composed of the following states: Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe and Bahia, and it represents 18.26% of the Brazilian territory....

 region and the 8th of Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

.

Livestock Table 2007
Animal or product N. of heads NE
Northeast Region, Brazil
The Northeast Region of Brazil is composed of the following states: Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe and Bahia, and it represents 18.26% of the Brazilian territory....

 Ranking & %
BR
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 Ranking & %
Goats 1595069 2nd – 18.48% 2nd – 16.88%
Sheep 1256270 4th – 13.53% 5th – 7.74%
Cattle 2219892 4th – 7.74% 16th – 1.11%
cow milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...

662078000 liters 2nd – 19.86% 9th – 2.54%
Pigs 495957 5th – 7.35% 14th – 1.38%
Chickens 31916818 1st – 24.24% 7th – 2.83%
Chickens eggs
Egg (food)
Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...

142518000 dozens 1st – 30.56% 6th – 4.81%
Quail 605371 1st – 43.24% 4th – 7.98%
Quails eggs
Egg (food)
Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...

9390000 dozens 1st – 51.43% 4th – 7.17%
Horses 125976 5th – 8.81% 15th −2.25%
Donkeys 100944 5th – 9.50% 5th – 8.68%
Mule
Mule
A mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. Horses and donkeys are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes. Of the two F1 hybrids between these two species, a mule is easier to obtain than a hinny...

s
54812 4th – 7.97% 7th – 4.08%
Buffalo
Water Buffalo
The water buffalo or domestic Asian water buffalo is a large bovine animal, frequently used as livestock in southern Asia, and also widely in South America, southern Europe, northern Africa, and elsewhere....

s
19239 2nd – 16.04% 11th – 1.70%
Rabbits 2383 2nd – 6.45% 9th – 0.82%
Honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...

1177000 kg 4th – 10.15% 9th – 3.39%

Agriculture

Agriculture Table of Pernambuco in 2002
Product S Quantity T NE
Northeast Region, Brazil
The Northeast Region of Brazil is composed of the following states: Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe and Bahia, and it represents 18.26% of the Brazilian territory....

 Ranking & %
BR
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 Ranking & %
Tomatoes 207736 2nd – 35.7% 5th – 5.69%
Manioc 483634 4th – 5.91% 13th – 2.1%
Water melons 62820 2nd – 15.61% 7th – 4.22%
Melons 16686 4th – 5.00% 4th – 4.74%
Sugarcane
Sugarcane
Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...

17626183 2nd – 29.51% 5th – 4.84%
Onions 89082 2nd – 39.78% 5th – 7.29%
Beans 82245 3rd – 9.50% 9th – 2.69%
Rice 17865 7th – 1.93% 21st – 0.17%
Sweet potatoes 25727 3rd – 16.23% 7th – 5.17%
Pineapples 24028 5th – 10.2% 12th – 1.11%
Fava 569 3rd – 6.0% 4th – 5.63%
corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...

86675 5th – 3.93% 18th – 0.24%
Castor beans 319 3rd – 0.20% 8th – 0.19%
Cotton
Gossypium herbaceum
Gossypium herbaceum, also called Levant cotton, is a species of cotton native to the semi-arid regions of sub-Saharan Africa and Arabia where it still grows in the wild as a perennial shrub...

1877 8th – 0.32% 15th – 0.13
Product P Quantity T NE
Northeast Region, Brazil
The Northeast Region of Brazil is composed of the following states: Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe and Bahia, and it represents 18.26% of the Brazilian territory....

 Ranking & %
BR
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 Ranking & %
Grapes 99978 1st – 53.6% 3rd – 8.70%
Guava
Guava
Guavas are plants in the myrtle family genus Psidium , which contains about 100 species of tropical shrubs and small trees. They are native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America...

s
104771 1st – 74.41% 2nd – 32.63%
Mangoes 136488 2nd – 24.74% 3rd – 16.20%
Coconuts
COcOnuts
COcOnuts is the second album released by Jane, comprising Animal Collective member Panda Bear, and Scott Mou. It was originally self-released on CD-R's, but later became the first album released by Psych-o-path Records in 2005. The Psych-o-path version was remastered by Rusty Santos and Edik Kleyner....

152266+ 3rd – 10.89% 5th – 7.90%
lemons 2965 4th – 4.20% 12th – 0.30%
Passion fruits 5611 6th – 2.71% 14th – 1.17%
Tangerines 5264 4th – 14.34% 11th – 0.42%
Papayas 5358 6th – 0.57% 12th – 0.34%
Cashew nuts 3554 4th – 2.20% 4th – 2.10%
Bananas 367481 2nd – 16.69% 6th – 5.72%
Oranges 5638 8th – 0.34% 22nd – 0.03%
Avocado
Avocado
The avocado is a tree native to Central Mexico, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel...

s
1685 2nd – 15.49% 11th – 1.0%
Rubber 706 3rd – 3.59% 12th – 0.48%
Cotton tree
Gossypium arboreum
Gossypium arboreum, commonly called tree cotton, is a species of cotton native to India and Pakistan and other tropical and subtropical regions of the Old World. There is evidence of its cultivation as long ago as the Harappan civilization of the Indus Valley for the production of cotton textiles...

222 4th – 5.41% 4th – 5.41%


S – Seasonal; P – Permanent agriculture; + – Thousands units

Ethanol

Pernambuco State has the 5th highest sugarcane
Sugarcane
Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...

 Brazilian production. Brazil is the second largest producer of alcohol fuel in the world, typically fermenting ethanol from sugarcane
Sugarcane
Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...

 and sugar beet
Sugar beet
Sugar beet, a cultivated plant of Beta vulgaris, is a plant whose tuber contains a high concentration of sucrose. It is grown commercially for sugar production. Sugar beets and other B...

s. The country produces a total of 18 billion liters annually, of which 3.5 billion are exported, 2 billion of them to the US. Alcohol-fueled cars started in the Brazilian market in 1978 and became quite popular because of heavy subsidy, but in the 80s prices rose and gasoline regained the leading market share.
But from 2004 on, alcohol rapidly increased its market share once again because of new technologies involving hybrid fuel car engines
Flexible-fuel vehicle
A flexible-fuel vehicle or dual-fuel vehicle is an alternative fuel vehicle with an internal combustion engine designed to run on more than one fuel, usually gasoline blended with either ethanol or methanol fuel, and both fuels are stored in the same common tank...

 called "Flex" by all major car manufacturers (Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...

