Architecture, tradition, and modernity. The hustle and bustle, the culture, and the economy. A certain interior charm in the middle of a cosmopolitan and diverse metropolis. This is Belo Horizonte, capital of Minas Gerais, and one of the most important cities in South America. A center of business and ideas, which throughout history spreads and wins over Brazil. Home to 2.5 million people, right in the heart of the “Gerais”, we will visit this charming city, which has a beautiful horizon in every corner, since 123 years ago.

Sources: Wikipedia and The Cities

Introduction

Belo Horizonte is a Brazilian municipality and the capital of the state of Minas Gerais. Its estimated population is 2 501 576 inhabitants, according to estimates by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), being the 6th most populous municipality in the country, the third most populous in the Southeast and the most populous in its state. With an area of ​​approximately 331 km², it has a diversified geography, with hills and lowlands. With a distance of 716 kilometers from Brasília, it is the second state capital closest to the federal capital, after Goiânia.

Surrounded by the Serra do Curral, which serves as a natural frame and historical reference, it was planned and built to be the political and administrative capital of the state of Minas Gerais under the influence of the ideas of positivism, in a moment of strong appeal of the republican ideology in the country. It suffered an unexpectedly accelerated population growth, reaching more than one million inhabitants with almost seventy years of foundation. Between the 1930s and 1940s, industrialization also progressed, in addition to many modernist-inspired buildings, which helped define the city's physiognomy.

The capital of Minas Gerais is home to the third most populous urban concentration in the country. Belo Horizonte has already been nominated by the Population Crisis Commitee, from the UN, as the metropolis with the best quality of life in Latin America and the 45th among the 100 best cities in the world. In 2010, Belo Horizonte generated 1.4% of the country's GDP, and in 2013 it was the fourth largest GDP among Brazilian municipalities, responsible for 1.53% of the total wealth produced in the country. Evidence of the city's development in recent times is the classification of the magazine América Economía, in which, in 2009, Belo Horizonte appeared as one of the ten best Latin American cities to do business, second in Brazil and ahead of cities like Rio de Janeiro, Brasília and Curitiba.

The city is known worldwide and has significant national and even international influence, whether from a cultural, economic or political point of view. It has important monuments, parks and museums, such as the Pampulha Art Museum, the Arts and Crafts Museum, the PUC Minas Natural Science Museum, the Praça da Liberdade Cultural Circuit, the Pampulha Architectural Complex, the Central Market and Savassi, and events of great repercussion, such as the International Theater Festival, Stage & Street (FIT-BH), International Short Film Festival and the International Meeting of Literatures in Portuguese. It is also nationally known as the "national capital of pubs", as there are more bars per capita than in any other large city in Brazil.

History

It all started with the bandeirante João Leite da Silva Ortiz, who reached the Congonhas Hill with the intention of finding gold. Finding no gold, in 1701, he settled in the place that was called by Arraial do Curral del Rei.

Curral del Rei, later Minas City (1897), until it became Belo Horizonte (1901), would be the capital of Minas Gerais marked by the idea of ​​modernity and rationality that arrived with the Republic. And, in more than a century of history, the city is today one of the main cities in the country.

The city of Belo Horizonte was chosen in 1893, in the 19th century, to be the capital of the State of Minas Gerais, after realizing that Ouro Preto (former capital) had no structure for urban expansion. Furthermore, with the rarity of gold increasing, the city lost almost all of its economy at the time. For these reasons, Belo Horizonte was fully planned.

In 1894, the construction of Belo Horizonte began, with a modern emphasis on its construction aspects. Urban planning was carried out by the head of the New Capital Construction Commission, Aarão Reis. The construction aspects in the urban area of ​​the city were privileged through the planning of spaces, streets and avenues that demonstrated an elitist character, and that allowed to support the growth that was expected for the new capital of Minas Gerais.

At first, the first years as capital were relatively smooth. However, time passed, the administrative spheres were consolidated and the city started to face problems, common to any city, mainly the capitals. Problems caused mainly by the absence of structures, whether for leisure, or ample, such as health, education, public transport or the inability of existing structures to serve the entire population. These effects occurred mainly in the 30s and 40s of the 20th century.

