Porto Alegre

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Porto Alegre
central Porto Alegre at night
Flag Seal
Nickname: Porto (spoken), POA (written)
Motto: Loyal and Valiant city of Porto Alegre
Coordinates: 30°01′59″S 51°13′48″W / -30.03306, -51.23
Country	Brazil
Region	South
State	Rio Grande do Sul
Government
- Mayor	José Fogaça (PMDB)
Area
- Total	496.8 km² (191.8 sq mi)
Elevation	10 m (33 ft)
Population (2006 est.)
- Total	1,440,939
- Density	2,815.6/km² (7,292.4/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-3 (UTC-3)
- Summer (DST)	UTC-2 (UTC-2)
HDI (2000)	0.865 – high
Website: Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul

Porto Alegre (lit. "Joyous Port")^[1] is one of the largest cities in Brazil, and the capital city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Porto Alegre is one of the most important cultural, political and economic centers of Southern Brazil. Porto Alegre held^[2] the highest standard of living among all Brazilian capitals for many years and it was the sole Brazilian city listed^[3] on Jones Lang LaSalle's World Winning Cities.

The city, located on the Guaiba Lake, was founded in 1742 by immigrants from the Azores. In the late 19th century the city received people from other parts of the world, particularly Germany, Poland, and Italy. Located at the junction of five rivers, it has become an important alluvial port as well as one of the chief industrial and commercial centers in Brazil.

The Salgado Filho International Airport connects Porto Alegre with Brazilian cities and also operates international flights.

The city is home to the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul.

Contents 1 The city 2 Geography 2.1 Climate 3 Demographics 4 Curiosity 5 Economy 6 Education 6.1 Colleges and Universities 7 Culture 7.1 Museums 8 Events 9 Infrastructure 9.1 International Airport 9.2 Port 9.3 Highways 10 Tourism and recreation 11 Sports 12 Sister Cities 13 Famous people related to Porto Alegre 13.1 Neighborhoods 14 See also 15 References 16 External links 16.1 Official 16.2 Education 16.3 Photos 16.4 Tourism

[edit] The city

The city is located at a delta resulting from the junction of five rivers, officially called Guaíba Lake (popularly mentioned as a river too). Although its origins date from the mid-18th century, when immigrants from the Azores settled in the area, the city was officially established in 1809.

Before this, Porto Alegre was the port of Viamão on the shore of Guaíba Lake. Its ancient name was Porto dos Casais (Port of the couples), and it was initially settled by Azorians. Many families of settlers also came from the city of Rio Grande (Big River) in the litoral Lagunar region, to the south, a military fortress at that time. Today Rio Grande is the most important port of Rio Grande do Sul state.

More than 70 neighborhoods (see below) are part of the city and 2/3 of the population are concentrated in the Zona Norte (Northern Zone), where most of the economic activity, including the city center, takes place.

Porto Alegre was the seat of the World Social Forum in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005. As the second largest city in southern Brazil, it is also an important industrial center in the mentioned geographical area. It also is a center for gaúcho (the popular name for natives of the State) history and culture, famous for its churrasco (barbecue) and chimarrão (a strong and hot tea prepared from erva mate). Important Brazilian universities, such as UFRGS, UFCSPA and PUCRS are located there.

Porto Alegre is also one of the wealthiest cities in Latin America, and one of the most diverse. It has welcomed immigrants from all over the world, the largest numbers coming from Portugal, Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland. The are also significant Arab, Jewish and Afro-Brazilian contingents in the population.

[edit] Geography

[edit] Climate

Climate chart for Porto Alegre
J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
89   31 19	81   31 20	99   28 18	104   26 16	114   22 12	130   19 9	114   19 9	127   20 10	132   21 12	86   23 14	79   27 16	89   29 18
temperatures in °C • precipitation totals in mm source: BBC Weather
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     3.5   88 66     3.2   88 68     3.9   82 64     4.1   79 61     4.5   72 54     5.1   66 48     4.5   66 48     5   68 50     5.2   70 54     3.4   73 57     3.1   81 61     3.5   84 64 temperatures in °F • precipitation totals in inches

