PANJI HITAM: PARANA-(BRAZIL)

Paraná (Portuguese pronunciation: [paɾaˈna]^[2]) is one of the states of Brazil, located in the South of the country, bordered on the north by São Paulo state, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Santa Catarina state and the Misiones Province of Argentina, and on the west by Mato Grosso do Sul and the republic of Paraguay, with the Paraná River as its western boundary line. Cut by the Tropic of Capricorn, Paraná has what is left of the araucaria forest, one of the most important subtropical forests in the world. At the border with Argentina is the National Park of Iguaçu, considered by UNESCO as a World Heritage site and the spectacle of the Cataratas do Iguaçu attracts about 700 thousand tourists per year. At only 40 km (24 miles) from there, at the border with Paraguay, the largest dam in the world was built, the Hidroelétrica de Itaipu. The State Park of Vila Velha near the city of Ponta Grossa, is another attraction, with great rocky formations sculpted by the erosion of rain and wind. Curitiba, the capital, is famous for its high quality of life, compared to the Brazilian average, and the Ilha do Mel, next to the historical Paranaguá, is another destination for eco-tourists.

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[edit] History

The Iguaçu Falls.

Paraná was first settled by gold prospectors from São Paulo and formed part of the captaincy and province of São Paulo.

The first missions of the Jesuits on the Paraná were situated just above the Guaíra Falls in this state and had reached a highly prosperous condition when the Indian slave hunters of São Paulo (called Bandeirantes) compelled them to leave their settlements and emigrate in mass to what is now the Argentine territory of Misiones. Their principal mission was known as Ciudad Real.

The territory was set apart from São Paulo in 1843. This move was opposed by most deputies from São Paulo and Minas Gerais. The Paulista deputies alleged that Pedro II of Brazil separated Paraná from them to weaken and punish São Paulo, which had been a prominent area of support for the liberal insurrection of 1842.

Waves of European immigrants started arriving after 1850, mainly Germans, Italians, Poles and Ukrainians. The development of the state is closely linked to the arrival of the immigrants.

By the early 20th century, the state had two railway systems: the Paranaguá to Curitiba (69 miles) (111 km) with an extension to Ponta Grossa (118 miles) (190 km) and branches to Rio Negro (55 miles) (89 km), Porto Amazonas (6 miles) (10 km) and Antonina (10 miles) (16 km); and the São Paulo and Rio Grande, which crosses the state from northeast to south-west from União da Vitória, on the Iguaçu, to a junction with the Sorocabana line of São Paulo at Itararé. The junction of the two systems was at Ponta Grossa, north-west of Curitiba.

[edit] Geography

Curitiba.

Paraná is bounded on the north by São Paulo state, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Santa Catarina state and the Misiones Province of Argentina, and on the west by Mato Grosso do Sul and the republic of Paraguay, with the Paraná River as its western boundary line.

The state has two geographic regions, a narrow coastal zone that is home to the Serra do Mar coastal forests, and a high plateau (2500 to 3000 ft.) (750 to 1000 m) whose precipitous, deeply eroded eastern escarpments are known as the Serra do Mar or Serra de Cubatão. The southern and central portions of the state is covered by the Araucaria moist forests, and has large tracts of Yerba Mate (Ilex paraguayensis), known in Brazil as erva mate, used to make a tea called Chimarrão. The plateau slopes westward to the Paraná river, is well watered and moderately fertile, and has a remarkably uniform climate of a mild temperate character; the lower western and northern portions of the state are covered by the Paraná-Paraíba interior forests ecoregion.

The largest rivers in the state comprise the Paranapanema and its tributaries the Cinza and Tibaji, the Ivaí, Piquiri, Jejuy-guassu, and the Iguaçu with its principal tributary the Rio Negro. The Paranapanema and a small tributary, the Itarare', form the boundary line with São Paulo west of the Serra do Mar, and the Iguaçu and Negro, the boundary line with Santa Catarina and Argentina - both streams having their sources in the Serra do Mar and flowing westward to the Parana'. The other streams have shorter courses, and all are obstructed by falls and rapids. Twenty miles above the mouth of the Iguaçu are the Iguaçu Falls, 215 ft. (66 m) high, broken into twenty or more falls separated by rocks and islands, and surrounded by a wild, unsettled and wooded country. The surface of the plateau is undulating and the greater part is adapted to agricultural and pastoral purposes.

