João Pessoa, Paraíba
João Pessoa is a port city in northeastern Brazil, and is the capital of the state of Paraíba. It is located on the right bank of the Paraiba do Norte river.
It is the state's largest city, with an estimated population of 800,323 of inhabitants.
The new "Estação Ciência, Cultura e Artes", located at the most eastern point of the Americas, is both an educational and cultural institution as well as a national landmark. The complex, inaugurated in 2008, was created by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer and is one of his last projects.
The capital of Paraíba received in 2017 the title of creative city by UNESCO, placing João Pessoa, as "Brazilian city of handicrafts". Besides the capital of Paraíba, another city in Latin America, it has the same title, with the same category, which is Chordeleg, in Ecuador. The recognition of the capital João Pessoa, places it on the Brazilian tourist route for the richness of its popular art. This recognition had great contribution and influence, due to the mermaids project of Penha; where women artisans perform the manual work, dialoguing with the design, fashion, creative economy, highlighting the art with fish scales in copper wires.
History
João Pessoa was founded on August 5, 1585, by the Portuguese settlers. Called "Royal City of Our Lady of the Snows", in honor of the saint of the day he was founded, its first editions were on the banks of the Sanhauá River, a tributary of the Paraíba River, now known as Porto do Varadouro, in the neighborhood of the same name.In 1588, the city was renamed "Philipeia of Our Lady of the Snows", in honor of King Philip II, who, at the time, accumulated the thrones of Spain and Portugal.
In 1634, The Dutch, attracted the sugar wealth of the then capital of the Paraíba, invaded and named it Fredrikstad , in honor of the prince of Orange, Frederick of Orange.
After the decline of New Holland and with the departure of the Dutch, the city was again dominated by the Portuguese and acquired the name "Parahyba do Norte" in 1654.
João Pessoa is the third oldest city in Brazil.
Geography
Environment
João Pessoa has a beachfront.João Pessoa has many green areas distributed among its avenues, parks, and residential neighborhoods, which support its claim as "the second greenest city in the world" with more than of forested land, second only to Paris. but that's a common misbelief originated from a publicity stunt carried out during Earth Summit by the city's mayor.
Climate
João Pessoa has a tropical monsoon climate with very warm temperatures all year long and strong rainfall in most of the months; however, October to December have a rather low rainfall.Demographics
According to the IBGE of 2009, there were 801,718 people residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 45.72% White, 38.72% Pardo, 2.77% Black, and 0.25% Asian or Amerindian.Religion
| Religion | Percentage | Number |
| Catholic | 74.06% | 442,841 |
| Protestant | 15.92% | 95,191 |
| No religion | 7.41% | 44,332 |
| Spiritist | 1.10% | 6,571 |
Source: IBGE 2000.
Transportation
International airport
Joao Pessoa is served by Presidente Castro Pinto International Airport.Rail system
The João Pessoa Urban Trains System is operated by diesel components in only one railway line with a 30 km extension spanning 4 municipalities, João Pessoa, Cabedelo, Bayeux and Santa Rita, constituted by the Cabedelo / stretch, with 10 stations in operation, carrying around 10.1 thousand passengers per day. Composed of three locomotives and 17 passenger cars, forming two compositions that carry out 28 daily trips.Economy
The GDP for the city was R$ 14,841,805.The per capita income for the city was R$ 19,284.
Sister cities
- Hartford, United States.
- Pompano Beach, United States.
Museums
- Museu Sacro e de Arte Popular, within the São Francisco church.
- Espaço Cultural José Lins do Rego. A cultural centre including history and science museums.
- City Museum. The former Casa da Pólvora, an old gunpowder store.
- Museu Fotográfico Walfredo Rodríguez.
- Bica Natural History Museum.
- Museum Foundation house of Jose Américo.
- Hotel Globo Museum: Formerly a luxury hotel in the city, it consists of two buildings of eclectic style, and its lines are influenced by Neo-classical, Art, Nouveau and Art Deco styles. Today it functions as a museum, where it houses the permanent exhibition of part of the furniture of the Hotel, in addition to a collection of popular art, is much visited for its view of the Sanhauá River and the sunset seen from its garden.
Sports
Stadiums
- José Américo de Almeida Filho Stadium
- Stadium of Grace
Soccer
American football
João Pessoa Espectros: It is a football team, has a national title, seven regional and three state. Considered the best football team in the northeastern region of Brazil.Kayaking
Very Realized on Bessa beach, To reach the 4 km of coral in the blue sea of the "Caribessa", tourists and practitioners can admire the beauties around it.Windsurfing
The practice of windsurfing is common on the beaches of the city of João Pessoa.Sailing
Realized in the Natural Pools of Seixas beach, on the most extreme eastern beach of the americas, where the sun rises first, the tourist contemplates the harmony between the blue of the sky and the green of the sea in the capital of Paraíba, and reveals fascinating scenarios.Surfing
Cradle of great surfers with national prominence, the Paraíba has winning athletes in the most important disputes of the sport.Diving
The coastline of João Pessoa, home to three of the most visited shipwrecks in the Northeast, are mainly sought after by nautical tourism enthusiasts and divers adventurers: Queimado, Alice and Alvarenga are considered of rare beauty and still maintain intact areas taken by algae and living beings from the bottom of the sea.- Alvarenga Shipwreck : It is a type of vessel that was used to transport supplies to ships and wrecked 6 miles from the tip of Bessa's beach, 20 meters deep. It remains whole measuring 20 meters in length by 5 meters in the mouth. It is possible to penetrate the small bow and stern compartments safely. On the prow we can still see the winch that picked up the anchor. It is also common to find large stingrays and large shoals of fish, such as the top cock and the hook.
- Burnt Shipwreck : The Erie J.N.Y is an American steam of 2,000 tons. He had left Rio de Janeiro with 24,900 bags of coffee destined for the United States. On January 2, 1873, at 2 am, it caught fire and sank. Passengers and crew were saved.
- Wreck Alice: Alice is a Brazilian steam which was built in 1866 and measured 53 meters long by 6.6 meters. He was chartered by the government to transport Brazilian troops in the Paraguayan war. On March 30, 1869, Prince Emperor Gaston d'Orleans took his place to take command of the Brazilian Army; Alice was shipwrecked in 1911.