Porto Alegre is located in the subtropical area and so is called its climate. Average precipitation is high and regular throughout the year. Summer temperatures only occasionally rise above 32°C (90°F), although high levels of humidity make the season very muggy. The highest temperature ever registered was 40.7°C (105°F) in January 1943. The winter reveals mild average temperatures, contrasting to the quite changeable, and many times sudden behavioral, windy and rainy weather which also characterizes this time of the year. Usual winter temperatures range from 5 °C (41°F) to 25 °C (77°F). Snow is very rare, sometimes confused with sleet.The main snowfall events in Porto Alegre were in 1879,1910 and 1984. The lowest temperature ever recorded was -4°C (4 degrees celsius below zero). Autumns tend to be as changeable as winters, but are typically warmer. Spring, stabler akin to summer, is slightly drier than all the other seasons. Occurrence of radiation fog is common, causing several delays in early flights.

The humid subtropical climate gets its name from the high humidity experienced in this environment. Dominance of the warm and moist maritime tropical air creates summers similar to the humid tropics. Precipitation is generally evenly distributed throughout the year. Annual precipitation varies from 100 inches near the coast to 25 inches inland. Frost is generally only a problem in winter when very cold cP air masses penetrate this region, a real hazard for fruit and vegetable growers in the southeastern Brazil.

[edit] Demographics

According to the IBGE of 2007, there were 4,100,000 people residing in the Metropolitan Region of Porto Alegre. The population density was 2.905,3 inh./km². The last PNAD (National Research for Sample of Domiciles) census revealed the following numbers: 3,300,500 million White people (80.5%), 475 thousand Pardo people (11.6%), 299 thousand Black people (7.3%), 24 thousand Asian or Amerindian people (0.6%).^[4]

Porto Alegre is mostly composed of Brazilians of European descent. Its colonization started in the mid-18th century, mostly with the arrival of Portuguese colonists from the Azores Islands. From 1748 to 1756, 2,300 Azoreans were sent to the region by the King of Portugal to protect Southern Brazil from neighboring invaders.^[5] These colonists, mostly composed of couples, established the city of Porto dos Casais (Port of the Couples), nowadays Porto Alegre. In 1775, 55% of Rio Grande do Sul's population was of Azorean Portuguese origin.^[6]

Porto Alegre was composed mainly of Azoreans and their African slaves until the first half of the 19th century. Nowadays, Blacks, Pardo people, who may also have some Amerindian ancestry compose, together, 17.1% of the city's population.

The first non-Portuguese people to settle Rio Grande do Sul were German immigrants. In 1824, the first immigrants from Germany arrived in Porto Alegre, but they were sent to what is now the city of São Leopoldo (28 km far). From 1824 to 1914, 50 thousand Germans arrived in Rio Grande do Sul.^[7] Most of them had rural communities in the interior of the State as their first destination. The large rural exodus in Brazil in the early 20th century brought many German-descendants to Porto Alegre and, nowadays, they compose a large percentage of the population.

The other largest group of immigrants who arrived in Porto Alegre are the Italians. They started immigrating to Brazil in 1875, mainly from the Northern Italian Veneto region.^[8] As the Germans, Italians were also first sent to rural communities, mainly in the Serra Gaúcha region. After some decades, many of them started to migrate to other parts of Rio Grande do Sul, including Porto Alegre.

Minoritary communities of immigrants, such as Eastern Europeans from Poland and Ukraine; Arabs from Lebanon and Syria; Asians from Japan and Jews also made Porto Alegre their home.

[edit] Curiosity

Vehicles: 580,063 (March/2007); Daily newspapers: 5 (May/2007); Established: 03/26/1772.

[edit] Economy

The gaucho capital is at a privileged location. Placed at a strategic point within Mercosur, Porto Alegre is the geographical center of major routes of the Southern Cone, and it's located mid-way between the southern cities: Buenos Aires and Montevideo, and the northern cities: São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Porto Alegre is also an important business center and a gateway to major tourist attractions in the region.

According to the English consultancy firm Jones Lang LaSalle (2004), Porto Alegre is placed second in rural output and industrialization among all Brazilian cities. Due to its geographical location, the city is considered the capital of the South American Common Market.

The GDP for the city was R$ 27,977,351,000 (2005).^[9]

The per capita income for the city was R$ 19,582 (2005).^[10]

[edit] Education

Portuguese 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.

