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Cuiabá
—  Municipality  —
The Municipality of Cuiabá
View of the city
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): "Green City"
Location of Cuiabá
Coordinates: 15°35′45″S 56°05′49″W / 15.59583°S 56.09694°W / -15.59583; -56.09694Coordinates: 15°35′45″S 56°05′49″W / 15.59583°S 56.09694°W / -15.59583; -56.09694
Country	Brazil
Region	Central-West
State	Mato Grosso
Founded	January 1 1727
Government
- Mayor	Wilson Santos (PSDB)
Area
- Total	3,538 km2 (1,366 sq mi)
Elevation	165 m (541 ft)
Population (2000)
- Total	542,861
- Density	153.4/km2 (397.3/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-4 (UTC-4)
- Summer (DST)	UTC-3 (UTC-3)
Postal Code	78000-000
HDI (2000)	0.821 – high
Website	Cuiabá, Mato Grosso

Cuiabá is the capital city of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. It is located in the exact centre of South America and is in conurbation with the neighbouring town of Várzea Grande.

The name is of obscure Indian origin, reportedly meaning "arrow-fishing" and alludes to the Bororo custom of using arrows to fish. Another version says that there was an Indian group called Ykuiapá. Others say that a Portuguese man was taking a bath in the river using a kind of plate made with half coconut (named cuia), and the stream took it, and the man said: Cuia ba (something like "the cuia is gone"). The largest pole of tourism, economy, agro industry, trade and culture of the State.

The new Marechal Rondon International Airport connects Cuiabá with many Brazilian cities and also operates some international flights.

The city is home to the Federal University of Mato Grosso.

History

View of Cuiabá, from the City Hall. In the front, the church of "Nosso Senhor dos Passos", behind, the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary and the Saint Benedict's Chapel.

Cuiabá was founded on January 1, 1727 by Rodrigo César de Menezes, then the "capitain" of the capitaincy of São Paulo in the aftermath of the discovery of gold mines. It was given township status in 1818 and became the capital in 1835.

Since the late eighteenth century, until the time of the Paraguay War, the town remained small and in decline. The war, however, brought some infra-structure and a brief period of economic boom, supplying sugar, foodstuffs and timber to the Brazilian troops.

After the war the town was once again forgotten by the rest of the country, to such an extent that the Imperial and later the Republican governments of Brazil used to use it as an exile for troublesome politicians. Isolation allowed it to preserve a lot of the oldest Brazilian ways of life until way into the twentieth century.

Starting from 1930, isolation was broken by road—and later by aviation. The town became a city and would grow quite rapidly from 1960 onwards, after the installation of the Brazilian capital in Brasilia.

View of Cuiabá.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the pace of growth kept increasing as agriculture became commercialized, using the roads to sell the soybeans and the rice produced abroad. The growth was such that from 1960 to 1980 the small town of 50,000 in habitants became a behemoth with more than a quarter of a million inhabitants (including surrounding area and conurbated towns).

Since 1990, the rate of population growth has decreased, as other towns in the state have begun to attract more immigration than the capital. Tourism has emerged as a source of income and environmental issues have become a concern for the first time.

Geography

Sunset in Cuiabá.

Church of Our Lady of "Bom Despacho".

Cuiabá confronts the towns of Chapada dos Guimarães, Campo Verde, Santo Antônio do Leverger, Várzea Grande, Jangada e Acorizal. It is the place of intersection of many major roads, and waterways, although because of sand banks along the river, it does not support medium or large ships anymore.

The third most important airport of the Brazilian Central-West region is there, as well as the heart of an important agriculture produce area. It is also the geographic centre of South America and is famous throughout Brazil as the country's hottest metropolis, where temperatures are often above 40°C (104°F).

The town is in the transition zone between three of the most characteristic Brazilian ecosystems: Amazonia, Cerrado and Pantanal. It is also close to the mountain range known as Chapada dos Guimarães (which blocks polar masses and causes the extremely hot weather).

Cuiabá is also known as the Southern gate to the Amazon.

Climate

This climate is tropical climate semi-humid, hot, and notedly seasonal, with a dry winter season from May through September or October. The annual rainfall is 1.500 mm. January is the warmest month, with mean maxima of 31°C (89.6°F) and minima of 24°C (75.2°F) and more rain; July experiences the coldest temperatures, with mean maxima of 31°C (87.8°F) and minima of 17°C (62.6°F) and sun.

