TRAVEL TUESDAY #168 - PORTO ALEGRE, BRAZIL

“They have a joy for life in Brazil unlike any country I’ve ever seen.” - Morena Baccarin

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Porto Alegre (“Joyful Harbour”) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Founded in 1769 by Manuel Sepúlveda, its population of 1,481,019 inhabitants (2016) makes it the tenth most populous city in the country and the centre of Brazil’s fifth largest metropolitan area, with 4,405,760 inhabitants (2010). The city is the southernmost capital city of a Brazilian state.

Porto Alegre was founded in 1769 by Manuel Jorge Gomes de Sepúlveda, who used the pseudonym José Marcelino de Figueiredo to hide his identity; but the official date is 1772 with the act signed by immigrants from the Azores, Portugal. The vast majority of the population is of European descent. The city lies on the eastern bank of the Guaíba River (also referred to as a lake), where five rivers converge to form the Lagoa dos Patos (Lagoon of the Ducks), a giant freshwater lagoon navigable by even the largest of ships. This five-river junction has become an important alluvial port as well as a chief industrial and commercial center of Brazil.

In recent years, Porto Alegre hosted the World Social Forum, an initiative of several non-government organizations. The city became famous for being the first city that implemented participatory budgeting. The 9th Assembly of the World Council of Churches was held in Porto Alegre in 2006. Since 2000, Porto Alegre also hosts one of the world’s largest free software events, called FISL. The city was one of the host cities of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, having previously been a venue for the 1950 FIFA World Cup. Previously a safe city by Brazilian standards, Porto Alegre is going through a growing wave of violence in this decade, and it is now ranked 43rd among the world's 50 most violent cities.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme, 
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.