[edit] Colleges and Universities

• Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS);
• Universidade Estadual do Rio Grande do Sul (UERGS);
• Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUC-RS);
• Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre (UFCSPA);
• Faculdades Riograndenses (FARGS);
• Faculdade Porto-Alegrense de Educação (FAPA);
• Universidade SEBRAE de Negocios (USEN);
• and many others.

[edit] Culture

The gastronomic features have the same attention: there are countless options – but the favorite dish will always be the famous "gaucho" barbecue, accompanied by the inseparable chimarrão gourd. Whoever strolls along Porto Alegre’s streets is surprised with its perennial vegetation, hills, and ponds. What is also dazzling is the preservation condition of its historic buildings, which shelter memories and culture. But what really charms visitors is the surprisingly harmonious match of its welcoming manner of an interior town with the fast hustle and bustle of a large urban center, its architecture as the icon of modernity, and the cultural heterogeneity.

[edit] Museums

Museum of Art of Rio Grande do Sul – MARGS

With a predominantly neoclassic style, the building was designed by German architect Theo Wiederspahn. Originally it was the headquarters of the Fiscal Surveillance Agency of the Federal Revenue Office. Nowadays, it hosts the largest collection of works in Rio Grande do Sul, many of which were created by renowned local, national, and foreign artists. The internal spaces are illuminated through “vitreauxes” (artistic window glasses) embellishing the major hall ceiling. The building became a historic landmark by the National Historic Site Office in 1983 and it is at Alfândega Plaza, Downtown.

Museum Júlio de Castilhos

Created in 1903, being the oldest museum in the state. Its collection comprises thousands of pieces related to the local history, from Indian relics to objects and iconography about the War of Tatters and the War of the Triple Alliance, including an important section showing fine scupltures from the Jesuitic Reductions.

Museum Joaquim José Felizardo

An important museum with a large collection of archaeological artifacts and fotographies of Porto Alegre's old times. Its historical building, dating from 1845-55, is one of the few intact relics of colonial architecture inside the modern urban environment.

Rio Grande do Sul Memorial

Showing a huge collection of documents, maps, objects, prints and other items related to the state's history. Its building, designed by Theodor Wiederspahn, is one of the finest examples of eclectic architecture in the city.

[edit] Events

Bookfair It gathers exhibition and book sales, an autograph afternoon, lectures, literary parties, and even plastic arts shows. It is held always on the second fortnight of November, at Praça da Alfândega.

Farroupilha Week Musical and dancing shows from the Pampas region, typical foods, and a traditionalist parade. This event always takes place from September 13th to 20th.

Expointer An 8-day cattle-raising and agribusiness fair. It is always held between August and September, in the municipality of Esteio, 24 km away from Porto Alegre.

Latin American Handicraft Fair It gathers over 13 countries in exhibitions throughout the year. Crafty pieces and antiques are exhibited in shows on Saturdays, at 5ª Avenida Center and, on Sundays, at “Brique da Redenção” (Handicraft Fair).

[edit] Infrastructure

[edit] International Airport

Salgado Filho International Airport serves flights operated by major Brazilian airlines to many areas in Brazil and other South American countries.

[edit] Port

The Port of Porto Alegre is situated in the Eastern margin of lake Guaíba. Its geographical position enables a permanent traffic between Porto Alegre and Buenos Aires, transporting steel-industry products and mainly agricultural produce.

[edit] Highways

The capital city of the “gauchos” is connected to BR-290 and BR-116 federal highways, thus enabling the link with other Brazilian States as well as with Uruguay and Argentina.

[edit] Tourism and recreation

Historic Buildings

Porto Alegre is a huge outdoor architectonic museum. The different styles are concentrated especially downtown, recording on the buildings the influences which marked the capital city’s golden time. Therefore, walking across the narrow streets of the historical center, one may see buildings with baroque characteristics –- as the “Casa da Junta” –- sharing the space with the modern architecture of Farroupilha Palace, a place that today hosts the State Legislative Assembly.

