Mato Grosso

 

(mä'tʊ grô'sʊ) [Port.,=thick forest], state (1996 pop. 2,227,983), 348,038 sq mi (901,420 sq km), central and W Brazil. The capital is Cuiabá.

Mato Grosso
Capital (and largest city)		Cuiabá
Demonym		Mato-grossense
Government
-	Governor	Blairo Maggi
-	Vice Governor	Silval da Cunha Barbosa
Area
-	Total	903.357 km² (3th)
Population
-	2006 estimate	2.854.456 (19th)
-	2005 census	2.807.482
-	Density	2.6 /km² (25th)
GDP		2004 estimate
-	Total	R$ 27.935.132 (15th)
-	Per capita	R$ 10.162 (9th)
HDI (2000)		0.776 (medium) (9th)
Abbreviation		BR-MT
Time zone		BRT (UTC-4)
-	Summer (DST)	BRST (UTC-3)

Mato Grosso (pron. IPA: ['ma.tu 'gɾo.su]) is one of the states of Brazil, located in the western part of the country. Neighboring states are (from west clockwise) Rondônia, Amazonas, Pará, Tocantins, Goiás and Mato Grosso do Sul. It also borders Bolivia to the southwest.

The name literally means "thick jungle". Apart from the state capital, Cuiabá, there are few cities. The most important are

• Alta Floresta
• Barra do Garças
• Cáceres
• Rondonópolis
• Sinop
• Várzea Grande

See also:

• List of cities in Brazil (all cities and municipalities)

Mato Grosso is the site of some of the worst deforestation in the world.

Geography

The state contains the swamps of the Pantanal region, as well as the Planalto do Mato Grosso with its abundant savannah and woodland.

Mato Grosso is an essentially agrarian state, with economy based on cattle-raising. The Chapada do Guimarães National Park is located in the state.

The Transpantaneira is an unpaved highway which was begun in the 1970s. Originally planned to cross the Pantanal, it was never finished and is now mostly used for tourist excursions.

The Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso (UFMT) has several locations throughout the state, with 4 campuses, 5 distance education centers, one experimental farm, one research base at the Pantanal, the University Hospital and 10 teaching advanced posts. The University has been directed by Rector Paulo Speller since 2000.

History

In 1977 the state was split into two halves, with Mato Grosso do Sul becoming a new state. The Bororo Indians live in the Mato Grosso area. As late as 1880, soldiers patrolled lands on the outskirts of Cuiaba, Mato Grosso's capital and largest city, to protect settlers from Bororo raids.

By the end of the nineteenth century, although severely reduced by disease and by warfare with explorers, slave traders, prospectors, settlers, and other indigenous groups, as many as five to ten thousand Bororo continued to occupy central and eastern Mato Grosso, as well as western Goias.[1]

The historic remoteness of this area led it to be the subject of exploration, most notably by Captain Percy Fawcett, in the quest for lost cities. It was also the rumored location of access to the interior of the earth in various Hollow Earth theories.

Today Mato Grosso stimulates the immigration of Europeans and Americans who are looking for fertile and cheap lands for the settling and commercial exploration of the territory.

Demographics

Ethnic groups

According to the IBGE of 2006, there were 2.807.482 people residing in the state. The population density was 2.6 inh./km². The last PNAD (National Research for Sample of Domiciles) census revealed the following numbers: 1.038.768 million White people (37.0%), 1.544.115 million Pardo (Brown) people (55.0%), 196 thousand Black people (7.0%), 28 thousand Asian or Amerindian people (1.0%).^[1]

The majority of the Whites of the state is of Portuguese descent. The Pardos are a mixture of Europeans with the Blacks and Amerindians, varying of clear to dark, being able to have a yellowish or brown skin. The Blacks are of African descent.

Source: PNAD.

Economy

Mato Grosso's economy is based primarily on farm products, of which cattle-raising is probably the most important. Other agrarian products include sugarcane, wheat, soybeans, manioc, rice and cotton.

Education

Portuguese language is the official language of schools. But English language and Spanish language are part of the official high school curriculum.

Colleges and universities

Cuiabá is home to the following universities:

• Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso (UFMT);
• Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso (Unemat);
• Universidade de Cuiabá (Unic)
• and more others.

Culture

Local culture is very rich, due to the multiple influences of many people, like the Portuguese, the Africans and the Indians. Two long periods of isolation also contributed to its differentiation, which has been a little annullated by the recent period of demographic boom. Cuiabá has got an interesting Indian-influenced cuisine, typical dances, craftwork and music.

Dance and music were traditionally connected to the worship of Catholic saints, like Saint Benedict (the city's patron) but has become lay lately.

Festa Junina (Saint John Festival)

Festa Junina was introduced to Northeastern Brazil by the Portuguese for whom St John's day (also celebrated as Midsummer Day in several European countries), on the 24th of June, is one of the oldest and most popular celebrations of the year. Differently, of course, from what happens on the European Midsummer Day, the festivities in Brazil do not take place during the summer solstice but during the tropical winter solstice. The festivities traditionally begin after the 12th of June, on the eve of St Anthony's day, and last until the 29th, which is Saint Peter's day. During these fifteen days, there are bonfires, fireworks, and folk dancing in the streets. Once exclusively a rural festivity, today, in Brazil, it is largely a city festival during which people joyfully and theatrically mimic peasant stereotypes and cliches in a spirit of joke and good time. Typical refreshments and dishes are served. It should be noted that, like during Carnival, these festivities involve costumes-wearing (in this case, peasant costumes), dancing, heavy drinking, and visual spectacles (fireworks display and folk dancing). Like what happens on Midsummer and St John's Day in Europe, bonfires are a central part of these festivities in Brazil.

Carnival

The four-day period before Lent leading up to Ash Wednesday is carnival time in Brazil. Rich and poor alike forget their cares as they party in the streets.

Infrastructure

International airport

The runway at Marechal Rondon International Airport was opened to traffic in 1956. In February 1975, Infraero took over the airport's administration and began various upgrades to meet the needs of the airport complex. As of 1996, Marechal Rondon Airport, located 10 km from the city center, started receiving international flights. Currently it serves more than 500 thousand passengers a year.

Flag

The flag has the same colors as the national flag, with blue symbolizing the sky, green the vegetation, and white standing for peace. The star is yellow to symbolize the gold which attracted the first settlers. The flag was adopted by Decree No. 2 of January 31, 1890, just few days after the adoption of the national flag. The Mato Grosso state flag was abolished by Law No. 1.046 of October 8, 1929, but reinstated by article 140 of the Constitution of the State of Mato Grosso on July 11, 1947.

External links

• Estado de Mato Grosso Official website (in Portuguese)
• Brazilian Embassy in London
• Brazilian Embassy in China
• Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso
• Mato Grosso's location on a 3D globe (Java)

States of Brazil
Brazilian Federal District
North	Acre · Amapá · Amazonas · Pará · Rondônia · Roraima · Tocantins
Northeast	Alagoas · Bahia · Ceará · Maranhão · Paraíba · Pernambuco · Piauí · Rio Grande do Norte · Sergipe
Center-West	Goiás · Mato Grosso · Mato Grosso do Sul · Brazilian Federal District
Southeast	Espírito Santo · Minas Gerais · Rio de Janeiro · São Paulo
South	Paraná · Rio Grande do Sul · Santa Catarina

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