[edit] Demographics

Curitiba.

Maringá is the third largest city in the state of Paraná. The city has an estimated population of 329,800, and the greater metropolitan area estimated population is 570,094 (estimates from IBGE 2007).

Polish architecture in Curitiba.

According to the IBGE of 2008, there were 10,605,000 people residing in the state. The population density was 51.48 inhabitants per square kilometre (133.3 /sq mi).

Urbanization: 84.5% (2006); Population growth: 1.4% (1991–2000); Houses: 3,177,000 (2006).^[3]

The last PNAD (National Research for Sample of Domiciles) census revealed the following numbers: 7,601,000 White people (71.68%), 2,577,000 Brown (Multiracial) people (24.30%), 274,000 Black people (2.59%), 108,000 Asian people (1.02%), 38,000 Amerindian people (0.36%).^[4]

People of Polish descent predominate in the central and south regions, mainly around Curitiba (see: Morska Wola). Italians predominate in the capital, Curitiba and in the coast. People of Ukrainian descent predominate in a few cities, such as Prudentópolis; many Ukrainians are found throughout the state. Germans predominate in a few cities, such as Rolândia. The Portuguese and their descendants are present in large numbers in almost all towns.^[5]

People of mixed-race ancestry predominate in a few towns in the north. There is a sizeable Muslim Lebanese and Syrian community around Foz do Iguaçu. In the north, Japanese people are very numerous.^[6]

A genetic study found out that the ancestry of the average light skin person who may pass as "White" in Paraná is 80.6% European, 12.5% Black African and 7.0% Amerindian. The average darker skin peson who may pass as "Mulatto" is 49.5% Black African, 41.8% European and 8.7% Amerindian.^[7] However, another study has concluded that European ancestry is dominant throughout Brazil at 80%, except for the Southern part of Brazil, where the European heritage reaches 90% (Paraná included, all of the Paraná population, "whites", "pardos" and "blacks"). "A new portrayal of each ethnicity contribution to the DNA of Brazilians, obtained with samples from the five regions of the country, has indicated that, on average, European ancestors are responsible for nearly 80% of the genetic heritage of the population. The variation between the regions is small, with the possible exception of the South, where the European contribution reaches nearly 90%. The results, published by the scientific magazine 'American Journal of Human Biology' by a team of the Catholic University of Brasília, show that, in Brazil, physical indicators such as skin colour, colour of the eyes and colour of the hair have little to do with the genetic ancestry of each person, which has been shown in previous studies".^[8] Initially settled by the Guarani and Kaingang Amerindians, until the 17th century there was virtually no European presence in Paraná. The number of settlers grew around 1750 and the population was composed of Amerindians, Portuguese and some Spaniards. African slaves from Angola and Mozambique were also present, but in fewer numbers than in other Brazilian areas, because Paraná was a poor region that did not need much slave manpower. The immigration grew in the mid-19th century, mostly composed of Italian, German, Polish, Ukrainian, and Japanese peoples. While Poles and Ukrainians are present in Paraná, their presence in the rest of Brazil is almost absent. In the early 20th century there were two waves of migration to Paraná: one coming from the North, mostly of Portuguese, but also of African and Amerindian origin, and another from southern Brazil to the southwest and west, mostly of Portuguese, Italian and German origins.^[7]

The main cities of the state are:

Curitiba (Capital and largest, east)
Londrina (2^nd largest, north)
Maringá (3^rd largest, north)
Foz do Iguaçu (4^th largest, west)
Ponta Grossa (5^th largest, center-east)
Cascavel (6^th largest, center-west)
Guarapuava (9^th largest, center)
Paranaguá (10^th largest, east-coast)
Arapongas (11^th largest, north)

[edit] Economy

The service sector is the largest component of GDP at 41.6%, followed by the industrial sector at 40%. Agriculture represents 18.4% of GDP (2004). Paraná exports: soybean 34.2%, vehicles 21.4%, wood 10%, frozen meat 8.2%, others agriculture products 8.8% (2002).