, General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...

, Ford, Peugeot
Peugeot
Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe.The family business that precedes the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Emile Peugeot applied for the lion...

, Honda
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...

, Citroën
Citroën
Citroën is a major French automobile manufacturer, part of the PSA Peugeot Citroën group.Founded in 1919 by French industrialist André-Gustave Citroën , Citroën was the first mass-production car company outside the USA and pioneered the modern concept of creating a sales and services network that...

, Fiat
Fiat
FIAT, an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli...

, etc.). "Flex" engines work with gasoline, alcohol or any mixture of both fuels. As of February 2007, approximately 80% of new vehicles sold in Brazil are hybrid fuel powered. Because of the Brazilian lead in production and technology, many countries became very interested in importing alcohol fuel and adopting the "Flex" vehicle concept. On 7 March 2007, US president George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 visited the city of São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...

 to sign agreements with Brazilian president Lula
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva , known popularly as Lula, served as the 35th President of Brazil from 2003 to 2010.A founding member of the Workers' Party , he ran for President three times unsuccessfully, first in the 1989 election. Lula achieved victory in the 2002 election, and was inaugurated as...

 on importing alcohol and its technology as an alternative fuel.

Education

Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...

 is the official national language, and thus the primary language taught in schools. But English and Spanish are part of the official high school curriculum.

Educational institutions

The main educational installations of the state are concentrated in the capital, including the seventh best federal university of the country. Pernambuco had main universities and colleges founded in the 19th and 20th century. Some of them are known nationally. The Faculdade de Direito do Recife
Faculdade de Direito do Recife
The Faculty of Law of Recife, now called Faculty of Law of the Federal University of Pernambuco , is a law school in the city of Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil.-History:It is one of the first superior education centres created in Brazil; it was created...

, or Recife's Law College, was founded in August, 11, 1827, was the first higher education institute in Brazil. Castro Alves
Castro Alves
Antônio Frederico de Castro Alves was a Brazilian poet and playwright, famous for his Abolitionist and Republican poems...

 and Joaquim Nabuco
Joaquim Nabuco
Joaquim Aurélio Barreto Nabuco de Araújo was a Brazilian writer, statesman, and a leading voice in the abolitionist movement of his country.-Biography:...

, two important people in Brazilian history, studied there.
Others important institutions are:
  • Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE) (Federal University of Pernambuco);
  • Universidade Católica de Pernambuco
    Universidade Católica de Pernambuco
    The Universidade Católica de Pernambuco is a private and non-profit Catholic university, located in Recife, the capital of the State of Pernambuco. It is one of the largest and most prestigious Brazilian universities...

     (Unicap) (Catholic University of Pernambuco);
  • Universidade de Pernambuco
    Universidade de Pernambuco
    The University of Pernambuco is a public state university located in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil.- History :...

     (UPE) (University of Pernambuco);
  • Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco
    Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco
    The Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco , is located in Recife, Brazil, and was established in 1912. The UFRPE has 19 undergraduate courses and 19 graduate courses. As of 2004, the UFRPE had near 7,000 students and 500 professors.-External links:*...

     (UFRPE) (Rural Federal University of Pernambuco);
  • Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia de Pernambuco (IFPE) (Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Pernambuco);
  • and many others.


Carnaval in Pernambuco

The four-day period before Lent
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...

 leading up to Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday, in the calendar of Western Christianity, is the first day of Lent and occurs 46 days before Easter. It is a moveable fast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter...

 is carnival
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...

 time in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

. Rich and poor alike forget their cares as they party in the streets. Pernambuco has large Carnaval celebrations, including the frevo
Frevo
Frevo is a wide range of musical styles originating from Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, all of which are traditionally associated with Brazilian Carnival. The word frevo is said to come from frever, a misspeaking of the Portuguese word ferver . It is said that the sound of the frevo will make...

, typical Pernambuco music. Another famous carnaval music style from Pernambuco is maracatu
Maracatu
Maracatu is a term common to two distinct performance genres found in Pernambuco state in northeastern Brazil: maracatu de nação and maracatu rural . A third style, maracatu cearense , is found in Fortaleza, in the northeastern state of Ceará...

.

The cities of Recife and Olinda hold the most authentic and democratic carnaval celebrations in Brazil. The largest carnaval parade in all of Brazil is Galo da Madrugada
Galo da Madrugada
The Galo da Madrugada is a carnival parade that happens every carnival Saturday, to the left of the São José district in downtown Recife, the state capital of Pernambuco, Brazil....

, which takes place in downtown Recife in the Saturday of carnaval. Another famous event is the Noite dos Tambores Silenciosos.

Recife’s joyous Carnaval is nationally known and admired, attracting thousands of people every year. The party starts a week before the official date, with electric trios “shaking” the Boa Viagem district.

On Friday, people take to the streets to enjoy themselves to the sound of frevo and to dance with maracatu, ciranda, caboclinhos, afoxé, reggae and manguebeat (cultural movement created in Recife during the 90s) groups. There are still many other entertainment centres around the city, featuring local and national artists.

One of the highlights is Saturday when more than one million people follow the Galo da Madrugada group. From Sunday to Monday, there is the Night of the Silent Drums, on the Pátio do Terço, where Maracatus honor slaves that died in prisons.

Saint John's Day

Festa Junina
Festa Junina
Festa Junina , also known as festa de São João for their part in celebrating the nativity of St. John the Baptist, are the annual Brazilian celebrations historically related to European Midsummer that take place in the beginning of the Brazilian winter...

 was introduced to Northeastern Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 by the Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

, for whom Saint John's day (also celebrated as Midsummer
Midsummer
Midsummer may simply refer to the period of time centered upon the summer solstice, but more often refers to specific European celebrations that accompany the actual solstice, or that take place on a day between June 21 and June 24, and the preceding evening. The exact dates vary between different...

