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Home > Travel South America > South America Destinations > Cuiaba
Cuiaba
South America is thefourth largest continent of the Western Hemisphere. It is divided politically into 12 independent countries namely Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela and the overseas department of French Guiana. The continent extends to 7,640 kilometers from Punta Gallinas, Colombia, in the north to Cape Horn, Chile, in the south. At its broadest point, near where it is crossed by the equator, the continent extends to 5,300 kilometers from east to west.
South America is connected to North America by the Isthmus of Panama. It is washed on the north by the Caribbean Sea, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. Roman Catholicism is the dominant religion and Portuguese and Spanish are the primary languages of the continent.
Cuiaba is the capital city of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. It is situated in the exact centre of South America and is in city with the neighbouring town of Varzea Grande. The name is of obscure Indian origin, reportedly meaning arrow-fishing to the Bororo custom of using arrows to fish. Cuiaba was founded on January 1, 1727 by Rodrigo Cesar de Menezes. It was given town status in 1818 and became the capital in 1835.
Starting from 1930, isolation was broken by road and railway 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. In the 1970s and 1980s, the pace of growth kept growing as agriculture became commercialized, using the railways and the roads to sell the soybeans and the rice produced there 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.
Since 1990 the rate of population development 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 ecological issues have become a concern for the first time. Local culture is very rich, due to the multiple influences of many peoples, like the Portuguese, the blacks and the Indians. Cuiaba has got an interesting Indian-influenced cuisine, typical dances, craftwork and music. It is a city with endless recreational opportunities, rich history, and modern day luxuries.
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