Varginha achieved moderate fame in UFO circles due to the so-called Varginha UFO incident in 1996, in which two extraterrestrial beings were allegedly spotted by locals and later captured by the Brazilian Army, along with the local police and fire department. After this episode, the city began to invest in "UFO tourism". Today there are bus stops with the shape of spaceships and a water tower downtown also in the shape of a spaceship. In August 2004, UFO researchers from all over Brazil came together at the UFO Congress of Varginha, organized with the support of the City Hall.[citation needed]
According to the modern (2017) geographic classification by Brazil's National Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the city is the main municipality in the Intermediate Geographic Region of Varginha.
The colonization of southern Minas Gerais began in the 17th century, when the region still belonged to the Captaincy of São Paulo.
The bandeirantes coming from São Paulo via the Paraíba Valley crossed the Mantiqueira mountain range in the region of the Embaú gorge, today's Passa Quatro. Among the São Paulo bandeirantes, the first and foremost was Fernão Dias Pais Leme, who explored the region and headed north into the backlands in search of the indigenous legend of Sabarabuçu. The bandeirantes, who were in search of precious stones and gold regions, passed through the region along the banks of the Rio Verde and Rio Grande, making one of their first points of support near the present-day town of Baependi.
Many São Paulo traders (tropeiros) also passed through the region frequently, selling products from São Paulo and Portugal. These traders traveled in troops and slept in huts built every six leagues. The current Vargem neighborhood was one of these resting places.
The first known documents about the history of Varginha date back to 1780.
The muleteers, who were passing through Varginha on a regular basis, built a small chapel in 1785, close to where the Divine Holy Spirit parish church now stands. In 1806, the chapel of the Divine Holy Spirit of Catanduvas was built and, in the same year, the land required for the district estate was donated. The town was then given the name of Catanduvas or Catandubas; a word originally from the Tupi language, meaning "undergrowth, closed, rough and thorny, of small size". Because of the chapel's patron saint, it was renamed Espírito Santo das Catanduvas.
With the expansion of coffee-growing around 1870 in the states of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the southern region of Minas Gerais also began growing coffee on its farms, which was highly profitable and made many of the region's producers rich.
In order to meet the need for an alternative labor force to slavery, since there were no more slaves due to the abolition of slavery, the Brazilian government made an agreement with Italy, in which many Italians came to Brazil with their expenses paid by the Brazilian government; in return, the Italians had to work for a certain period of time in coffee production, receiving a certain percentage of the production.
Varginha was one of the municipalities that received the most Italian immigrants in Brazil during this period. With enormous commitment and hard work, many Italians went on to buy their own land and start their own businesses, which generated great economic development for Varginha and the south of Minas Gerais at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century.
The Italians spread trade and founded the wheat mill, now Moinho Sul Mineiro, in partnership with Varginhenses of the time. The construction of the Theatro Capitólio, which follows the Tolentino style and whose decoration is attributed to the Italian Alexandre Vallati, is also attributed to the Italian colony.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the small town of Varginha already had many coffee processing establishments. The product has always been an important factor in the region's development, mainly due to the strong influence of São Paulo in the area.
Another considerable influx was that of Syrian-Lebanese immigrants in the early decades of the 20th century, most of whom made their living in the produce trade in São Paulo.
During the Second World War, Varginha sent reinforcements to join the Brazilian troops fighting in Italy. This was an unusual move by the Brazilian government, since many of the soldiers known as "pracinhas", who left Varginha and other regions of Brazil, had direct relatives such as uncles and grandparents in the country to which they were sent to fight.
In the 1970s, Varginha also received several Japanese families, who immigrated as a result of the Japanese acquisition of a German company at the time, CBC, which had a factory in the city.
Nowadays, due to the transfer of Taiwanese companies to the region, the city hosts Taiwanese immigrants, who invest, create jobs and work in Varginha.
Varginha is a major regional hub for services and industries. Several factories are established in the city such as Philips-Walita, Inovacon, Plascar, Cooper-Standard, SteamMaster and Samsung. There are also a large number of small enterprises in the industrial sector with regional success. It is also one of the biggest producers of coffee in the world.
The city's main economy sectors are agriculture (especially coffee), engineering, steel, car parts and metal-mechanics.
Varginha has the biggest GDP in the southern region of Minas Gerais, a prosperous area with a high HDI and close to big economy centers in the state of São Paulo. The city was ranked 7th by Veja Magazine for the Top 20 mid-size cities to invest and live in Brazil.
Opened in 2012, the CIT-Centro Industrial Tecnológico (portuguese for Industrial and technological center) is a new industrial complex in the city's airport area and its home for the Porto Seco Sul de Minas (South Minas Dry Port), an imports/exports company for the city's coffee industry.
Its location is considered one of the best for the logistics and transportation industries, close to Brazil's biggest economy centers.
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 census. Located in the Southeast Region of the country, it is bordered to south and southwest by São Paulo; Mato Grosso do Sul to the west; Goiás and the Federal District to the northwest; Bahia to the north and northeast; Espírito Santo to the east; and Rio de Janeiro to the southeast. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte, is a major urban and finance center in Brazil, being the sixth most populous municipality in the country while its metropolitan area ranks as the third largest in Brazil with just over 5.8 million inhabitants, after those of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Minas Gerais' territory is subdivided into 853 municipalities, the largest number among Brazilian states.