 Day in several European countries), on 24 June, is one of the oldest and most popular celebrations of the year. Differently, of course, from what happens on the European Midsummer
Midsummer
Midsummer may simply refer to the period of time centered upon the summer solstice, but more often refers to specific European celebrations that accompany the actual solstice, or that take place on a day between June 21 and June 24, and the preceding evening. The exact dates vary between different...

 Day, the festivities in Brazil do not take place during the summer solstice
Summer solstice
The summer solstice occurs exactly when the axial tilt of a planet's semi-axis in a given hemisphere is most inclined towards the star that it orbits. Earth's maximum axial tilt to our star, the Sun, during a solstice is 23° 26'. Though the summer solstice is an instant in time, the term is also...

, but during the tropical winter solstice
Winter solstice
Winter solstice may refer to:* Winter solstice, astronomical event* Winter Solstice , former band* Winter Solstice: North , seasonal songs* Winter Solstice , 2005 American film...

. The festivities traditionally begin after the 12 June, on the eve of Saint Anthony's day, and last until the 29th, which is Saint Peter's day. During these fifteen days, there are bonfires, fireworks
Fireworks
Fireworks are a class of explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display. A fireworks event is a display of the effects produced by firework devices...

, and folk dancing in the streets. Once exclusively a rural festival, today, in Brazil, it is largely a city festival during which people joyfully and theatrically mimic peasant stereotypes and clichés in a spirit of jokes and good times. Typical refreshments and dishes are served, including canjica
Canjica
Canjica is a white variety of corn, very typical of Brazilian cuisine. It is mostly used in a special kind of sweet popcorn and in a dish also known as canjica, a Festa Junina popular dish. Made popular in Oklahoma by Ken Davis.- External links:* ....

 and pamonha
Pamonha
Pamonha is a traditional Brazilian food. It is a paste made from fresh corn and milk, boiled wrapped in corn husks. Variations may include coconut milk. Pamonhas can be savoury or sweet, the latter being the norm in north-east Brazil...

. It should be noted that, like during Carnival, these festivities involve costume-wearing (in this case, peasant costumes), dancing, heavy drinking, and visual spectacles (fireworks display and folk dancing). Like what happens on Midsummer
Midsummer
Midsummer may simply refer to the period of time centered upon the summer solstice, but more often refers to specific European celebrations that accompany the actual solstice, or that take place on a day between June 21 and June 24, and the preceding evening. The exact dates vary between different...

 and Saint John's Day in Europe, bonfires are a central part of these festivities in Brazil.

Saint John's Day is celebrated throughout Pernambuco. Nonetheless, the festivities in Caruaru
Caruaru
Caruaru is a Brazilian city in the Pernambuco state. The most populous city in the interior of the state, it's located in the zone named Agreste and because of its cultural importance, it's known by its people as the Capital do Agreste and Princesinha do Agreste.130 kilometers from...

 are by far the largest in the state. Saint John's festivals in Gravatá
Gravatá
Gravatá is a city in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil, located about 75 km from the state's capital Recife . The population of Gravatá in 2009 was 75.229 inhabitants, according with IBGE.- Geography :...

 and Carpina
Carpina
Carpina is a city in Pernambuco, Brazil. Its economy is based on commerce and footwear industry. Its current mayor is Manoel Botafogo.-Geography:* State - Pernambuco* Region - Zona da mata Pernambucana...

 are also very popular.

Winter Festival

In the hilly areas of the interior – mainly in areas with a micro-climate of altitude – temperatures that can reach 8 °C in the winter. Every winter, when the weather is milder, tourists from neighboring states and other parts of Pernambuco visit cities such as Garanhuns
Garanhuns
Garanhuns is a city in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco. Located in the Borborema Plateau, the town is known as the "Suíça Pernambucana" due to its pleasant weather during summer and low temperatures during winter, something rather unusual for the region...

, Gravatá
Gravatá
Gravatá is a city in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil, located about 75 km from the state's capital Recife . The population of Gravatá in 2009 was 75.229 inhabitants, according with IBGE.- Geography :...

, Triunfo
Triunfo
Triunfo is a municipality in the state Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.It is also the richest municipality in Brazil, with a per capita income of R$122,750 .-See also:*List of municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul...

 and Taquaritinga do Norte
Taquaritinga do Norte
Taquaritinga do Norte is a city in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil.-Geography:* State - Pernambuco* Region - Agreste of Pernambuco* Boundaries - Paraiba ; Caruaru, Toritama and Brejo da Madre de Deus ; Vertentes ; Santa Cruz do Capibaribe * Area - 475.2 sqkm* Elevation - 774 m* Hidrography -...

.

The city of Garanhuns holds an annual Winter Festival, in the month of July. The main attractions are concerts, dances, rural tourism
Rural tourism
Rural tourism focuses on participating in a rural lifestyle. It can be a variant of ecotourism. Any village can be a tourist attraction, and many villagers are very hospitable. Agriculture is becoming highly mechanized and therefore requires less manual labor...

, culinary and the relatively low temperatures for a tropical climate.

Infrastructure

Airports

Guararapes International Airport
Guararapes International Airport
Recife/Guararapes-Gilberto Freyre International Airport is the airport serving Recife, Brazil. The name Guararapes is a reference to the Guararapes Battle, fought in the surrounding area...

