Rio Grande do Sul

**Rio Grande do Sul**

Flag of Rio Grande do Sul See other Brazilian States Capital Porto Alegre Largest City Porto Alegre Area 282,062 km² Population
- Total
- Density
10.845.087
38,49 inh./km² Governor Germano Rigotto(PMDB) Demonym Gaúcho HDI (2000) 0.814 – high Timezone GMT-3 ISO 3166-2 BR

Rio Grande do Sul (pron. IPA: // ; English: "Large Southern River") is the southernmost state of Brazil, and the state with the highest standard of life . It is bordered on the north by the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Uruguay, and on the west by Argentina.

History

Despite being mainly rural for much of its early history, Rio Grande do Sul served as the launching pad for several wars Brazil waged against its southern and western neighbors. It also was a focal point for internal rebellion in the 19th century. Getulio Vargas, who led Brazil as dictator from 1930 and later was elected president in 1950, was a native of Rio Grande do Sul (known as Gauchos).

Rio Grande do Sul's prairies have been the scene of bloody wars: the dispute between Portugal and Spain for the Sacramento Colony, the Guarani Missions War, the War of Tatters, the Federalist Revolution, the Maurers Revolt and the Vargas's levant.

Rio Grande do Sul's population consists primarily of the descendants of European immigrants, especially Portuguese, Italians, and Germans and, to a much smaller extent, groups of Poles, Spanish, Russians, Lithuanians, Ukrainians and Jews. In the 1960s, a number of Japanese immigrants settled in various parts of the state. The first German immigrant families arrived in Rio Grande do Sul in 1824 at the town of São Leopoldo, and within the next one hundred years an estimated quarter of a million Germans settled in Brazil, mostly in Rio Grande do Sul and the neighboring state of Santa Catarina.

Most of the German speakers in southern Brazil spoke or eventually adopted the Hunsrückisch dialect so that it became the most commonly used German dialect in this part of the world and is still spoken by millions today (also referred to as Riograndenser Hunsrückisch to differentiate it from the Hunsrückisch spoken in Germany).

In its 180 years of history Riograndenser Hunsrückisch has been greatly influenced by other German dialects (such as Pomeranian, Pfälzisch) and by immigrant languages such as the national language, Portuguese but also to some degree by Italian.

Talian is a uniquely Brazilian variety of Italian not spoken anywhere else in the world. The emergence of Talian in Rio Grande do Sul happened because of the great variety of Italian dialects that came together into a fairly compact and specific geographical location of the state. Talian is frequently called Vêneto because it is close to the Venetian language spoken in Italy's Veneto region.

Italian immigrants began arriving in the area in the late 1800's, settling mostly in the hilly Northeastern parts of Rio Grande do Sul. Soon the region became the most important grape and wine-producing region in Brazil. Although the climate does not favor the production of the finest wines, the last few years have seen great progress in winemaking, especially with white sparkling wines.

All minority languages in southern Brazil have experienced a significant degrees of decline in the last few decades, not only immigrant languages such as Italian or Talian and German, but also the indigenous languages of the Kaingang (also spelled Kaingáng, Cainguangue, etc.) and the Guaraní.

In the far western area of the state are the remnants of Brazil's 17th century Jesuit missions or reductions (aldeias) to the Guaraní Indians. Important to the region, it should be noted that Jesuit Father Roque Gonzales also known as Roque Gonzales de Santa Cruz arrived from Paraguay on the 3rd of May of 1626 to establish the Saint Nicolas mission (today known as São Nicolau) was the first white person to enter in what is today know as the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Of all the ruins left behind by the vanished Guarani Missions, the most significant one is São Miguel or São Miguel Arcanjo, located nearby the present city of Santo Ângelo. There is an ongoing Light and Sound (or Som e Luz in Portuguese) show presented at the ruins of the São Miguel church. Originally part of Uruguayan territory it was lost in the Uruguayan struggle for independence. Uruguay could have lost all of the Rio Grande do Sul area if not for the help of Argentina, which wanted to defeat Brazil.

Tourism

Ecotourism is very popular in the Germanesque cities of Gramado and Canela; their cold weather is among their attractions for internal tourism. Tourism is also high in the wine regions of the state, principally Caxias do Sul and Bento Gonçalves. The pampas of the native Brazilian gaúcho are both a national and international curiosity to tourists and their customs are alive in the capital city of Porto Alegre as well as in the cities of the "interior" or western Rio Grande do Sul such as Santa Maria and Passo Fundo. The state is also home to the historic São Miguel das Missões, the ruins of an 18th century Jesuit Mission.

Tourist Routes

The state of Rio Grande do Sul and its cities have developed a series scenic routes to appeal to tourists. The Rota Romântica is a popular scenic drive that exhibits the diverse Germanic culture of the mountainous regions of the state referred to as the Serra Gaúcha. One can visit the states Italian settlements through Caminhos da Colônia, tour the wine country through the Rota da Uva e o Vinho and visit a subsection of the Rota Romântica called the Região das Hortênsias, the region filled with beautiful blue hydrangea flowers each spring.

Main towns

Porto Alegre (the state capital), Caxias do Sul, Pelotas, Canoas, São Leopoldo, Novo Hamburgo, Santa Maria, Rio Grande, Passo Fundo, Santa Cruz do Sul, Erechim, Gravataí, Bento Gonçalves, Uruguaiana, Livramento, Gramado, Nova Petropolis, Canela and Bagé.

Ethnic groups

85% white
- Italian-Brazilians (30%);
- German-Brazilians (25%);
- Portuguese-Brazilians (25%);
- 5% others (Polish-Brazilians, Ukrainian-Brazilians, Russians-brazilians, etc)
9% mestiços
5,4% black
0,4% asian
0,2% native american

Minority Languages

Minority languages spoken in Rio Grande do Sul can be divided into two groups: Indigenous languages (Guarani, Caingangue, etc.) and European derived Languages (Talian, Veneto/Italian, Riograndenser Hunsrückisch, Low German, Pommeranisch -German dialects-, Polish and other Slavic languages).

Economy

One of the most prosperous Brazilian states, Rio Grande do Sul is known especially for grain production, viticulture, ranching, and for its considerable industrial output. Natives of the state are known as gaúchos, named after the cattle herders and ranchers who settled the state's pampa regions.

Flag

The flag was established by law no. 5213 of January 5 1966. However, its design dates back much more. The independent Rio Grande Republic adopted the flag in 1836, in 1891 the shield in the center was added. According to the common interpretion of the flag colors the green and yellow stands for the Flag of Brazil and the red for the blood spilt during the internal rebellion for the independent Rio Grande Republic.

Culture

The state of Rio Grande do Sul is known as one of the most rich in culture state of Brazil. Rio Grande's music is a join of many styles (Prata's Rhythms in majority), as the Chamamé, Milonga, Polca, Chacarera and Tango.

Notes

The presented pronunciation is in Brazilian Portuguese. The European Portuguese pronunciation is: //.

External links

Official homepage (Brazilian Portuguese)

States of Brazil | Rio Grande do Sul

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