'Alagoas' (AL),
pron. IPA: //
[1], is a small
state in northeastern
Brazil lying between the states of
Pernambuco and
Sergipe; touching the state of
Bahia along a part of its southwestern border. The southern border of Alagoas is defined by the '
Rio São Francisco' (São Francisco River). Alagoas has an area of 27.933 km² and a population of approximately 2,818,000. The capital city is
Maceió.
Geography
The state's name originates with the lakes along its coast near the city of Maceió. The coast is bordered by fringing reefs and many fine beaches. Behind the beaches, sometimes only hundreds of meters and defined by steep scarps, lies a stretch of green coastal hills having enough rainfall for considerable agriculture and scarce remnants of the
Mata Atlântica (Atlantic Rain Forest) that now is largely limited to steep hill tops. This is the area long dominated by sugar cane.
Still further inland lies the Sertão of the Northeast region of the nation. The Sertão is a high dry region dominated by scrub that is often thorn filled and sometimes toxic, the
caatinga. This area and its people is famed in legend and song. It is the land of the cowboy who is clad from head to toe (if he is lucky) with very thick leather to avoid the tearing vegetation.
History
During the first three centuries of its history, Alagoas was part of the captaincy of Pernambuco, only changing into an independent captaincy in
1817. As a reprisal against the
Pernambucan Revolution, the King
John VI of
Portugal ordered a vast portion of the Pernambucan territory to be taken apart, most including its southern portion, one part given to the captaincy of
Bahia, the other portion made independent and bringing up Alagoas as a new Brazilian captaincy.
Initially, in the first years of the
16th century, Alagoas settlement went on slowly, however helped by
Africans turned into slaves whose work urged the local economy. In the period between the 16th and 17th centuries, French
pirates invaded its territory attracted by the commerce of
Brazil wood.
Some time latter,
Duarte Coelho, owner of the captaincy of Pernambuco, gave the control of the region back to the Portuguese, running the territory as part of his captaincy. He gave impulse to grow sugar cane plantations and to build up some sugar mills as well as founded the cities of
Penedo and Alagoas – this last one originally baptized by Portuguese as Santa Maria Madalena da Alagoa do Sul (Saint Mary Magdalene of the Southern Lake), currently the historic heritage town of
Marechal Deodoro.
In
1570, a second expedition ordered by Duarte Coelho and leaded by
Cristóvão Lins, explored the north of Alagoas and founded the settlement of
Porto Calvo and five sugar mills, which two of them still endure, Buenos Aires and Escurial.
In
1630, the territory was taken by the
Dutch, whose interest to manage the commerce of
sugar in most part of the northeastern region of Brazil urged a fight to take the control of the region. As part of one of the wealthiest Brazilian captaincies, Alagoas prospered exactly for the sugar commerce. However, the Dutch colonizers abandoned the territory after being defeated in
1645.
Decades before Alagoas being done apart in 1817, its sugar industry was formed by 200 mills and the agriculture took impulse by
cotton,
tobacco and
corn plantations. With
Brazilian independence from Portugal in
1822, Alagoas becomes a
province. In
1839, the capital of the province is changed definitively from the town of Alagoas to Maceio, mainly due to the increasing economy of the city year by year because of its port.
Economy
The economy has been
agricultural, dependent largely on large
sugar cane plantations with some
tobacco. Sugar cane formed the basis for an
alcohol industry that is in decline. Small to medium sized tanker ships took alcohol onboard in Maceió's port with considerable frequency during the peak period. Such loads still take place with less frequency. Another local industry is based on chemical products from
brine pumped from deep wells on the outskirts of Maceió.
In the last twenty years the
tourist industry has found the beaches and Maceió itself has changed from a rather sleepy little port with coconut palm plantations along its beaches to high rise hotels. The northern coast, particularly around the towns Maragogi and Japaratinga is beginning to see some of this development in the form of resorts attracting people from the south and some from
Europe.
Education
Portuguese language is the official language of schools. But
English language and
Spanish language are part of the official
high school curriculum.
Colleges and universities
Alagoas has a
Universidade Federal de Alagoas(UFAL), Universidade Estadual de Alagoas(Uneal), Universidade de Ciências da Saúde de Alagoas(Uncisal), CESMAC, FAL, ESAMC, FITs, FAMA, FAA, FACIMA, Seune, etc.