, the new Recife/Guararapes – Gilberto Freyre International Airport
Guararapes International Airport
Recife/Guararapes-Gilberto Freyre International Airport is the airport serving Recife, Brazil. The name Guararapes is a reference to the Guararapes Battle, fought in the surrounding area...

 has been open since July 2004 and has 52 thousand square meters of area. The second largest airport in the North and Northeast regions, Guararapes had its capacity expanded from 1.5 million to 5 million passengers a year. Now there are 64 check-in counters, versus the former terminal’s 24. The shopping and leisure area was also totally remodeled, within the “Aeroshopping” concept, which transforms an airport into a center for business, comfort and high-quality products and services. The commercial spaces will be occupied in steps and the final total will be 142 shops. Since 2000, Recife has had the longest runway in the Northeast, at 3,305 meters. Its extension permits operations with jumbo jets, such as the Boeing 747–400, which can carry 290 passengers and 62 tons of cargo, with endurance to fly nonstop to anywhere in South and Central America, Africa and parts of Europe, the United States and Canada.

Pernambuco is also served by the Petrolina international airport
Petrolina Airport
Senador Nilo Coelho Airport is the airport serving Petrolina, Pernambuco and Juazeiro, Bahia, Brazil. It is named after the Petrolina-born Senator Nilo de Sousa Coelho .It is operated by Infraero.-History:...

, which is responsible for the delivery of fresh fruits from the São Francisco
São Francisco River
The São Francisco is a river in Brazil. With a length of , it is the longest river that runs entirely in Brazilian territory, and the fourth longest in South America and overall in Brazil...

 valley to Europe and/or USA. The cargo terminal operates with 6 large coolers with 17000 boxes capacity each plus 2 coolers tunnels. This airports also has daily direct connections between this region ( which includes 53 municipalities from the states such as Pernambuco, Piaui and Bahia ) to major capitals as Recife
Recife
Recife is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Brazil with 4,136,506 inhabitants, the largest metropolitan area of the North/Northeast Regions, the 5th-largest metropolitan influence area in Brazil, and the capital and largest city of the state of Pernambuco. The population of the city proper...

 and Salvador. Its administered by a Brazilian Federal Agency (Infraero
Infraero
Empresa Brasileira de Infraestrutura Aeroportuária, Infraero in short, is a Brazilian government corporation created in 1972 and responsible for operating the main Brazilian commercial airports. In 2009, Infraero's airports carried 128,135,616 passengers and 1,114,754 tons of cargo and operated...

) like the Recife airport.

Another states airports but with local administrations are the Fernando de Noronha Airport
Fernando de Noronha Airport
Fernando de Noronha Airport is the airport serving the island of Fernando de Noronha, Brazil.-History:Fernando de Noronha is the biggest island of the archipelago with the same name, located on Brazilian territorial waters, away from Recife and away from Natal.The first runway was built in 1934...

 and the Caruaru
Caruaru
Caruaru is a Brazilian city in the Pernambuco state. The most populous city in the interior of the state, it's located in the zone named Agreste and because of its cultural importance, it's known by its people as the Capital do Agreste and Princesinha do Agreste.130 kilometers from...

 airport. The first has daily flights between the islands
Fernando de Noronha
Fernando de Noronha is an archipelago of 21 islands and islets in the Atlantic Ocean, offshore from the Brazilian coast. The main island has an area of and had a population of 3,012 in the year 2010...

 with Recife and Natal, and the second airport connects the textile industry region of Caruaru with São Paulo plus small and medium regional local cities.

Ports

  • Suape port
    Suape port
    Suape Port is a Brazilian International Port located in the city of Ipojuca state of Pernambuco, among the municipalities of Ipojuca and Cabo de Santo Agostinho, inside the Recife metropolitan area and distant 40 km South of the capital . Suape serves ships 365 days a year without any restriction...

    . Suape serves ships cargo 365 days a year without any restrictions in regards to tidal schedules. To assist in the docking operation of the ships, the port offers a monitoring system and laser ship docking system that enables effective, secure control and upholds the same technical standards as the most important ports across the globe. The port moves over 8.4 million tons of cargo a year(has increased 7 times since 1992). The liquid granary (petroleum by-products, chemical products, alcohols, vegetable oils, etc.) constitutes more than 80% of the movement. The port can serve ships of up to 170,000 tpb and operational draft of 14.50m. With 27 km² of backport, the internal and external ports offer the necessary conditions for serving large ships. The access canal has 5,000m of extension, 300m in width and 16.5m in length.

Suape
Suape port
Suape Port is a Brazilian International Port located in the city of Ipojuca state of Pernambuco, among the municipalities of Ipojuca and Cabo de Santo Agostinho, inside the Recife metropolitan area and distant 40 km South of the capital . Suape serves ships 365 days a year without any restriction...

 has started in the 21st century to be Pernambuco's motive power toward development. Huge national and international investments are being attracted by its logistic qualities, of which, until 2010, more than US$ 10 billion dollars are expected.
  • Recife Port
    Recife port
    Recife Port, is located in Recife Antigo in the city of Recife. This international port serves the RMR and has two main operational areas: Cruises and cargo. Its located on the eastern island of Recife antigo on the banks of rivers Capibaribe and Beberibe...

     handles cruises and cargo. National and international cruises are made in this port, mainly of those connecting Fernando de Noronha
    Fernando de Noronha
    Fernando de Noronha is an archipelago of 21 islands and islets in the Atlantic Ocean, offshore from the Brazilian coast. The main island has an area of and had a population of 3,012 in the year 2010...

     islands with Brazil
    Brazil
    Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

    , Caribbean
    Caribbean
    The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

     islands and South America. The Brazilian and foreign tourists who come to Recife
    Recife
    Recife is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Brazil with 4,136,506 inhabitants, the largest metropolitan area of the North/Northeast Regions, the 5th-largest metropolitan influence area in Brazil, and the capital and largest city of the state of Pernambuco. The population of the city proper...

     on a cruise ship will use a new Passengers Terminal (2009) with stores, food court and information kiosks. Also, will have an increase in depth from 8.4 m to 11.5 meters deep, what originates will no longer be necessary to do transfer between large and small ships as before.

There are two access channels to the Port
Recife port
Recife Port, is located in Recife Antigo in the city of Recife. This international port serves the RMR and has two main operational areas: Cruises and cargo. Its located on the eastern island of Recife antigo on the banks of rivers Capibaribe and Beberibe...