The 40's of the 20th century was marked by the advance of industrialization. At that time, the Pampulha Architectural Complex was inaugurated (composed of the São Francisco de Assis Church, the Yacht Tennis Club, the Casa do Baile and the Casino, today the Pampulha Art Museum, surrounding the Pampulha Lagoon), commissioned by the mayor in Juscelino Kubitschek exercise, with a project signed by Oscar Niemeyer. In 1950, the population of the capital of Minas Gerais doubled to 700 thousand inhabitants, caused by the rural exodus in the State of Minas.

In the 1960s, the capital underwent an accelerated process of urban growth that advanced on its streets, when houses and green areas were demolished and tall buildings were erected, in a process of mischaracterization of green areas.

The 1970s were marked by the verticalization of the city, which compromised much of its original features and architectural heritage. At that time, it had something like a million inhabitants.

Beginning in the 1980s, the economic slowdown prevailed and urban social movements were organizing themselves to demand basic urban rights, such as public transport, medical care and access to education. From the beginning of the 90s, Belo Horizonte has been marked by urban and social improvement programs and projects, with effective popular participation, making Belo Horizonte reach the 21st century with almost 2.5 million inhabitants spread over its 331 km².

Geography

According to the regional division in force since 2017, instituted by IBGE, the municipality belongs to the Intermediate and Immediate Geographic Regions of Belo Horizonte. Until then, with the divisions in microregions and mesoregions, it was part of the micro-region of Belo Horizonte, which in turn was included in the metropolitan mesoregion of Belo Horizonte.

Belo Horizonte is the capital of the second most populous state in Brazil, Minas Gerais, located close to the parallel 19°49'01'' south and the meridian 43°57'21'' west. The actual area of the municipality is controversial, and varies depending on the data source. The City Hall itself reports 331 km² and the Itamaraty indicates 335 km². IBGE refers to an area of 331.401 km². Its bordering municipalities are Nova Lima, Brumadinho, Sabará, Santa Luzia, Vespasiano, Ribeirão das Neves, Contagem and Ibirité.

The intense process of conurbation currently underway in the so-called Grande BH has created a metropolis whose center is in Belo Horizonte and reaches the municipalities mentioned above. The Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte (RMBH) was created in 1973 and currently consists of 34 municipalities, currently the third largest urban agglomeration in Brazil, behind only those in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro; the 62nd largest urban agglomeration in the world and the seventh in Latin America (behind Mexico City, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Bogotá and Lima) Its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2005 amounted to approximately 62.3 billion of reais, of which approximately 45% belonged to the municipality of Belo Horizonte.

Located in the São Francisco Basin, Belo Horizonte is not bathed by any large river, but through its soil pass rivers and several streams, mostly channeled. The capital is served by two sub-basins, Arrudas and Onça stream, tributaries of Velhas River. All of them would be progressively channeled on their routes within the perimeter of Contorno Avenue.

Belo Horizonte's climate is classified as tropical with a dry season (Aw, according to Köppen). The average annual temperature is about 22° C; the summer is moderately warm, with high rainfall, while the winter is pleasant, with virtually no precipitation. During the year, normally, the minimum temperature in the coldest months is 15° C and the maximum temperature in the hottest months is 29° C, being rarely below 10° C or above 33° C. The effect of urbanization has caused the appearance of islands of heat and changes in the circulation of cold air masses, which, during the winter, have been strongly blocked by the high pressure of the dry air mass, prevalent at this time of year. Serra do Curral protects Belo Horizonte from the strongest winds, yet episodes of strong wind may occur, with gusts close to 100 km/h.

Currently, Belo Horizonte preserves little of its original vegetation and, as occurs in the entire metropolitan region, most of the natural environments have been extensively modified by man. With industrial development, air quality has also worsened in recent years. The Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte is the one that most emits ozone in Brazil, according to research released by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). While the standard of the National Council for the Environment (Conama) is an emission of 160 mg/m³ per year, that of the capital of Minas Gerais is 300 mg/m³, even gaining from São Paulo, with 279 mg/m³. Deforestation is greatly contributing to the destruction of the Atlantic Forest in Belo Horizonte, the biome where the city is located. However, there are plenty of parks, preserved areas and nature reserves. The capital of Minas Gerais has twice the amount recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for green areas.