São Paulo is one of the 26 states of the Federative Republic of Brazil and is named after Saint Paul of Tarsus. It is located in the Southeast Region and is bordered by the states of Minas Gerais to the north and northeast, Paraná to the south, Rio de Janeiro to the east and Mato Grosso do Sul to the west, in addition to the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast. It is divided into 645 municipalities. The total area is 248,219.481 square kilometres km2, which is equivalent to 2.9% of Brazil's surface, being slightly larger than the United Kingdom. Its capital is the municipality of São Paulo.
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Três Corações is a municipality in the south of Minas Gerais state in Brazil. As of 2020, the city population was estimated at 80,032, making it one of the largest cities in the south of Minas Gerais. The city is geographically located close to the circumcenter of the three largest metropolitan areas in Brazil, thus making it a strategic hub for commerce. Três Corações is internationally famous for being the birthplace of football legend Pelé.
Juiz de Fora, also known as J.F., is a city in the southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) from the state border with Rio de Janeiro. According to the 2022 census the current population is 540,756 inhabitants. The geographical area of the municipality is 1,437 km2 (555 sq mi).
Cruzeiro is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It is located about 220 km (137 mi) from the state capital. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Vale do Paraíba e Litoral Norte. The population is 82,571 in an area of 305,70 km2. People of things who come from or inhabit in Cruzeiro are called "cruzeirense".
Catanduva is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The population is 122,497 in an area of 290.59 km2. Is the second largest city in the Northern part of the state, after São José do Rio Preto. The city has a diversified economy, and the cultivation and processing of sugarcane is relevant.
Baixo Guandu is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Espírito Santo that was founded on April 10, 1935 and established as a city on June 8, same year. The city's celebration day is April 10. Its population was 31,132 (2020) and its area is 918 km². The area is most well known for its exports of coffee, especially from the high mountains of the district of Alto Mutum Preto. The main watercourse through the municipality is the Rio Doce river whose basin is composed of 222 municipalities.
Passa-Quatro is a municipality in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil. The population is 16,393 in an area of 277.22 km2. It is part of the microregion of São Lourenço.
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The Southeast Region of Brazil is composed of the states of Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. It is the richest region of the country, responsible for approximately 60% of the Brazilian GDP, as São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Minas Gerais are the three richest states of Brazil, the top three Brazilian states in terms of GDP. The Southeast of Brazil also has the highest GDP per capita among all Brazilian regions.
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Governador Valadares is a Brazilian municipality in the countryside of Minas Gerais. In 2020, its population was 281,046 inhabitants, thus being the ninth most populated city in the state. It is an economical axis of the middle valley of the Doce River, having a significant influence on the east and northeast portion of Minas Gerais and local authorities of the state of Espírito Santo. Governador Valadares sits on the bank of the Doce River, 324 km from Belo Horizonte, the state's capital. Governador Valadares has an area of about 2 342 km2, of which only 58 km2 is urban area.
Três Pontas is a municipality located in southern Minas Gerais state, Brazil. It's a city with about all streets of urban zone paved and services of water and sewage to all people. The municipality has about 57 thousand inhabitants and a population density of 78,12hab/km2. The road MG-167 is the only paved road that passes through the city, but the Rodovia Fernão Dias (BR-381), is less than 50 km from the city centre passing through Varginha.
Formiga is a municipality in central-west Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The population of the municipality in 2020 is 67,822. The area of the municipality is 1,504 km2. It is located in the statistical meso-region of Centro-Oeste de Minas and the statistical micro-region of Formiga. It was founded in 1839.
Lavras is a municipality in southern Minas Gerais state, Brazil. Located at an altitude of 919 m, it has a population of 104,761 inhabitants (2022). The area of the municipality is 564.495 km2. The average annual temperature is 19.6°C and the average annual rainfall is 1,511 millimetres.
Oliveira is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Minas Gerais. It is located at latitude 20º41'47" south and longitude 44º49'38" west, at an altitude of 982 metres. It is located 165 kilometres at southwest from Belo Horizonte. Its estimated population was 41,181 according to the latest IBGE census.
Nepomuceno is a Brazilian municipality located in the south of the state of Minas Gerais. The population in 2020 was 26,826 in a total area of 584 km2 (225 sq mi). The maximum elevation is 1,100 m (3,600 ft) and the minimum is 850 m (2,790 ft).
Elói Mendes is a municipality in the south of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. In 2020 the population was 28,320 in a total area of 498 km². The elevation of the municipal seat is 899 meters.
São José da Barra is a Brazilian municipality located in the southwest of the state of Minas Gerais. Its population as of 2020 was 7,480 people living in a total area of 312 km2. The city belongs to the meso-region of Sul e Sudoeste de Minas and to the micro-region of Passos. It became a municipality in 1948. The important hydroelectric plant of Furnas is located here.
References
↑ "Áreas e limites 2010"[Areas and Limits 2010](XLS). Downloads – Geociências – Organização Territorial (in Portuguese). IBGE. 2012-11-26. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
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