Porto Alegre
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- This article is about Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. You may be looking for Portalegre, Alentejo, Portugal.
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Porto Alegre, one of the largest cities in southern Brazil, is the capital of Rio Grande do Sul State. Population: 1,416,000 (2004).
The city is located at the conjunction of five rivers, among them the Guaíba River (actually a lake). Although its origins date from the mid-1700s, when immigrants from the Azores settled in the area, the city was officially established in 1809.
Porto Alegre is the major industrial center for southern Brazil, and a key city for Mercosul. It also is a center for gaúcho (the popular name for natives of the State) history and culture, famous for its churrasco (grilled meat) and chimarrão (a strong tea prepared from erva mate (yerba mate). Several important Brazilian universities are located there.
Porto Alegre is also one of the wealthiest Latin-American cities and one of the most diverse. It has harbored immigrants from all over the world, the largest numbers coming from Portugal, Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland. The Arabian, Jewish and Afro-Brazilian population is quite significative as well. As a result of its left-wing tendencies, it was the location of the World Social Forum for three years.
In recent years Porto Alegre has become widely known for its innovative experiments in Participatory budgeting.
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External links
- Porto Alegre Mayor's Office (http://www.portoalegre.rs.gov.br/) (in Portuguese)da:Porto Alegre
de:Porto Alegre es:Porto Alegre eo:Porto-Alegro fr:Porto Alegre ja:ポルト・アレグレ no:Porto Alegre pl:Porto Alegre pt:Porto Alegre he:פורטו אלגרה