Vegetation

Cerrado includes various types of vegetation. It is characterized by extensive savanna formations crossed by gallery forests and stream valleys. Humid fields and "buriti" palm paths are found where the water table is near the surface. Alpine pastures occur at higher altitudes and mesophytic forests on more fertile soils.

The "cerrado" trees have characteristic twisted trunks covered by a thick bark, and leaves which are usually broad and rigid. Many herbaceous plants have extensive roots to store water and nutrients. The plant's thick bark and roots serve as adaptations for the periodic fires which sweep the cerrado landscape. The adaptations protect the plants from destruction and make them capable of sprouting again after the fire.

Economy

Cuiabá in the afternoon.

City Hall of Cuiabá.

The economy of Cuiabá is centralized in commerce, services and industry. Commerce and Services based in Cuiabá are important to the whole State, because population is divided in several small agriculture-centered cities. These people often travel to the capital to get these services and buy goods not sold anywhere else. The industrial sector is represented, basically, by the agro-industry, specially food-processing. Many industries, mainly those that should be maintained far from the populous areas, are installed in the Industrial District of Cuiabá (DIICC), created in 1978. Even though it's located in one of the most agriculture-prone States of Brazil, Cuiabá itself has only small vegetable farms, mainly family or cooperative-based. The city, with a GDP of 4.75 billion reais in 2003, according to the IBGE, is responsible for 21.99% of the total of the State GDP. Great Cuiabá possesses, nowadays, four shopping centers registered in the HUGS (Brazilian Association of Shopping Centers), and more 8 great commercial galleries. Cuiabá and Big Várzea count now with 6,710 beds and a total of 3,271 apartments in hotels whose classification is going of economical to five stars.

The GDP for the city was R$ 7,189,521,000 (2006).^[1]

The per capita income for the city was R$ 13,244 (2006).^[2]

Education

Federal University of Mato Grosso in Cuiabá.

Portuguese is the official national language, and thus the primary language taught in schools. But English is part of the official high school curriculum.

Educational Institutions

• Universidade de Várzea Grande (UNIVAG) (private)
• Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso (UFMT) (Public);
• Universidade de Cuiabá (Unic) (Private);
• Universidade Cândido Rondon (Private);
• and many others (mostly private).

Culture

Cultural Centre of Sesc in Cuiabá.

Historical Museum of Mato Grosso.

There is a very rich local culture based on Portuguese, African and Indian influences. Cuiabá has an interesting Indian (native American) influenced cuisine, native dances, craftwork and music. Local dance and music were traditionally connected to the worship of Catholic saints, like Saint Benedict (the city's patron), but today is secular. In August 2007, an important Italian wind orchestra performed the Orchestra Fiati Giovanile Italiana e Coro "I Music Piemonteis" conducted by Ugo Bairo and his choir, conducted by Carmelo Luca Sambataro.

Museums

• Museum Hill of the Box Of water;
• Memorial of Mato Grosso;
• Museum of the Image and Sound of Cuiabá;
• It marries of the Artisan;
• Museum of Rio Cuiabá and Municipal Aquarius;
• Memorial of the Waters;
• Museum of the Education and Teatro Maria of Arruda Müller;
• Museum of Sacred Art of Cuiabá;
• Museu Couto Magalhães;
• Memorial Papa João Paulo II;
• Historical and Geographical institute of Mato Grosso and Museu Barão of Melgaço;
• Institute of the Historical and Environmental Patrimony National–Cuiabá;
• Palace of the Instruction;
• Museum of the History of Mato Grosso;
• Cine Teatro of Cuiabá and Museum of the Movies;
• SESC/Arsenal and Museum of the Swampland.

Carnival

The four-day period before Lent leading up to Ash Wednesday is carnival time in Brazil. As with other capitals in Brazil, there are parties everywhere (os Bailes de Carnaval). Also like many other cities in Brazil, Cuiabá holds its own out-of-time Carnaval ("Carnaval fora de época", or "micareta"), called Micarecuia.

Marechal Rondon International Airport (CGB).

Sports

Cuiabá is one of 12 cities choosen to host games of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which will happen in Brazil.

International Airport

Marechal Rondon International Airport connects Cuiabá with many Brazilian cities and also operates some international flights. 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 (6.21 mi) from the city center, started receiving international flights. Currently it serves more than 900 thousand passengers a year.