Porto Alegre City Hall – “Palácio dos Açorianos” (The Palace of the Azoreans)

Ornamented in neoclassic style, its construction was started in 1898. Across the City Hall is the “Fonte Talavera de La Reina”, a gift from that Spanish colony in 1935, during the celebration of the centennial of the Farroupilha Revolution. The sculptures embellishing the façade stand for Economy, Education, and Politics. It became a historic site in 1979. The city’s center milestone is there. The city hall lies at Praça Montevidéu, 10, Downtown.

Chalet of the XV de Novembro Plaza

Located along the Glênio Peres Square, it is one of the most traditional bar-draft beer-restaurants in the city, where the last “lambe-lambe” photographs of the region work. [“Lambe-lambes” are photographers who develop pictures outdoor using the oldest method known.] In the Bavarian style, with art nouveau traits, the centenary Chalet was built up on a demountable steel structure, keeping its original chandeliers and tiles even nowadays. It is located at XV de Novembro Plaza, Downtown.

Central Public Market

It was inaugurated in 1869, but the second floor was only completed in the year 1913. Between 1995 and 1996 it went through a large refurbishment, which modified its internal structure and renovated its external part. Its more than one hundred stores host spices and typical products of the gaucho culture. Restaurants, cafeterias, and ice cream shops supplement the offer of goods and services. It became a historic landmark in 1979. It lies at Glênio Peres Square, Downtown – XV de Novembro Plaza.

Post and Telegraph Offices

Built in the beginning of the century, the building is featured by the influence of Germanic baroque architecture. Bronze-domed asymmetric towers recall the helmets worn by the Prussian army. At the center of the building is Atlas, a Greek mythology character who was convicted to bear the world upon his shoulders. A female figure representing the old continent and the figure of an adolescent boy, simulating the new continent, comprise the ensemble. It became a historic landmark by the National Historic Site Office in 1981 and it is at Alfândega Plaza, Downtown.

Museum of Art of Rio Grande do Sul (MARGS)

With a predominantly neoclassic style, the building was designed by German architect Theo Wiederspahn. Originally it was the headquarters of the Fiscal Surveillance Agency of the Federal Revenue Office. Nowadays, it hosts the largest collection of works in Rio Grande do Sul, many of which were created by renowned local, national, and foreign artists. The internal spaces are illuminated through “vitreauxes” (artistic window glasses) embellishing the major hall ceiling. The building became a historic landmark by the National Historic Site Office in 1983 and it is at Alfândega Plaza, Downtown.

Piratini Palace

The seat of State Government, its construction begun in 1896 after a project by Affonso Hebert, but soon the plan was changed and another project was designed by Maurice Gras, which was erected from 1909 on, and completed only towards the 70's. It shows a blend of baroque and neoclassical features inspired after the french palace Petit Trianon, with rich inner decorations and furniture, and a big garden behind the main building.

Monuments

The monuments of the gaucho capital city may be seen in several points throughout the city. They are exhibited in public spaces, as the Júlio de Castilhos Monument, at Praça da Matriz (Main Church Square), embellishing the façade of public buildings, as the collection of statues adorning the Old City Hall, at Praça Montevidéu. Porto Alegre also has a series of modern works, such as the Monument to the Azoreans, located across the “Ponte de Pedra" (Stone Bridge).

Cultural Centers

Porto Alegre offers large spaces for shows, as the "Anfiteatro Pôr-do-Sol” (Sunset Amphitheater) on the shores of Guaíba Lake, or areas for qualified exhibitions, as the rooms of Mário Quintana House of Culture and the Gasholder Plant.

Glênio Peres Square

Inaugurated in 1922, it hosts artistic-cultural and political manifestations. The paving recovers the drawing existing in front of the City Hall building in the 30’s, similar to a Persian carpet comprised by gray basalt flagstones and Portuguese black, white, and pink stones. The J.G. Brill model Streetcar, used in that very decade, is there.

Arquipélago (Archipelago)

Guaíba Lake receives water from Jacuí, Caí, Sinos, and Gravataí Rivers. On the islands, which are the result of this water confluence, the "Delta do Jacuí" (Jacuí Delta) State Park was created in 1976. The archipelago is comprised by 28 islands, most of which are not inhabited. There, 329 vegetal specimens, 108 kinds of birds and over 20 species of fish thrive, in addition to hundreds of other animals. Some islands are connected to the continent by the Regis Bittencourt Crossing – the well-known "Ponte do Guaíba” (Guaíba Bridge). Grande dos Marinheiros, Pavão, Flores, and Pintada islands shelter a 15-thousand people population. The islanders live on waste recycling and fishing, and also produce handicraft.