, both of natural characteristics. The main one, South Channel, has 260 m of width and 3.4 km (2.1 mi) of extension approximately, with a depth of 10.5 m. The other, denominated North Channel, has little width, about 1 km (0.621372736649807 mi) of length, and a depth of 6.5 m, and it is used only by small size vessels. Handles an average of 2.2 millions tons of cargo annually, and the main loads are sugar, wheat, corn, barley, malt, fertilizers, clinker and kelp.


Tourism and recreation

The Pernambuco coastline is 187 km long.
  • Fernando de Noronha
    Fernando de Noronha
    Fernando de Noronha is an archipelago of 21 islands and islets in the Atlantic Ocean, offshore from the Brazilian coast. The main island has an area of and had a population of 3,012 in the year 2010...

Fernando de Noronha is an isolated group of 21 volcanic islands approximately 340 miles from Recife. The main islands are the visible parts of a range of submerged mountains, islets and rocks. The Archipelago of Fernando de Noronha hosts ecological sites ideal for exuberant marine animal life, due to its geographic location far from the continent and well within the path of the Southern Equatorial Currents, as well as the nature of its climate.
How to get there: by plane
Fernando de Noronha Airport
Fernando de Noronha Airport is the airport serving the island of Fernando de Noronha, Brazil.-History:Fernando de Noronha is the biggest island of the archipelago with the same name, located on Brazilian territorial waters, away from Recife and away from Natal.The first runway was built in 1934...

 from Recife (545km) or from Natal (360). An environmental preservation fee is charged from tourists upon arrival.
  • Porto de Galinhas
    Porto de Galinhas
    Porto de Galinhas is a beach in the municipality of Ipojuca, Pernambuco, Brazil. Porto de Galinhas is a major tourist destination. The beach is famous for its bright-water beaches and the natural pools.It is part of the municipality of Ipojuca, and located south of the state capital, Recife.It has...

It's famous for being one of the most beautiful beaches of the Brazilian coast, due to its landscape. Warm clear water pools scattered around its coral reefs, estuaries, mangroves, coconut trees and a number of other samples of abundant nature richness make Porto de Galinhas a place not to be missed or forgotten.
How to get there: can be reached through Highways BR-101 Sul, PE-060, PE-038 and PE-09.
  • Boa Viagem
    Boa Viagem, Recife
    Boa Viagem is a neighborhood in the city of Recife, Pernambuco in the privileged southern zone of the town. The neighborhood has one of the most visited beaches in Northeastern Brazil, Boa Viagem beach....

If you are looking for a good beach but don't want to take a long journey to get there, Boa Viagem is the best choice. Located in the privileged southern Recife metropolitan area, Boa Viagem is the most important and frequented beach in town. It is protected by a long reef wall and has an extensive coastline.
How to get there: Boa Viagem, Recife.
  • Itamaracá
    Itamaracá
    Itamaracá is an island and a city in Pernambuco, Brazil, in the Atlantic Ocean. The name means "stone shaker" in Tupi, from the words itá and mbara'ká . Itamaracá has a total area of 65.41 square kilometers and had an estimated population of 18,658 inhabitants in 2009 according with IBGE...

     island
Separated from the mainland by the Canal Santa Cruz, it has several highly frequented beaches. Among them are Forte Orange, Praia do Sossego and Pontal da Ilha. On the island you can visit the Marine Manatee Preservation Center.
How to get there: you can reach the island through Highway BR-101 Norte, going past Igarassu, Itapissuma, and reaching Itamaracá at km 34.
  • Maracaípe
Beach with big waves. Maracaípe hosts a phase of the Brazilian Surf Tournament. Highly frequented by surfers and neighbor to Porto de Galinhas, Maracaípe.
How to get there: can be reached through Highways BR-101 Sul, PE-060, PE-038 and PE-09.
  • Tamandaré
    Tamandaré
    Tamandaré is a municipality and a beach located roughly south of Recife, the capital city of the Brazilian state of Pernambuco.-Geography:* State - Pernambuco* Region - Zona da mata Pernambucana...

Small waves and fine sand can be found there. Considered by many as the best beach for bathing and swimming in Pernambuco. Easy to reach from Recife.
How to get there: through Highway BR-101 Sul, PE-060 and PE-076.
  • Calhetas
    Calhetas
    Calhetas is a parish in the district of Ribeira Grande in the Azores. The population in 2001 is 780, its density is 166/km² and the area is 4.7 km². Calhetas is the smallest parish in area in Ribeira Grande.-Geography:...

Small bay of difficult access. Searched for by many for diving.
How to get there: you can reach Calhetas through BR-101 Sul and PE-060.
  • Coroa do Avião
Famous small island, in the middle of the Jaguaribe River delta, which can be reached only by boat or raft, from Recife or Itamaracá.
How to get there: from Itamaracá only by boat or raft.

Main cities

List of the 25 largest cities in Pernambuco
Ranking City Population (2010) GDP (R$x1000)(2007). GDP PC (R$)
1 Recife
Recife
Recife is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Brazil with 4,136,506 inhabitants, the largest metropolitan area of the North/Northeast Regions, the 5th-largest metropolitan influence area in Brazil, and the capital and largest city of the state of Pernambuco. The population of the city proper...

1,536,934 20,718,107 13,510
2 J. dos Guararapes
Jaboatão dos Guararapes
Jaboatão dos Guararapes is a city in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. It is a part of the Recife metro area. The population was 687,688 according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics in 2009, making it the second most-populous city in the state of Pernambuco and the 26th in...

644,699 5,578,363 8,384
3 Olinda
Olinda
Olinda is a historic city in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco, located on the country's northeastern Atlantic Ocean coast, just north of Recife and south of Paulista...

375,268 2,179,183 5,567
4 Caruaru
Caruaru
Caruaru is a Brazilian city in the Pernambuco state. The most populous city in the interior of the state, it's located in the zone named Agreste and because of its cultural importance, it's known by its people as the Capital do Agreste and Princesinha do Agreste.130 kilometers from...