Images

	Cuiaba's Skyline.	Americas Garden.	The city at night.
Street Art in Cuiabá.	Palms on June 13 Street.	City Skyline.	Sérgio Motta Bridge.

References

Distances

From São Paulo - 1690 km (1,050 miles) From Rio de Janeiro - 2090 km (1,298 miles) From Brasília - 1130 km (702 miles)

External links

• (Portuguese) Official Website
• (Portuguese) Local Newspaper Diário de Cuiabá Site
• Cuyaba - Catholic Encyclopedia article on the diocese

	Acorizal	Rosário Oeste	Chapada dos Guimarães
	Jangada		Campo Verde
		Cuiabá
	Várzea Grande	Santo Antônio do Leverger

From Wikitravel

Cuiabá is a city in Mato Grosso, Brazil

Get in

The capital of Mato Grosso state, Cuiabá is a modern, pleasant town of 500,000 that sits in the middle of Brazilian cattle country. It was not unusual to see folks on the street in cowboy duds, but through recent years, Cuiaba has been greately modernized. And, it's a great place to stock up on boots, saddles, and other western gear. The city serves as the main gateway to the northern part of the Pantanal -- the Transpantaneira Highway starts just 98km (61 miles) away -- and as the jumping-off point to the Chapada dos Guimarães. However While in The City There is So much to do and see. three spacious shopping malls, Amazing restaurants, and A late night clubs. Not to mention The Beautiful open downtown center where you can find live music, open air shopping, street vendors,and fresh coconut water.

History

Cuiabá was founded in April 08, 1719 as the capital of Mato Grosso State.

Get around

Most people arrive in Cuiabá and immediately leave on a Pantanal tour. The hotels, sights, and restaurants all within walking distance of the town center. The main hotel neighborhood and center of town is quite safe. The only part of town to avoid is along the riverside. Taxis are inexpensive -- R$7 to R$21 (US$2.30-US$6.95) to get around town -- and quick for getting out to the airport or bus station. Lodges will usually arrange transportation and pickup from hotels.

Driving the Transpantaneira -- There are a couple of ironies about the Transpantaneira. Though the name implies that the road traverses the entire flood plain, the highway stops in Porto Jofre, 144km (89 miles) from where it began, and at least that far from the opposite edge of the Pantanal. The other irony is that the project, which if completed would likely have destroyed the Pantanal (by skewing the ecosystem's drainage pattern), has instead, in its unfinished state, become one of the great wildlife-viewing areas of the world. Ditches on either side of the roadbed have become favorite feeding grounds for kingfishers, capybara, egrets, jabiru storks, giant river otters, and caiman by the dozen. Spend but a day on the Transpantaneira, and you'll see more wildlife than you'd see in a week in the Amazon.

See

Sights in Cuiabá - The excellent Secretaria de Turismo gives out a very detailed map showing all the various sights in Cuiabá, complete with pictures. It's a nice try, but pleasant though the city is, there's really little to see here.

• Basilica do Senhor Bom Jesus de Cuiabá, Praça da República. Tu-F 8AM-11AM and 2PM-6PM. A stylish modern cathedral with some nifty Art Deco features and great stained glass. Mass is at 6am and 6pm daily.
• Almost next door there's the yellow baroque Palácio de Instrução tel: 065/321-3391. M-F 8AM-5PM, now home to Cuiabá's history and natural history museums. Admission is R$1 (US35¢) for both. The history museum is mostly devoted to the 1860s war between Brazil and Paraguay, largely fought in this remote region. The natural history wing features a wide assortment of stuffed dead animals -- all rather tatty looking -- and some great Indian clubs and arrows and headdresses.
• Down by the renovated riverside port area there's the Museu do Rio Cuiabá and the Municipal Aquarium, Av. Beira Rio s/n (where the Av. 15 de Novembro crosses the river; tel; 065/623-1440. Tu-Su 9AM-6PM. Features displays and exhibits on the changing face of the river, and a small collection of local Pantanal fish.