Ilha da Pintada (Pintada Island)

Ilha da Pintada is part of the group of islands comprising the Delta do Jacuí State Park. Currently, crafty fishing is the most representative economic activity in the place. Its population descends from Azorean immigrants.

Guaíba

The sunset, as seen from the Guaíba Lake, blankets the city with golden lights. Every day the most diverse viewers wait for the twilight show along its 72 km shore.

Morros (Hills)

A ring of granitic hills aged 730 million years enframes Porto Alegre, occupying 65% of the city area. The hills are part of the Southern Rio Grande Shield - a triangular platform 48 thousand sq. km long, originated from rocks which melted under intense pressure and heat inside the Earth, and then emerged, rising as high as the mountains. Nowadays, spalled and cracked by the erosion of million of years, small round-topped hills are formed and are predominant in the gaucho capital landscape.

Morro Santana (Santana Hill)

It is the city’s highest peak. Over half of its extension – about one thousand hectares – is owned by the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. At its 311 meters high are native forests and fields, waterfalls, swamps, marshes, lakes, brooks, and cascades. A unique landscape.

Morro do Osso (Osso Hill)

It is located between Tristeza, Camaquá, and Ipanema districts. From the top of its 143 meters, with an over 200-degree panoramic view, one can see the Guaíba Lake, Ipanema Beach, Downtown Porto Alegre, and a few hills. A share of this Hill lines off the Osso Hill Natural Park, which must soon be expanded. The park has a head office with an auditorium for educational activities, forester service, and an environmental educational program.

Morro São Pedro (São Pedro Hill)

It lies between Restinga and Lami districts. From its 289 meters high, it is possible to see part of the city’s Southern Zone, Lami Beach, and Itapuã Lighthouse. With over one thousand hectares, it has several clean and preserved stream fountains. There you can find four basic vegetal formations: clean field, with tripping vegetation; dirty field, with clumps of shrub and semi-shrubby vegetation; the gallery forest, which flows across the brooks; and pluvial subtropical wood or forest. In addition to campo flickers, partridges, “sabiás”, southern house wrens, and sparrow hawks, other animals in danger of extinction, as auburn monkeys, live in this hill.

Morro Santa Teresa (Santa Teresa Hill)

Located at Santa Teresa District, this hill is 148 m above sea level, providing a panoramic view of the shores of Guaíba Lake along the “Marinha do Brasil” and Maurício Sirotsky Sobrinho (Harmonia) parks. From Ruy Ramos belvedere, at the hilltop, it is also possible to see some of the archipelago islands, the “Usina do Gasômetro” (Gasholder Plant), and Downtown Porto Alegre. Santa Teresa is known for sheltering several TV and radio stations, being this the reason why the population nicknamed it as "TV Hill".

Botanical Garden

With an area of approximately 43 hectares, the Botanical Garden is in the district named for it, between Cristiano Fischer Avenue and Salvador França Avenue. It has scientific collections with over two thousand issues, 725 vegetal species, spread along the different open areas in the park. It also has a Germplasm Bank, a Seed Bank and a Sapling Terrarium, in addition to developing environmental educational activities. The Natural Sciences Museum is headquartered at the Garden and preserves flora and fauna species from the State Natural Patrimony.

Farroupilha Park (Redenção)

It is located at Farroupilha District. Its 370 thousand sq. meters of extension hosts 45 copper and marble monuments, a luminous fountain and the “O Expedicionário" (The Expeditionary) monument, representing a double Triumph Arch with relief sculptures which are a homage to Brazilian soldiers who fought in Italy during the World War II. It also hosts a mini-zoo, an amusement park for children, a solar retreat, a market, soccer and bowl fields, cycleways, athletic sports track, gymnastics equipment, and an auditorium for 4,500 people. On Sundays, the Brique da Redenção Fair takes place.

