Despite its cultural and historical relevance, the capital of Pará remains little known, even among Brazilians themselves.
Although the eyes of the world are on do which will host the climate conference of (COP30) as of Monday (10), the city in the Amazon region remains unknown to many, even within Brazil. By decree of the president the city of 1.4 million inhabitants will be the symbolic capital of Brazil during the conference, which is expected to receive around 50,000 international visitors between November 10th and 21st.
Here are five interesting facts about Belém:
1) Açaí with everything
O It has become popular around the world in recent years for its supposed energizing and antioxidant properties. In Belém, it is a favorite accompaniment to many meals.
Every day, tons of the fruit are unloaded at a pier near the recently renovated Vero-o-Peso Market, one of the city’s main tourist attractions. In restaurants, it is served with a variety of traditional dishes. It is especially popular with pirarucu, a freshwater fish from which can reach three meters in length.
2) Círio de Nazaré
Belém faced logistical challenges — especially in relation to hotel capacity — in the preparations for COP30. However, every year, in October, the city hosts the Círio de Nazaré, a religious ceremony that attracts hundreds of thousands of Catholic faithful.
This year, Círio — recognized as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO — broke the record for participants, with 2.6 million people, according to local authorities. The festivities pay homage to Our Lady of Nazaré, patron saint of Belém, nicknamed by its inhabitants the “queen of the Amazon”. His image is omnipresent in the city, where references to the religious procession abound.
3) What about the trees?
Belém is surrounded by vast expanses of tropical forest. However, paradoxically, less than half of its inhabitants live on tree-lined streets (45.5%), according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). The Brazilian average is 66%.
4) Higher proportion of inhabitants in favelas
More than half of Belém’s population (57.1%) lives in favelas. This is the highest rate among Brazilian cities, according to the . The most emblematic is Vila da Barca, whose precarious houses are built on stilts to avoid flooding, on the banks of the river and close to the city center.
5) From carimbó to brega
One of the city’s most beloved personalities is Fafá de Belém. The state of Pará is also the birthplace of carimbó, an Afro-indigenous genre recognized by Unesco, and brega.
Pará music is also inspired by Caribbean rhythms, such as calypso, zouk and cumbia. For a long time, radio signals from regions close to the north of the Amazon were easier to receive than those from large metropolises in the southeast of the country, such as Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo.
*With information from AFP
