Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte (meaning beautiful horizon) is among the most important cities in Brazil, and one of its nine metropolises. It is the capital of the Minas Gerais state, located in the southeast of the country. With a population of slightly more than 2 million, Belo Horizonte - or BH- stands as a place of intense economical and cultural activity.
Belo Horizonte in a cloudy day
History of Belo Horizonte
The metropolis was once a small village, founded by the prospector from São Paulo, João Leite da Silva Ortiz, who found a land with nice weather and decided to stay, building a farm named Curral del Rey. The farm's wealthy sucess brought more people to the region.
The village grew, and when Brazil turned into a republic in 1889, Curral Del Rey was chosen as the site for the new capital of Minas Gerais, replacing Ouro Preto, the capital at the time. The name Belo Horizonte and the status of capital were given in 1897, oficially the year of BH´s birth.
One interesting feature is that the main avenues and streets were planned by an urbanist - Aarão Reis. The city´s growth- specially intense in the last twenty years- far surpassed any planning, tough, and the city now faces several infra-structural problems. About 20% of the population has no acces to sewage service, and floods are a problem in the slums, destroying houses and killing people in the rainy season (November to March).
Places to Go
Located in the nearby suburb of Pampulha is a collection of important buildings, including the Capela de São Francisco de Assis (Igreja da Pampulha), designed by Brazil's famous modernist architect, Oscar Niemeyer.
See also
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