municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
in the
state
State most commonly refers to:
* State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory
**Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country
**Nation state, a ...
of
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
.Alt URL /ref>
It lies on the Sapucaí river valley, with mild to moderate temperatures during the year.
History
Piranguinho's history resembles late in 19th century, when Brazil lived as an Empire, ruled by D. Pedro II. The country at that time had a great economic growth, due to the Coffee Cycle. This milestone can be remembered as the Southern part of Brazil received a lot of investments.
Although historians say that the coffee production was the solely activity responsible for the sudden development, it is well known that the Brazilian economy during this time faced a deep diversification on its activities. Then these activities were driven to supply the country internal needs. Therefore, these products can be also considered one of the factors that led to Brazil's modernization.
As a way to build up an infrastructure to support the Brazil's growth, railroads were constructed throughout all the country, then improving the communication and transport systems.
As a direct result of these actions, many parts of Minas Gerais had the political, social, and economic boundaries expanded considerably.
The estate at that time was property of Baroness Leocádia de Lourenço. It was subordinated to São Caetano da Vargem Grande (currently Brazópolis).
Later on the estate became a region of interest by the authorities responsible to develop the project for various railroads in Minas Gerais, called "Rede Mineira de Viação".
Such contract sought the construction of a railroad connecting the cities of
Itajubá
Itajubá is a municipality in southeastern Minas Gerais state of the Federative Republic of Brazil. It lies in a valley by the Sapucaí river and has terrain elevations ranging from 827 to 1500 metres, occupying an area of 290.45 km2 (112.14&n ...
and
Santa Rita do Sapucaí
Santa Rita do Sapucaí () is a municipality situated in the southernmost part of the State of Minas Gerais. The city is known as the "electronic valley", since it has plenty of electronic industries, and both a technical school ( ETE - Escola Téc ...
. Besides these two cities, the railroad should be also connected to other nodes within Minas Gerais.
At that time, all the region had rich resources, necessary to the railroad construction. Hardwoods such as native Brazilian Jacarandá, Jequitibá, Taiúva, Pereira were available and in abundance.
Then a deal was closed among the interest parties. The Baroness was responsible to lumber and provide the railroad sleepers necessary to the construction, work-force, to build up a
water-powered sawmill (Portuguese:
Engenho
''Engenho'' () is a colonial-era Portuguese term for a sugar cane mill and the associated facilities. In Spanish-speaking countries such as Cuba and Puerto Rico, they are called ''ingenios''. Both words mean ''engine'' (from latin ''ingenium ...
) to process the wood, rectify the Ribeirão dos Porcos course, and lastly manage all the infrastructure.
It is believed that the railroad construction started earlier in the 1880s. The increased demand for workers had attracted to the region a considerable number of people. This way, many wood and pau-a-pique
homes were settled around the sawmill. Then a small community had started.
Transportation
Piranguinho can count on the following roads that divides the city into sectors:
* BR-459 (In Portuguese)
* MG-295 (In Portuguese)
Note: When leaving or arriving Piranguinho towards MG-295, please watch out for the photo enforced radar installed on the city urban boundary. The speed limit is 40 km/h (24.8 Mph).
Culture
The city is known in Brazil as the Brazilian National Capital of Pé-de-Moleque. Besides the gastronomy, Piranguinho has the following annual events:
* Rodeo at CRR (Centro Regional de Rodeio Paulo Max) that takes place in the 1st and 2nd half of each year
* Santa Efigênia's party (Catholic party that happens in July - The patron saint of Piranguinho)
* World's Biggest Pé-de-Moleque
See also
*
List of municipalities in Minas Gerais
This is a list of the municipalities in the States of Brazil, state of Minas Gerais, Minas Gerais (MG), located in the Southeast Region, Brazil, Southeast Region of Brazil. Minas Gerais is divided into 853 Municipalities of Brazil, municipalities, ...