314,373 1,367,111 4,449
5 Paulista
Paulista
Paulista is a city in Pernambuco, Brazil, population according to IBGE/2009, 319.373 people making it the 4th most populous city in PE). Its near 6 cities plus the ocean and has the highest HDI of the metro area. It is the birthplace of footballer Rivaldo, and is also famous for its beaches;...

300,501 1,993,295 6,895
6 Petrolina
Petrolina
Petrolina is a city located in the southernmost point of the state of Pernambuco, in Brazil. The population was 281.851 in 2009 in a total area of 4756.8 km²....

294,851 1,932,517 7,202
7 Cabo de St. Agostinho
Cabo de Santo Agostinho
Cabo de Santo Agostinho is 35 km south of the city of Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil. Although the official Portuguese discovery of Brazil was by Pedro Cabral on April 21, 1500, some historians believe that Vicente Yáñez Pinzón already had set anchor in a bay in Cabo de Santo Agostinho on January...

185,583 2,813,188 17,244
8 Camaragibe
Camaragibe
Camaragibe is a city in northeastern Brazil, in the State of Pernambuco. It lies near Recife at 8.00° South, 35.04° West.Currently, Camaragibe is run by João Lemos and Denivaldo Freire .The lands now belonging to the city were used as a reserve of wood, and then for sugar planting...

144,210 492,113 3,608
9 Vitória de St. Antão
Vitória de Santo Antão
Vitória de Santo Antão is a city in the State of Pernambuco, in Brazil, located at -Geography:* State - Pernambuco* Region - Zona da mata Pernambucana...

130,540 742,593 5,941
10 Garanhuns
Garanhuns
Garanhuns is a city in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco. Located in the Borborema Plateau, the town is known as the "Suíça Pernambucana" due to its pleasant weather during summer and low temperatures during winter, something rather unusual for the region...

130,313 745,504 6,149
11 S. Lourenço da Mata
São Lourenço da Mata
São Lourenço da Mata is a city located in the greater Recife metropolitan area in the state of Pernambuco, with a population of 102,945 inhabitants . The city will be one of the hosts of the 2014 FIFA World Cup together with Recife...

102,191 734,430 7,834
12 Igarassu
Igarassu
Igarassu is a city in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco. It is situated on the north coast of the metropolitan region of Recife, approximately 32 km north of the city of Recife...

101,945 310,748 3,261
13 Abreu e Lima
Abreu e Lima, Pernambuco
Abreu e Lima is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Pernambuco. It is located in the Metropolitan Region of Recife, also known as Greater Recife.The city was named in honor of José Inácio de Abreu e Lima, also known as "Inácio Pernambucano"...

96,266 567,474 6,154
14 St. Cruz do Capibaribe
Santa Cruz do Capibaribe
Santa Cruz do Capibaribe is a city in northeastern Brazil, in the State of Pernambuco. It lies in the mesoregion of Agreste of Pernambuco.Has 335.5 sq/km of total area and is famous for its textile industry together with Caruaru, Toritama and Taquaritinga do Norte.-Geography:* State - Pernambuco*...

87,330 332,112 4,507
15 Ipojuca
Ipojuca
Ipojuca is a municipality in Pernambuco. As of 2009 the population according to IBGE was 75,512 and the per capita income was R$76.418 making it one of the highest in Brazil. The settlement dates to 1560, but the official founding date is 1861 and the community was incorporated as a town in 1864...

80,542 434,704 5,705
16 Serra Talhada
Serra Talhada
Serra Talhada is a city in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. It is located at 07º59'31" South and 38º17'54" West, at an altitude of 429 metres. As of 2009, its estimated population by IBGE was 80.294 people. Its area is approximately 2980 km sq.-History:...

80,294 255,578 3,368
17 Araripina
Araripina
Araripina is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Pernambuco. Has an estimated population in 2009 of 79.877 inhabitants according with IBGE...

79,877 5,354,635 76,418
18 Gravatá
Gravatá
Gravatá is a city in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil, located about 75 km from the state's capital Recife . The population of Gravatá in 2009 was 75.229 inhabitants, according with IBGE.- Geography :...

76,229 306,637 4,284
19 Goiana
Goiana
Goiana is a city in Brazil in the northeast of the state of Pernambuco, about 65 km north of the city of Recife. It is built on a fertile plain between the rivers Tracunhaém and Capibaribe mirim near their junction to form the Goiana River, and is 25 km from the coast. It the easternmost...

75,424 457,986 6,379
20 Carpina
Carpina
Carpina is a city in Pernambuco, Brazil. Its economy is based on commerce and footwear industry. Its current mayor is Manoel Botafogo.-Geography:* State - Pernambuco* Region - Zona da mata Pernambucana...

74,028 504,735 7,113
21 Belo Jardim
Belo Jardim
Belo Jardim a Brazilian municipality in the state of Pernambuco. Has an estimated population in 2009 of 74.028. Total area of 647.7 km²...

74,070 351,448 5,375
22 Arcoverde
Arcoverde
Arcoverde is a municipality in Pernambuco, Brazil. It's located in the mesoregion of Sertão Pernambucano . Arcoverde has a total area of 353.4 square kilometers and had an estimated population of 68.000 inhabitants in 2009 according with IBGE.-Geography:* State - Pernambuco* Region - Sertao...

70,000 290,529 4,479
23 Ouricuri
Ouricuri
Ouricuri it's a city in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. It's located in the mesoregion of Sertão Pernambucano . Ouricuri has a total area of 2.423 square kilometers and had an estimated population of 66.978 inhabitants in 2009 according with IBGE....

64,978 200,880 3,186
24 Pesqueira 63,604 236,259 3,852
25 Escada
Escada
Escada is an international luxury fashion group in women's designer clothing. The company has a presence in about 60 different countries. Its main sales markets are North America, western and eastern Europe and Asia. It filed bankruptcy in August 2009, and was acquired by Megha Mittal, in November...

