São Luís do Maranhão
The skyline of São Luís
Flag Seal
Location of São Luis in the state of Maranhão and Brazil
Country	Brazil
Region	Northeast
State	Maranhão
Founded	September 8, 1612
Government
- Mayor	Tadeu Palácio (PDT)
Area
- City	827. Wikipedia talkFeatured lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below -->This list of countries, arranged alphabetically |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld Brazil is currently divided into five Regions (also called Macroregions by the Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatistica ( IBGE) The Federative Republic of Brazil is a union of twenty-six estados ("states" singular estado) and formed by the states and one district the Distrito Maranhão (maɾaˈɲɐ̃w̃ is one of the states of Brazil in the north-eastern region Events 70 - Roman forces under Titus sack Jerusalem. 1264 - The Statute of Kalisz A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning "greater" is a modern title used in many countries for the highest ranking officer in a municipal government The Democratic Labour Party ( Partido Democrático Trabalhista, PDT is a populist, social-democratic Political party of Brazil. Area is a Quantity expressing the two- Dimensional size of a defined part of a Surface, typically a region bounded by a closed Curve. 141 km² (319. Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of 360 sq mi)
Elevation	4 m (12 ft)
Population (2006 IBGE)
- City	998,385
- Density	1,183. The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. The elevation of a Geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point often the mean sea level. The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit Population density (in agriculture standing stock and Standing crop) is a measurement of Population per unit area or unit volume 4/km² (3,064. 9/sq mi)
- Metro	1,227,659
Time zone	UTC-3 (UTC-3)
HDI (2000)	0. A metropolitan area is a large population center consisting of a large Metropolis and its adjacent zone of influence or of more than one closely adjoining neighboring central Areas using UTC−3 Single zone countries without DST Suriname Single zone countries with DST Areas using UTC−3 Single zone countries without DST Suriname Single zone countries with DST The Human Development Index ( HDI) is an index combining normalized measures of Life expectancy, Literacy, Educational attainment, and GDP 778 – medium
Website: São Luís, Maranhão

São Luís is the capital of the Brazilian state of Maranhão. |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld The Federative Republic of Brazil is a union of twenty-six estados ("states" singular estado) and formed by the states and one district the Distrito Maranhão (maɾaˈɲɐ̃w̃ is one of the states of Brazil in the north-eastern region The city is located on São Luís island in the Baía de São Marcos, an extension of the Atlantic Ocean which forms the estuary of Pindaré, Mearim, Itapecuru and other rivers. São Luís Island is an Island in Brazil, located between the Baía de São Marcos and the Baía de São José in Maranhão state The Baía de São Marcos is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean in Maranhão state of northeastern Brazil. The Pindaré River is a river in Maranhão state of north-central Brazil. The Mearim River is a river in Maranhão state of northern Brazil. The Itapecuru River, also known as the Itapicuru River, is a river in Maranhão state of northern Brazil. Its coordinates are 2. 50° south, 44. 30° west. The city proper has a population of some 998,385 people (2006 IBGE estimate). Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics or IBGE (Instituto Brasileiro de Gehjgygmmliografia e Estatística is the agency responsible for Statistical The metropolitan area totals 1,227,659 (ranked as the 16th largest in Brazil).

São Luís is the only Brazilian state capital founded by France (see France Équinoxiale) and it is one of the three Brazilian state capitals located on islands (the others are Vitória and Florianópolis). Equinoctial France was the contemporary name given to the colonization efforts of France in the 17th century in South America, around the line of Equator, before " Vitória is the capital of the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil. Florianópolis ( Nicknamed Floripa) is the capital city of Santa Catarina State in southern Brazil.

The city has sea ports; Ponta da Madeira, Porto do Itaqui; through which a substantial part of Brazil's iron ore, originating from the (pre)-Amazon region, is exported. ||-||-|-||-||-||-||-||-||-|} A port is a facility for receiving Ships and transferring cargo The Ponta da Madeira Maritime Terminal, owned by mining company CVRD, sits next to the public port of Itaqui, in the state of Maranhão, in northern Iron ores are rocks and Minerals from which Metallic Iron can be economically extracted The city's main industries are metallurgical with Alumar, and Vale do Rio Doce. Metallurgy is a domain of Materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their Alcoa Inc ( is the world's third largest producer of Aluminum, behind Rio Tinto Alcan and Rusal. Vale is a diversified Mining Multinational corporation and one of the largest Logistics operators in Brazil. São Luís is home of the Federal University of Maranhão.