Demography

The population of the municipality in 2010, according to the IBGE, was 2,375,151 inhabitants, being the most populous municipality in Minas Gerais and the sixth in Brazil, behind São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Fortaleza and, more recently , Brasília, with a demographic density of 7,167.02 inhab./km² and an urbanization rate of 100%. This is not due to the area of the municipality, but to the saturation of the available areas, which has strongly encouraged the verticalization of buildings in the municipality and real estate speculation in cities in the metropolitan region closest to the capital, such as Nova Lima, Santa Luzia and Contagem, among others. Of the total population, 1 113 513 inhabitants were male (46.88%) and 1,261,638 female (53.12%), with a sex ratio of 88.26. As for the age group, 452 963 people were under 15 years old (19.07%), 1 716 194 between 15 and 64 years old (72.26%) and 205 994 were 65 years old or more (8.67%).

The municipality's Human Development Index (HDI) is considered very high, according to data from the United Nations Development Program. According to data from the 2010 report, released in 2013, its value was 0.810, being the second largest in Minas Gerais, behind Nova Lima (0.813), and the twentieth in Brazil. Considering only the longevity index, its value is 0.856, the value of the income index is 0.841 and the education index is 0.737. The incidence of poverty in 2003 was 5.43%. From 2000 to 2010, the proportion of people with per capita household income of up to 140 reais decreased by 59.3%. In 2010, 95.6% of the population lived above the poverty line, 3% was between the indigence and poverty lines and 1.4% was below the poverty line. In the same year, the Gini index was 0.60 and the richest 20% were responsible for 65% of the total municipal income, a figure almost 23 times higher than that of the poorest 20%, which was 2.85%.

According to data from the 2010 census conducted by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the population of Belo Horizonte is composed mainly of 1 422 084 Catholics (59.87%), 595 244 Evangelicals (25.06%), 190 414 people without religion (8.02%) and 96 639 spiritists (4.07%). There are also 14 944 Jehovah's Witnesses (0.63%), 3 352 Brazilian apostolic Catholics (0.14%), 2 869 esoteric (0.12%), 2 581 Buddhists, 2 150 Umbanda (0.09%), 1 909 spiritualists (0.08%), 1 717 followers of new Eastern religions (0.07%), 1 567 orthodox Catholics (0.07%), 1 561 Mormons (0.07%), 1 494 candomblecists (0 , 06%), 1,384 Jews (0.06%), 259 followers of indigenous traditions (0.01%), 244 Muslims (0.01%), 238 Hindus (0.01%) and 121 belonging to other religions Afro-Brazilian (0.01%). Another 19 859 belonged to other Christian religions (0.84%), 10 639 had an undetermined or multiple religion (0.45%), 2 997 did not know and 730 did not declare.

Economy

Belo Horizonte is the fourth richest city in Brazil with 1.54% of the national GDP, behind São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasília, respectively. According to data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), in 2013 its GDP totaled R$ 81 426 708 267.07 which is equivalent to approximately 16.7% of all production of goods and services in the state. According to IBGE data, in 2013, the municipality's GDP per capita was R$ 32 844.41. In February 2014, the capital has 350 156 publicly traded companies, of which 332 619 are head offices and 17 537 are branches, making it the third municipality with the largest number of active companies in the country.

Its metropolitan region had a GDP estimated at R$ 188.54 billion in 2013, which corresponds to 38.7% of the entire mining GDP. According to IBGE data, the urban network of influence exercised by the city in the rest of the country covers 9.1% of the population and 7.5% of the Brazilian GDP. The influence is perceived in 698 cities in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais. The municipality is also among the seven municipalities with the best infrastructure in the country. Positioned on a logistical axis in Brazil, it is served by a road and rail network that connects it to the main centers and ports in the country. It receives national and international flights through Confins Airport and national and regional flights through Pampulha Airport.