63,454 233,562 3,902
RMR
Recife metropolitan area
Recife Metropolitan Area is the largest urban metropolitan area of the Northeast/North regions and the fifth in Brazil with 3,768,902 inhabitants in 2008.Is among with another large cities the first nine established metropolitan regions in Brazil...

Recife metropolitan area
Recife metropolitan area
Recife Metropolitan Area is the largest urban metropolitan area of the Northeast/North regions and the fifth in Brazil with 3,768,902 inhabitants in 2008.Is among with another large cities the first nine established metropolitan regions in Brazil...

3,688,428 40,872,963 10,845
State PERNAMBUCO 8,796,032 62,255,687 7,337


Other main cities include:
  • Bonito
    Bonito, Pernambuco
    Bonito is a city in northeastern Brazil, in the State of Pernambuco. It lies in the mesoregion of Agreste of Pernambuco.Has 399.5 sq/km of total area.-Geography:* State - Pernambuco* Region - Agreste of Pernambuco...

  • Brejo da Madre de Deus
    Brejo da Madre de Deus
    Brejo da Madre de Deus is a city located in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. Located at 202 km away from Recife, capital of the state of Pernambuco. Has an estimated population of 42.250 inhabitants...

  • Buíque
    Buíque
    Buíque is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Pernambuco, mesoregion of Agreste. Has an estimated population of 53.272 in a total territory of 1345,1 km2.-History:...

  • Catende
    Catende
    Catende is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Pernambuco. Has an estimated population in 2009 of 35.251 inhabitants in a total area of 206.92 km². The economy is based on the cultivation of sugarcane and the production of derived products . Catende used to boast the world's largest...

  • Condado
    Condado, Pernambuco
    Condado is a city located in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. Located at 69.3 km away from Recife, capital of the state of Pernambuco. Has an estimated population of 24.403 inhabitants.-Geography:* State - Pernambuco...

  • Exu
    Exu, Pernambuco
    Exu is a city in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. The population in 2009, according with IBGE was 31,086 and the area is 1474 km².Exu is the birthplace of the famous Luiz Gonzaga which was a very prominent Brazilian folk singer, songwriter, musician and poet...

  • Floresta
    Floresta, Pernambuco
    Floresta is a city in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco. Situated at latitude 08º36'04" South and at longitude 38º34'07" West, being to an altitude of 316 metres...

  • Limoeiro
    Limoeiro
    Limoeiro is a city in Pernambuco, Brazil.-Geography:* State - Pernambuco* Region - Agreste Pernambucano* Boundaries - Vicência ; Passira and Feira Nova ; Carpina, Lagoa do Carro and Buenos Aires ; Bom Jardim, Salgadinho and João Alfredo * Area - 269.97 sqkm* Elevation - 138 m* Hidrography...

  • Moreno
    Moreno, Pernambuco
    Moreno is a city in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. It's integrated in the Recife metropolitan area with another 13 cities. Moreno has a total area of 195.6 square kilometers and had an estimated population of 55,659 inhabitants in 2009 according with IBGE....

  • Nazaré da Mata
    Nazaré da Mata
    Nazaré da Mata is a city located in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. Located at 62 km from Recife, capital of the state of Pernambuco. Has an estimated population of 30.185 people, it is well known as the town of Maracatu Rural and its engenhos de cana-de-açúcar...

  • Paudalho
    Paudalho
    Paudalho is a city in northeastern Brazil, in the State of Pernambuco, with 47.551 inhabitants IBge 2009.-Geography:* State - Pernambuco* Region - Zona da mata Pernambucana...

  • Palmares
    Palmares, Pernambuco
    Palmares is a city in northeastern Brazil, in the State of Pernambuco, with 58.819 inhabitants, according with IBge 2009. Its main activity is the combined field of agriculture and livestock...

  • Petrolandia
    Petrolândia
    Petrolândia is a town in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. It is in the São Francisco Region. Petrolândia has a total area of 1056.6 square kilometers and had an estimated population of 32.568 inhabitants in 2009 according with IBGE...

  • Santa Maria da Boa Vista
    Santa Maria da Boa Vista
    Santa Maria da Boa Vista is a town in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. The population in 2009, according with IBGE was 41,745 and the area is 3001.2 km².-Geography:* State - Pernambuco* Region - São Francisco Pernambucano...

  • São Bento do Una
    São Bento do Una
    São Bento do Una is a city from the Northeastern Region of Brazil at the Pernambuco state. According with IBGE, has an estimated population of 49.372 inhabitants...

  • Salgueiro
    Salgueiro
    Salgueiro is a city in Pernambuco, Brazil. It's located in the mesoregion of Sertão Pernambucano . Salgueiro has a total area of 1639.3 square kilometers and had an estimated population of 55.435 inhabitants in 2009 according with IBGE....

  • Sertânia
    Sertânia
    Sertânia is a city in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. The population in 2009, according with IBGE was 35.914 inhabitants and the total area is 2421,51 km².-Geography:* State - Pernambuco* Region - Sertão Pernambucano...

  • Surubim
    Surubim
    Surubim is a city in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. It is the birth place of Chacrinha, a famous Brazilian comedian and entertainer who died in 1988.-Geography:* State - Pernambuco* Region - Agreste of Pernambuco...

  • Taquaritinga do Norte
    Taquaritinga do Norte
    Taquaritinga do Norte is a city in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil.-Geography:* State - Pernambuco* Region - Agreste of Pernambuco* Boundaries - Paraiba ; Caruaru, Toritama and Brejo da Madre de Deus ; Vertentes ; Santa Cruz do Capibaribe * Area - 475.2 sqkm* Elevation - 774 m* Hidrography -...

  • Timbaúba
    Timbaúba
    Timbaúba is a city in Pernambuco, Brazil. According with IBGE, has an estimated population of 51.770 inhabitants in 2009.-Geography:* State - Pernambuco* Region - Zona da mata Pernambucana...

  • Triunfo
    Triunfo, Pernambuco
    Triunfo is a city in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. The population in 2009, according with IBGE was 15.770 and the area is 191.52 km².-Geography:* State - Pernambuco* Region - Sertão Pernambucano...