The centerpiece of Cuiabá is a small green square called Praça de República. The modern but very stylish basilica fronts this square, as does the tourist information office and the small natural history museum. The most important street in Centro (central Cuiabá), Avenida Getulio Vargas, runs northwest from Praça da República. Most of the city's better hotels and several restaurants cluster around Avenida Getulio Vargas about 8 blocks from the square. Directly northeast of Praça República, there's a small shopping district, centered on Rua Eng. Ricardo Franco. Two blocks southeast of Praça República, Avenida Getulio Vargas hits the broad traffic arterial Avenida Ten. Cel. Duarte. On the far side of this street there's a large city park, Parque Antonio Pires de Campos, and on the ridge behind that, the neighborhood of Bandeirantes, where there are a few cheaper hotels. It takes about 10 to 15 minutes to walk from either Banderiantes to Praça República, or from Praça República to the Avenida Vargas hotel enclave.

Do

Three days is the minimum reasonable itinerary for the Pantanal. Four or five days allows you to take things easier; with wildlife viewing, the longer you spend in an area, the better your chances of seeing animals. Spend the minimum possible time in Cuiabá then a take a slow wildlife-spotting drive out along the Transpantaneira to a lodge.

• Take a guided hike, and after sunset, go for a spotlight drive on the Transpantaneira to see the night creatures: capybaras, tarantulas, and (with the most incredible of luck) jaguars. It is also strongly recommended that you take the time to explore the Pantanal as it was meant to be seen, on the back of a horse.

• Canoeing one of the North Pantanal's small rivers is a great way to spot monkeys and giant river otters.

• After exploring the Pantanal, consider a 1-day or overnight trip to the Chapada dos Guimarães, the highlands to the north of Cuiabá. The beautiful red-rock formations, plateaus, and canyons offer excellent hiking and fabulous views, great waterfalls and swimming holes, and some excellent birdlife, including red macaws.

Buy

The main commercial district in Centro is concentrated around the Praça da República. You'll find many stores selling clothing and shoes, as well as stationery, toiletries, film, batteries, and food. There are 3 great malls:

• Pantanal Shopping Mall, [1] (one of the biggest in west of Brazil).
• 3 Americas Shopping, [2] (finest stores).
• Goiabeiras Shopping (close to downtown).

Native & Regional Arts and Crafts - A number of excellent crafts stores with native and regional works can be found around Centro.

• Feira de Artesanato, Praça Santos Dumont, at the corner of Avenida Getulio Vargas. A weekend crafts market Saturday from 8AM-8PM and Sunday from 3PM-9PM.
• Artindia, Rua Pedro Celestino 301, Centro, tel: 065/623-1675. M-F 8AM - 11:30AM and 1:30PM - 5PM. Run by Funai, the Brazilian federal Indian department, to promote indigenous arts and crafts.
• Casa do Artesão, Rua 13 de Junho 315, tel: 065/321-0603. daily 8AM to 6PM. A bit further out of downtown, towards the river. Located in a lovely tile-covered colonial building, the Casa's collection is very large.
• Porto, Rua 13 de Junho 315 at the corner of Avenida Metelo, tel: 065/321-0603. Daily 8AM-6PM. Expensive but the quality is high.

Cowboy Equipment & Clothes -- Cuiabá is the place to pick up everything you need for that real Pantaneiro cowboy look. If you need a hat, boots, or jeans, stop by:

• Texas Country, Av. Getulio Vargas 1021, Centro, tel: 065/322-1301).
• Selaria e Sapataria Centro Oeste, Av. Ten. Cel. Duarte 318, tel: 065/622-1584. Another great store to get properly outfitted. The store sells inexpensive quality clothing and gear for real cowboys, no trendy Shania Twain-look-alike stuff. We're talking boots, hats, good jeans, gloves, spurs, and chaps; if you're going riding, your various body parts will thank you for it.

Eat

For long years Cuiabá was a city moved away from the great cities and mainly became a city of passengers that developed a proper culture, in the cuisine. Much contributed for the cuisine the caldelosos rivers, the immense territory with native cattle lives and still the diversity of animal species of the Pantanal. The base of the dishes is the fish, followed of the bovine meat, and exotic fruits as banana and the cashew.

• Arab cuisine

• Al Manzul - (Parque) Cachoeira das Garças (acesso pela Av. Arquimedes Pereira Lima - old highway of the mill). Classified by the magazine 4 rodas as the best Arab restaurant in Brazil.

Cedro's - Pça. April 8, 1046 (Goiabeiras) tel.: 624-9134

• French cuisine

• Le Chez Babet - Av. President Marquês, (Quilombo) restaurant neoclassical style. The atmosphere is elegant and the service excels for the description. The menu is changed to each station.