Maurício Sirotsky Sobrinho Park (Harmonia Park)

Located at Cidade Baixa District, it has 300 thousand sq. meters, hosting in its area a replica of a traditional gaucho farm - the Harmonia Ranch -, designed to maintain and practice the regionalist culture. It also has an aeromodelling track, a nautimodelling tank, children’s sites, soccer and bowl fields, volleyball courts, and over 100 barbecue grills available in different areas of the park.

Saint Hilaire Park

Located on RS-040 highway, at about km 02, this park is 17 km away from Downtown Porto Alegre. It has 11.8 km², 240 hectares of which are designed to leisure and 940 hectares reserved to permanent preservation. Its name is a homage to scientist Augustin François César Prouvençal de Saint-Hilaire, an internationally renowned French traveler and naturalist who lived in Brazil for many years. The park infrastructure has soccer fields, bowl fields, volleyball courts and indoor soccer fields, aeromodelling and skating tracks, a playground and approximately 100 barbecue grills.

Mascarenhas de Moraes Park

Officially created in 1984, the park has a total area of 182,383 sq. meters. In addition, it has an ecologic reserve of approximately 6 hectares, inhabited by many flora and fauna species. The Southern Wing of the park has a playground and three volleyball courts; in the central part are the park administration office, soccer and bowl fields, volleyball courts, soccer seven fields and multipurpose courts and fields. Mascarenhas de Moraes Park is at Humaitá District.

Chico Mendes Park

It pays a homage to preservationist Francisco Alves Mendes Filho, commonly known as Chico Mendes, the union leader of rubber tappers and a great defender of the Amazon forest, murdered in 1988, in Acre State. The park occupies 247 thousand sq. meters and it is located still at an urban consolidation stage area. It has a forest of eucalyptuses and a small ecologic reserve comprised basically of native trees which ensure the survival of several species of the avifauna. It also has a volleyball court, a basketball court, two soccer fields, three bowl fields, table games, gymnastics equipment, cooper lanes, rest rooms, a playground, and an area with barbecue grills. The Chico Mendes Memorial and the outdoor amphitheater are designed to ceremonies and cultural agendas.

Parque Marinha do Brasil (The Brazilian Navy’s Park)

It occupies an area of 715 thousand sq. meters at Praia de Belas District. From there one can admire the waters of Guaíba Lake. Sportspeople enjoy the park very much due to its infrastructure characteristics – it has four tennis courts, five multipurpose courts, a soccer field, six indoor soccer fields, an athletic sports track, a skating track, a skateboard track, nine sand soccer fields, a mourning hall and gymnastics equipment. Bicycle and quadricycle rental is also available. It also has a playground and a small amusement park. Out of its total area, 11 hectares represent forests and grass-covered spaces where there are many native trees and exotic species.

Parque Moinhos de Vento (Moinhos de Vento [Windmills] Park)

It has 115 thousand sq. meters and offers sports infrastructure with a soccer field, tennis court, bowl field, gymnastics equipment, skating track, multipurpose courts, and athletic sports tracks. The Park administrative head offices were built in the shape of an artificial windmill debouching as a small cascade. Turtles, geese, drakes, and fish live at the site. The avifauna becomes more abundant in the fruiting period of trees and shrubs of the park. There is also a library for children, containing one thousand books, especially devoted to ecologic literature. The Park lies at Moinhos de Vento District.

Lami Biological Reserve

The city has a Biological Reserve 170 hectares long within its territorial limits. Lami Biological Reserve shelters a meteorological station and a terrarium of native saplings. The diverse atmospheres enable growing over 300 vegetal species and a higher number of animal species; the swamps and reeds are home to many aquatic organisms.

Tourism palaeontological - Although Porto Alegre is not in the region of Paleorrota, has the largest number of paleontologists of Rio Grande do Sul. The city has a large number of museums, and the UFRGS as a center for the study of paleontology and there can see the animals of Triassic.

We can see Rhynchosaur, thecodonts, exaeretodons, Staurikosaurus, Guaibasaurus, Saturnalia tupiniquim, Sacisaurus, Unaysaurus and many others.

[edit] Sports

It is also home to such famous football clubs as Grêmio and Internacional.

Porto Alegre is one of the 18 remaining candidates to host games of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, for which Brazil is the only South American bidder.