Share of the Brazilian economy: 5.9% (2005).

Its per capita GDP in 2005 was R$12,339, or US$5,400, 8th in Brazil and comparable to that of Turkey.^[9]

[edit] Statistics

Vehicles: 3,808,298 (March 2007)
Mobile phones: 5.9 million (April 2007)
Telephones: 2.7 million (April 2007)
Cities: 399 (2007)^[10]

[edit] Education

Federal University of Paraná.

UFPR in Curitiba.

[edit] Educational institutions

Centro Universitário Curitiba (UNICURITIBA);
Centro Universitário Franciscano do Paraná (UNIFAE);
Faculdade de Tecnologia (FATEC) (College of Technology);
Faculdade Global de Umuarama (FGU);
Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná (PUC-PR);
Universidade Estadual de Londrina (UEL) (State University of Londrina);
Universidade Estadual de Maringá (UEM) (State University of Maringá);
Universidade Estadual do Centro-Oeste (UNICENTRO) (State University of West Center);
Universidade Estadual do Norte do Paraná (UENP) (State University of North of Paraná);
Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Parana (Unioeste) (Western Paraná State University)
Universidade Estadual de Ponta Grossa (UEPG) (State University of Ponta Grossa);
Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR) (Federal University of Paraná);
Universidade Paranaense (UNIPAR)
Universidade Positivo (Positivo University);
Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná (UTFPR);
Universidade Tuiuti do Paraná (UTP) (Tuiuti University of Paraná);
Faculdades Opet (OPET) ;
and many others.

[edit] Infrastructure

Afonso Pena International Airport in Metropolitan Region of Curitiba.

Foz do Iguaçu International Airport in Foz do Iguaçu.

[edit] International airports

Curitiba

Afonso Pena International Airport is Curitiba's main airport. It is located in the nearby city of São José dos Pinhais and all commercial flights operate from this airport. It is integrated into Curitiba's transportation system, with rapid buses and executive buses connecting the airport to the city. Small aircraft may also use the Bacacheri airport, which today hosts a flight school and a national airbase.

Foz do Iguaçu

Foz do Iguaçu International Airport. Brazil’s main airlines serve the city daily, connecting it with the rest of the country and foreign cities. Regional routes also serve local traffic. The airport is equipped for both visual and instrument operations, and has received charter flights from various continents. Its runway can serve jumbo jets such as the Boeing 747/100 and 747/200. At Foz do Iguaçu there are currently four daily flights by Varig, two by Vasp, two by Tam and one by Ocean Air. The combination of transport by highway, air, river and railway makes Foz do Iguaçu an excellent, perhaps unique, location in the Southern Cone of the Americas. Its geographic location makes it a natural port for Mercosur. In the future it also will be an obligatory port of entrance and exit of the bi-ocean central corridor.

[edit] Highways

BR-116, BR-153, BR-158, BR-163, BR-272, BR-277, BR-280, BR-369, BR-373, BR-376, BR-467, BR-469, BR-476, BR-487.

[edit] Social care

Londrina, the second largest city of Paraná.

Paraná has one of the highest standards of living in Brazil with relatively low crime levels, a special attention given to education and health and a Human Development Index of ~0.820, the 5th highest in Brazil.

[edit] Sports

Curitiba provides visitors and residents with various sport activities. There are several soccer clubs based in Curitiba, such as:

Stadiums

Clube Atlético Paranaense: Joaquim Américo Guimarães
Coritiba Foot Ball Club: Couto Pereira
Paraná Clube: Vila Capanema

Curitiba is one of the 12 host cities of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Arena da Baixada, currently one of the most modern stadiums in South America, is the chosen venue, and is expected to host group, round of 16 and possibly quarter-final games. Even though it is far ahead of the average Brazilian stadiums in terms of safety, technology and infrastructure, it will go through a major transformation, with seating capacity expected to be nearly doubled, the pitch rotated by 90º and the arena completely closed with similar stands on all sides (today it has a much smaller single-tier stand in one side).

(copy of wikipedia)

PANJI HITAM

Sunday, May 15, 2011

PARANA-(BRAZIL)

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