• Italian cuisine

• Adriano - Av. Getúlio Vargas, 985 (I Center) tel: 623-1664.

• Pantaneira cuisine (From panatanal)

• Peixaria Popular - Av. S. Sebastião, 2324 (Goiabeiras); tel: 322-5471. Typical plates done with fish of the area.

• Fish

• Meridian 56 - Av. Issac Póvoas, 1039 (Goiabeiras); tel.: 322-4321.

• Portuguese cuisine

• Taberna Portuguesa - Av. 15 de Novembro, 40 (Porto); tel.: 321-3661.

• Regional Cuisine

• Regionalissimo - R. 13 de Junho, 314 (Porto) tel: 624-1773.

• Switzerland Cuisine

• Casa Suiça - Av. Subtle Miguél, 4200 (I Prick of the Love); tel.: 624-2077. The Chefe Hans presents a restaurant in Alpine construction with great area outdoors. Besides plates of the Swiss cookery, it serves some adaptations as well as petiscos and draft beer.

Varied

• Others

• Café Cancun [3] - It's called "funny restaurant", an entertainment house to have a fun eating, drinking and dancing with Mexican food and wide variates of drinks. The sound is salsa, mambo e merengue.

• Getúlio Grill - Av. Getúlio Vargas, 1147 (Goiabeiras); tel 624-9992 - Meats, sushi bar and chop, still counts in the weekends with very busy nightclub.

• Morro of Santo Antonio - Av. Isaac Póvoas, 1167 (Goiabeiras) tel: 622-0502 - restaurant, Bar and Nightclub

• Morro dos Ventos - (Park) Access for the highway for Campo Verde, Km 1 (Farm Hills of Winds), 3 km; tel.: 301-1280. Regional food.

• O Mestrinho - R. Quinco Caldas, 119; tel.: 301-1690. Regional food. Weekends it has meats.

• Nívio's Tour - Pça. D WUNILBALDO, 631; tel.: 301-1206.

• Deviller Hotel, [4]. It's the only luxury hotel in Cuiabá, but rooms are fairly standard. They're comfortably furnished with a desk, armchair, and table; the colors and decor are slightly dated, but the bathrooms are modern and come with bathtubs. It's the amenities that you really get what you pay for: It's the only hotel in town with a business center, room service, spacious swimming pool, and sun deck.

• Araras Lodge, [5]. Likely the best spot for exploring the Pantanal. The location by the Transpantaneira is excellent, and lodge owner Andre Thuronyi has done extensive work to improve the local wildlife habitat. With only 14 rooms, the lodge is pleasantly small and rustic. No fancy rooms or amenities; each guest room comes with a private bathroom and a hammock on the veranda.

• Hotel Mato Grosso, [6]. The best hotel in the center of Cuiabá, just a few blocks from the Praça da República. The hotel has just completed renovating the hallways and rooms. The rooms have had the carpets replaced by tiles, making for a much cleaner and brighter look. Rooms are either standard or deluxe; standard rooms are a bit small and dark (they look out the side of the building). The more spacious deluxe rooms overlook the front of the hotel and come with a queen-size bed. The best rooms are the deluxe rooms on the quieter upper floors. The suites aren't worth it -- they're really just two adjoined bedrooms. The eighth and ninth floor are nonsmoking.

• Global Graden, [7]. Offers by far the best accommodations in Cuiabá, provided you don't need amenities such as a pool, business center, or room service. Every unit is a full suite; all are spacious with complete kitchens and lots of closet space -- perfect for a family. To splurge, go for the duplex penthouse. There are four of them on the top floor, and they are huge! On the top floor there's a sitting room, kitchen, and a large deck with a barbecue. Down the spiral staircase are two spacious bedrooms and two bathrooms.

• Paiaguás Palace Hotel, [8]. One of the better bets for affordable accommodations in Cuiabá. Because of its location on a busy road, a 10-minute walk from the Praça de República stands, the Veneza tries harder, including goodies like free airport transfer, free Internet access, and a very steep discount during at least half the year. Rooms are pleasant, with a good-size queen bed, table, writing desk, and standard-size bathroom.

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

English

Proper noun

Cuiabá

1. State capital of Mato Grosso in Brazil.