Culture
===
Festa Junina (Saint John Festival)===
Festa Junina was introduced to Northeastern
Brazil by the
Portuguese for whom St John's day (also celebrated as
Midsummer Day in several
European countries), on the 24th of June, is one of the oldest and most popular celebrations of the year. Differently, of course, from what happens on the European
Midsummer Day, the festivities in Brazil do not take place during the
summer solstice but during the tropical
winter solstice. The festivities traditionally begin after the 12th of June, on the eve of St Anthony's day, and last until the 29th, which is Saint Peter's day. During these fifteen days, there are
bonfires,
fireworks, and folk dancing in the streets (step names are in French, which shows the mutual influences between court life and peasant culture in the 17th, 18th, and 19th-century Europe). Once exclusively a rural festivity, today, in Brazil, it is largely a city festival during which people joyfully and theatrically mimic peasant stereotypes and cliches in a spirit of joke and good time. Typical refreshments and dishes are served. It should be noted that, like during Carnival, these festivities involve costumes-wearing (in this case, peasant costumes), dancing, heavy drinking, and visual spectacles (fireworks display and folk dancing). Like what happens on
Midsummer and St John's Day in Europe,
bonfires are a central part of these festivities in Brazil.
Carnival
The four-day period before Lent leading up to Ash Wednesday is
carnival time in
Brazil. Rich and poor alike forget their cares as they party in the streets.
Infrastructure
International Airport
The “Terra dos Marechais†(as the state is nicknamed) gained a stunning new airport complex, designed by homegrown architect Mário AloÃsio, which combines glass, metal and granite in a design that is as functional as it is beautiful. There is space for art exhibitions, a panoramic deck, chapel, seven escalators, nine elevators and four boarding bridges. And the whole terminal was designed to permit access by the physically disabled, with ramps and special bathroom fixtures.
In the new terminal, Infraero also brings to Maceió “Aeroshopping†– a concept that is transforming the country’s airports into centers for leisure and high-quality products and services. The entire building has a computerized air conditioning, with commercial spaces that will be occupied gradually. The parking area was more than tripled. Demand will be able to grow to 1.2 million passengers a year since the new passenger terminal has 24,000 square meters, the triple of its former size. The check-in counters were doubled and can reach higher numbers without any structural remodeling.
The building is “intelligentâ€, meaning controlled by a computerized system that regulates factors ranging from the lighting level to air temperature and even the speed of the escalators. This system also controls access to restricted areas and the fire protection system, among others.
Port
The
Port of Jaraguá is a Brazilian port that stayed in the state of Alagoas, in the capital Maceió. It was the commercial and economic development of the Port of Jaraguá, next to the margins of the pond Mundaú, call maçaio, that did to arise a big settlement that received the name of Maceió, present capital of Alagoas. The Port of Jaraguá is considered a "natural port" that facilitates the atracamento of embarkations, which way the products more exported in the epoch of the colonization were sugar, smoke, coconut and spices.
Sports
Alagoas provides visitors and residents with various sport activities. There are several soccer clubs based in
Maceió, such as
CRB,
CSA and Corithians Alagoano.
Major cities
★
Arapiraca
★
Coruripe
★
Maceió
★
Maragogi
★
Marechal Deodoro (H)
★
Palmeira dos Indios
★
Penedo (H)
★
Piranhas (H)
★
Porto Calvo
★
Porto de Pedras (H)
★
Santana do Ipanema
★
União dos Palmares
★
Viçosa
See also
★
List of cities in Brazil (all cities and municipalities)
Flag
The coat of arms symbolizes the first Alagoan settlements,
Porto Calvo and
Penedo. Some
plantations,
sugar cane and
cotton, that stood out as the foremost wealth in the past also are designed in the coat. The colors in each stripe, red, white and blue, that commit to memory the French flag, symbolize exactly the motto of the
French Revolution: liberty, equality and fraternity. The star above the coat represents the state itself.
Notes
1. The presented pronunciation is in Brazilian Portuguese. The European Portuguese pronunciation is: //.
External links
★
Alagoas' location on a 3D globe (Java)
★
Alagoas (In Portuguese with tourism oriented information.)
★
Estado de Alagoas (In Portuguese with flag and outline map.)
★
Brazilian Embassy in London: São Francisco River
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