One of the largest financial centers in Brazil, Belo Horizonte is characterized by the predominance of the tertiary sector in its economy. More than 80% of the municipality's economy is concentrated in services, with emphasis on commerce, financial services, real estate activities and public administration. According to IBGE data, in 2006 the agricultural sector represented only 0.0005% of all wealth produced in the city. According to studies by the Inter-Union Department of Statistics and Socioeconomic Studies (Dieese), the unemployment rate in the capital of Minas Gerais is the lowest among the capitals of Brazil, with an index of 8.3%. However, from January to April 2015, the municipality was the second that lost the most formal jobs due to the 2014 economic crisis in the country.

Curiosities

• Almost all the STREETS that leave Belo Horizonte's Hypercenter, and pass through Contorno Ave, change their names, except Itajubá St.
• Professor Otávio Magalhães St., better known as Amendoim St., is an example that the Law of Gravity does not work, or that the optical illusions are surprising. Even with the car off, our eyes see the car going up the street!
• The Governor Magalhães Pinto Stadium, known as Mineirão, was the scene of what is known as the biggest shame in the history of Brazilian football. It was here, in the quarterfinals of the 2014 World Cup, that Germany (later, the champion), defeated Brazil by 7 X 1. NO BANTER IN THE COMMENTS!
• BH has the largest freshwater aquarium in the country. The “City Hall Aquarium - São Francisco River Basin”, has about 1200 fish of approximately 50 different species.
• Nélio Nicolai was born in BH. He is considered the creator of BINA, an invention that lets you know who is calling your phone. Despite this, to this day he still tries to get copyright in court.
• Thereza Martins is a retiree from Tiradentes and claims to have invented the coxinha with catupiry in Belo Horizonte. According to her, the food was exclusive to her cafeteria, which was located at Afonso Pena Ave, in 1972.
• Many streets follow patterns in their neighborhoods. There are streets named after only Catholic priests, trees, professions, countries, etc.
• Belo Horizonte's first building still exists. At the time it was built, it was seen as a tourist attraction, and people paid to climb it. It is located on the corner of São Paulo Ave and Afonso Pena Ave.
• It seems possible to study Geography while walking through the streets of Belo Horizonte. Each Brazilian state (São Paulo; Rio de Janeiro; Bahia; Paraná) has a street in the city center. These streets are parallel, and if you go up to Afonso Pena Ave, starting from the city bus station, these names follow the order of the states of the Brazilian coast, from south to north.
• It is not for nothing that the city calls Belo Horizonte (Beautiful Horizon)! In 1980, during a visit to Brazil, Pope John Paul II, from the top of Governor Israel Pinheiro, spoke into the microphone: What a beautiful horizon! Hence the popular name of Pope Square.
• The capital of Minas Gerais is the third most wooded city in the country, behind Goiânia and Campinas. The data are from the 2010 census conducted by IBGE.
• The Pampulha Casino was successful in the city when, in 1946, President Dutra banned gambling and the place had to reinvent itself. In 1957, Juscelino Kubitschek was mayor of the city and transformed the place into the Pampulha Art Museum, with a design by Oscar Niemeyer and landscaping by Roberto Burle Marx
• To say that Belo Horizonte has no tradition in music, is a terrible mistake. Many bands were "born" here, like Pato Fu, Sepultura, Tianastácia, Skank and Jota Quest.
• Recently, the Central Market of Belo Horizonte was elected as the third best market in the world, from an in-flight magazine, second only to Mercat de la Boqueria, in Barcelona, and Borough Market, located in London.

VOTING

Probably the reason for you to enter the blog. Voting will be open from the publication of this blog, and will end on December 19th, at 21:30 UTC + 0 (18:30 in Belo Horizonte UTC-3 time). Choose your favorite place in BH, and leave it in the comments.

1. Liberdade Square

2. Mineirão

3. Pampulha Art Museum

4. Casa do Baile

5. Estação Square

6. Raul Soares Square

7. Saint Francis of Assisi Church (Pampulha Church)

8. Santa Teresa Viaduct

9. Central Market

10. Pope Square

11. Sete Square

12. Américo Renné Giannetti Municipal Park

Liked? So stay open to the news here on my blog! Thank you very much for that minute of attention, and until the next post!