  • Fernando de Noronha
    Fernando de Noronha
    Fernando de Noronha is an archipelago of 21 islands and islets in the Atlantic Ocean, offshore from the Brazilian coast. The main island has an area of and had a population of 3,012 in the year 2010...


Sports

Football was introduced in Pernambuco in 1902, when English and Dutch sailors disembarked in Recife and played a game of football in the beach. The novelty awoke the interest of the people of Pernambuco, that soon adhered to the game. Recife provides visitors and residents with various sport activities, The city has the main football teams in the state of Pernambuco. There are several football clubs based in Recife, such as Sport
Sport Club do Recife
Sport Club do Recife, more popularly known as Sport in Recife or Sport Recife in Northeastern Brazil, is a football team from Recife, Pernambuco.-1905 - Foundation:...

, Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz Futebol Clube
Santa Cruz Futebol Clube, or simply Santa Cruz is a Brazilian football club in Recife, Pernambuco.-Early history:On February 3, 1914, eleven young men aging from 14 to 16 years founded a football society...

, and Náutico
Clube Náutico Capibaribe
Clube Náutico Capibaribe, also known as Náutico, is a Brazilian sports club, including a professional football team, in Recife, Pernambuco....

.

According with CBF
Brazilian Football Confederation
The Brazilian Football Confederation is the governing body of football in Brazil. It was founded on June 8, 1914, as Confederação Brasileira de Desportos , meaning Brazilian Sports Confederation. Its first president was Álvaro Zamith. It organizes the Brazilian national competitions, like...

 in 08/12/08, the Pernambuco football Federation
Federação Pernambucana de Futebol
Federação Pernambucana de Futebol , once named Liga Esportiva Pernambucana , organizes and administrates the Campeonato Pernambucano , the Copa Pernambuco and the Pernambucan Football Championship lower levels)....

 has the sixth CBF.com.br position in all Brazilian states federations just after SP
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...

, RJ
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

, RS
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...

, MG
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...

 and PR
Paraná (state)
Paraná is one of the states of Brazil, located in the South of the country, bordered on the north by São Paulo state, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Santa Catarina state and the Misiones Province of Argentina, and on the west by Mato Grosso do Sul and the republic of Paraguay,...

; and it is the first in his Northeast region. The Pernambuco football Federation
Federação Pernambucana de Futebol
Federação Pernambucana de Futebol , once named Liga Esportiva Pernambucana , organizes and administrates the Campeonato Pernambucano , the Copa Pernambuco and the Pernambucan Football Championship lower levels)....

 organizes the state championship
Campeonato Pernambucano
The Campeonato Pernambucano de Futebol is the football championship of Pernambuco state, Brazil, and is organized by the Pernambuco Football Federation....

 and the state cup. The first edition of the Campeonato Pernambucano
Campeonato Pernambucano
The Campeonato Pernambucano de Futebol is the football championship of Pernambuco state, Brazil, and is organized by the Pernambuco Football Federation....

 was played in 1915, and was won by Sport Club Flamengo, an extinguished club. In 2009 twelve clubs has played for the title, which was won by Sport
Sport Club do Recife
Sport Club do Recife, more popularly known as Sport in Recife or Sport Recife in Northeastern Brazil, is a football team from Recife, Pernambuco.-1905 - Foundation:...

.

In 2009 the state was represented in the National highest level of football (Brazilian Série A
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
The Campeonato Brasileiro de Clubes da Série A , popularly known as the Brasileirão , is a professional football league at the top of the Brazilian football league system held annually since 1959. Contested by twenty clubs, it operates a system of promotion and relegation with the Série B...

) by Náutico
Clube Náutico Capibaribe
Clube Náutico Capibaribe, also known as Náutico, is a Brazilian sports club, including a professional football team, in Recife, Pernambuco....

 and Sport
Sport Club do Recife
Sport Club do Recife, more popularly known as Sport in Recife or Sport Recife in Northeastern Brazil, is a football team from Recife, Pernambuco.-1905 - Foundation:...

, but both teams were demoted to the second level. Also, it was represented in (Série C
Campeonato Brasileiro Série C
The Campeonato Brasileiro Série C is the third division of Brazilian football.Unlike the first and second divisions, the Série C is not played in a double round robin system, arguably because many participating teams lack the financial conditions to travel long distances...

) by Salgueiro
Salgueiro Atlético Clube
Salgueiro Atlético Clube is a Brazilian football soccer club, founded in 1972, on Salgueiro city .-Achievements: Pernambuco Championship Second level: 1 Copa Pernambuco: 1* Copa Integração: 1-Appearances in competitions:...

 and in (Série D
Campeonato Brasileiro Série D
The Campeonato Brasileiro Série D is the fourth tier of the Brazilian football, and it was announced by Brazilian Football Confederation on April 9, 2008. Campeonato Brasileiro Série D was formed from the split of Série C, keeping its best 20 clubs and playing double round robin, like the top...

) by Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz Futebol Clube
Santa Cruz Futebol Clube, or simply Santa Cruz is a Brazilian football club in Recife, Pernambuco.-Early history:On February 3, 1914, eleven young men aging from 14 to 16 years founded a football society...

 and Central
Central Sport Club
Central Sport Club, usually known simply as Central, is a Brazilian football club from Caruaru, Pernambuco state.-History:On June 15, 1919, at Sociedade Musical Comercial Caruaruense, the club was founded by Francisco Porto de Oliveira and the club name was a suggestion by Severino Bezerra.In 1986,...

.

Recife
Recife
Recife is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Brazil with 4,136,506 inhabitants, the largest metropolitan area of the North/Northeast Regions, the 5th-largest metropolitan influence area in Brazil, and the capital and largest city of the state of Pernambuco. The population of the city proper...

 is one of the 12 Brazilian cities who will host the 2014 FIFA World Cup
2014 FIFA World Cup
The 2014 FIFA World Cup will be the 20th FIFA World Cup, an international association football tournament that will take place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014....

, which will be held in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

.

External links

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