[edit] Sister Cities

The Sister Cities of Porto Alegre are:

• - Suzhou, People's Republic of China
• - Kanazawa (Ishikawa, Japan)
• - Saint Petersburg, Russia
• - Austin, Texas, United States of America (Porto Alegre is not officially recognized as a Sister City by Austin, Texas)^[11]
• - Morano Calabro, Italy
• - La Plata, Argentina
• - Rosario, Argentina
• - Punta del Este, Uruguay
• - Ribeira Grande, Portugal
• - Horta, Portugal
• - Portalegre, Portugal
• - Natal, Brazil

[edit] Famous people related to Porto Alegre

• Adriana Calcanhotto, singer and instrumentist
• Alex Klein, oboist
• Anderson, football player with Manchester United
• Daiane dos Santos, gymnast
• Diogo Rincón, football player with Dynamo Kyiv
• Elis Regina, singer
• Ernesto Geisel, military general and dictator
• Humberto Gessinger, musician, singer and songwriter
• Isaac Karabtchevsky, conductor
• Jorge Furtado, film writer and director
• Luís Carlos Prestes, Communist leader
• Érico Verissimo, writer
• Luis Fernando Verissimo, writer (son of Erico Verissimo)
• Mario Quintana, poet
• Moacyr Scliar, writer and physician
• Ronaldinho Gaúcho, football player with Barcelona
• Emerson Thome, former Sheffield Wednesday football player.
• Fabricio Werdum, professional mixed martial artist of PRIDE and UFC fame and member of the Chute Box academy.
• Luiz Adriano, football player of FC Shakhtar Donetsk

[edit] Neighborhoods

Neighborhoods of Porto Alegre are geographical divisions of the city. There is no devolution of administrative powers to neighborhoods, although there are several neighborhoods associations devoted to improve their own standards of living. Porto Alegre has nowadays 78 official distinguished neighborhoods and 4 territories.

See also: Neighborhoods of Porto Alegre

Click "show" for further information.

[edit] See also List of Hills of Porto Alegre [edit] References ^ "Porto Alegre." World Book. 2007-04-05 <http://www.worldbook.com/wb/Article?id=ar440920>. ^ "2003." Prefeitura de Porto Alegre. 16 Sept. 2006 <http://www2.portoalegre.rs.gov.br/infocidade/default.php?p_secao=56>. ^ "2004." Prefeitura de Porto Alegre. 16 Sept. 2006 <http://www2.portoalegre.rs.gov.br/infocidade/default.php?p_secao=57>. ^ (2007) Síntese de Indicadores Sociais 2007 (PDF) (in Portuguese), Porto Alegre, Brazil: IBGE. ISBN 85-240-3919-1. Retrieved on 2007-07-18.  ^ http://www.riogrande.com.br/historia/colonizacao3.htm ^ http://www.atlasesportebrasil.org.br/textos/229.pdf ^ http://www.riogrande.com.br/historia/colonizacao4c.htm ^ http://www.riogrande.com.br/historia/colonizacao5b.htm ^ (2005) GDP (PDF) (in Portuguese), Porto Alegre, Brazil: IBGE. ISBN 85-240-3919-1. Retrieved on 2007-07-18.  ^ (2005) per capita income (PDF) (in Portuguese), Porto Alegre, Brazil: IBGE. ISBN 85-240-3919-1. Retrieved on 2007-07-18.  ^ [http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/siscity/] [edit] External links Find more about Porto Alegre on Wikipedia's sister projects: Dictionary definitions Textbooks Quotations Source texts Images and media News stories Learning resources [edit] Official (Portuguese) Official homepage (some pages available in (English)) Já Newspaper [edit] Education (Portuguese) PUC-RS - the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (Portuguese) UFRS - Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (Portuguese) ULBRA - Lutheran University of Brazil (English) Escola Pan Americana de Porto Alegre - (Pan American School of Porto Alegre) [edit] Photos Images of Porto Alegre [edit] Tourism Porto Alegre travel guide from Wikitravel (Portuguese) Maplink - Porto Alegre Street Guide and Maps (Portuguese) Calendar of Events and Histories of the Neighborhoods of Porto Alegre v • d • e Capitals of Brazilian states Brasília Federal Capital (DF) North Belém (PA) · Boa Vista (RR) · Macapá (AP) · 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