São Luís was the home town of famous Brazilian Samba singer Alcione, Brazilian writers Aluísio Azevedo, Ferreira Gullar and Josué Montello, Brazil's former President José Sarney, Belgian-naturalised soccer player Luís Oliveira, and Zeca Baleiro, an MPB singer. Samba ( is one of the most popular forms of music in Brazil. It is widely viewed as Brazil's national musical style Alcione may refer to Alcione Nazaré, a Brazilian sambist Alcione, a 1638 literary work by Pierre du Ryer Aluísio Tancredo Gonçalves de Azevedo ( April 14, 1857 — January 21, 1913) was a Brazilian writer Ferreira Gullar is the pen name for José Ribamar Ferreira (born in São Luís Maranhão, Brazil on September 10, 1930) brazilian José Ribamar Ferreira de Araújo Costa Sarney, ( pron. ʒʊ'zɛ ʁi Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered Zeca Baleiro (born 11 April 1966) is a Brazilian MPB artist One of his most famous songs is "Salão de Beleza" which was featured

History

Originally the town was a large village of the Tupinambá tribe. The Tupi people is one of the main Ethnic groups of Brazilian indigenous people, together with the related Guaraní. The first Europeans to see it were the French, in 1612, who intended to make it a French colony. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. They made a fort named São Luís ("Saint Louis"), after Saint Louis IX of France as a compliment to King Louis XIII. For the cognac see Louis XIII de Rémy Martin. Louis XIII ( September 27, 1601 – May 14, 1643) It was conquered for Portugal by Jerônimo de Albuquerque in 1615, leaving little time for the French to build a city. Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. This has led to some controversy as to the actual date of the founding of the city by the French or the Portuguese. In 1641 the city was invaded by the Dutch. Dutch Brazil, also known as New Holland, was the northern portion of Brazil, seized by the Dutch during the Dutch colonization of the Americas They stayed until 1645 and did not manage to influence the city's architecture or to leave any sign of their invasion, mainly because they did not build, but focused instead on violent domination. In 1677, the city was made the seat of the Diocese of São Luís do Maranhão . The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of São Luís do Maranhão { Latin: Sancti Ludovici in Maragnano } is an Archdiocese located in the city of São

Only when those invasions ceased permanently, the colonial government decided to create the state of Grão-Pará e Maranhão, independent from the rest of the country. By that time, the economy was based on agriculture, particularly the exportation of sugar cane, cacao and tobacco. Sugarcane ( Saccharum) is a genus of 6 to 37 species (depending on taxonomic interpretation of tall perennial grasses (family Poaceae tribe Andropogoneae CACAO is a research Java Virtual Machine developed at Vienna University of Technology. Tobacco is an Agricultural product recognized as an addictive drug processed from the fresh Leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. Conflicts amongst the local elites would lead to the Beckman's Revolt.

Soon after the outbreak of the American Civil War, the region started to provide cotton to England. Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South Cotton is a soft staple Fibre that grows around the seeds of the cotton plant ( Gossypium sp England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The wealth originated by this activity was used to modernize the city; instigate religious men to come and teach in their schools; and water supplement. The city came to be the third most populous city in the country, but by the end of the 19th century agriculture faced its decay and, from this time forth, the city has been searching for other ways of sustenance. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar

Nowadays, São Luís has the largest and best preserved heritages of colonial Portuguese architecture of all Latin America. The island is known as the "Island of Love" and "Brazilian Athens", due to its many poets and writers, such as Aluísio Azevedo, Graça Aranha, Gonçalves Dias (the most famous), Ferreira Gullar, among others. Aluísio Tancredo Gonçalves de Azevedo ( April 14, 1857 — January 21, 1913) was a Brazilian writer José Pereira da Graça Aranha ( 21 June 1868, São Luis, Maranhão – 26 January 1931, Rio de Janeiro) was Antônio Gonçalves Dias (1823 &mdash September 1864 was a Brazilian lyric Poet. Ferreira Gullar is the pen name for José Ribamar Ferreira (born in São Luís Maranhão, Brazil on September 10, 1930) brazilian

Economy

The GDP for the city was R$ 9,340,944,000 (2005). Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. ^[1]

The per capita income for the city was R$ 9,543 (2005). Per capita income means how much each individual receives in monetary terms of the yearly income generated in the country Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. ^[2]

Education

São Luís is the most important educational centre of the state.

Portuguese is the official national language, and thus the primary language taught in schools. Portuguese ( or língua portuguesa) is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia (Spain and northern Portugal. But English and Spanish are part of the official high school curriculum. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States High school is the name used in some parts of the world (in particular Scotland, North America and Australia) to describe an institution

Educational institutions

• Universidade Federal do Maranhão (UFMA);
• Universidade Estadual do Maranhão (UEMA);
• Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica do Maranhão (Cefet-MA);
• Unidade de Ensino Superior Dom Bosco (UNDB);
• and many others.

Culture

Historic Centre of São Luís*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
State Party	Brazil
Type	Cultural
Criteria	iii, iv, v
Reference	821
Region†	Latin America and the Caribbean
Inscription history
Inscription	1997  (21st Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. † Region as classified by UNESCO.

São Luís is known for its tiles which most buildings in the historical centre are covered in. A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex As of 2008 there are a total of 878 World Heritage Sites located in 145 "State Parties" |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex This is a list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in North America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex Because of it the city is also known as "The Tiles City".

It also has some cultural peculiarities namely:

Tambor de Crioula: Afro-Brazilian dance in which gaily glad women court a bateria of tambors (a row of drums). Whirling and gyrating in time to the music they negotiate for prime position in the centre of the bateria.

Tambor de Mina: Not to be confused with the above, this is the local variant of the Afro-Brazilian religion Candomble. Candomblé (pronounced /kɐ̃dõˈblɛ/is an African-originated or Afro-Brazilian religion practiced chiefly in Brazil. Bumba Meu Boi: A popular farce which takes its form as a grand musical pantomime. Bumba Meu Boi or Boi Bumbá is a popular regional festival which takes place annually in North and Northeast Brazil in Parintins. Practice is a public affair and begins directly after Easter reaching its climax in June when literally hundreds of groups perform on a nightly basis for popular acclaim and pure enjoyment. Set personalities and characters play out a comedic tragedy with a metaphor for social harmony at its heart. Settlers, the infamous Coroneis, Indians, spirit workers, African slaves and forest spirits are enacted though incredible costume, original choreography and music - all performed amongst the greatest all-night revelry. The crowd joins in with singing, dancing and dependent on the groups sotaque (or style) the playing of matracas (two wooden blocks, held in each hand and struck together repeatedly). Like the festival of Sao Joao and its requisite Forro dance in the North-Eastern states further south Bumba Meu Boi is a harvest festival but with the bull as its centre-piece. Food and drinks made from local produce not only accompany the event but are a pre-requisite due to the high calorific needs of the heavily costumed dancers.

Capoeira: The São Luís form of capoeira is said to be akin to the kind of capoeira now recognized as ‘traditional bahian capoeira’ that predated the Bahian angola/regional polemic which split the capoeira world in the 1950s. Capoeira (kapuˈejɾɐ is a brazilian art form that ritualizes movement from Martial arts, Games, and Dance.

In 1997 the city's historical center was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on November 16 A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex Starting in 1989 there has been an extensive program to restore and renovate the colonial era buildings of the city's historical center. Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar)

References

External links

• São Luís, Maranhão is at coordinates 2°34′60″S 44°17′57″W / -2.5833, -44.2992 (São Luís, Maranhão)Coordinates: 2°34′60″S 44°17′57″W / -2.5833, -44.2992 (São Luís, Maranhão)

Photos from Sao Luis

• http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=sao+luis
• Aerial pictures from the City of Sao Luis made with powered paraglider