Recife

Recife (population 1.3 million, 3.5 million in the metropolitan area) is the second biggest city in the Northeastern Region of Brazil and the biggest metropolitan area. As metropolitan area it's the 5th of Brazil. It is the capital of the Pernambuco state and the city where the Beberibe River meets Capibaribe River to flow into the Atlantic Ocean. It is a major port on the Atlantic Ocean.

Birthplace of poets and writers as Manoel Bandeira, Carlos Pena Filho, Sebastião Uchoa Leite, Nelson Rodrigues, Gilberto Freyre, Paulo Freire and João Cabral de Mello Neto; and of several composers as Lenine, Fred Zero Quatro, Otto, Pochyua Andrade, Don Tronxo, Valença Brothers, Antônio Nóbrega, Naná Vasconcelos, jorge dü Peixe, Paulo Diniz, Fernando Lobo, Antônio Maria and Chico science

Surrounded by rivers and crossed by bridges, Recife is full of islands and mangrove Swamps that magnify it's geography. It is known as the American Venice – thanks to it's fluvial similarity with the european city – and it's considered Brasil's cultural capital.

History

The settlement was established by the Portuguese in 1537 and remained Portuguese until the independence of Brazil, with the exception of a brief period of Dutch occupation in the 17th century between 1630 and 1654. The own inhabitants fought on their own to expel the dutch, being helped by the First Anglo-Dutch War, which took the dutchmen's effort. It was known as the Insurreição Pernambucana, which translates to Pernambuco's Insurrection.

Images

Geography

Within its metropolitan area are the cities of Jaboatão dos Guararapes, Olinda, Paulista, Abreu e Lima, Igarassu, Camaragibe, Cabo de Santo Agostinho, and São Lourenço da Mata.

Information

Its main tourist atractions are:

• Churches and historical monuments
• Francisco Brennand's atelier of ceramic art
• Ancient Recife buildings
• Boa Viagem Beach (the main city beach)
• Olinda – a UNESCO World Heritage Site
• Casa da Cultura: souvenir shops
• The Carnival at Recife Antigo
• Cuba do Capibaribe, a mix of Cuban and Brazilian culture in a sightseeing restaurant & dancing club at Paço Alfândega http://www.cubadocapibaribe.com.br (In Portuguese)

There are many wonderful beaches surrounding Recife, such as:

• Porto de galinhas, Ipojuca, Pernambuco (60 km to the south)
• Maracaípe, Ipojuca, Pernambuco (65 km to the south)
• Serrambi, Ipojuca, Pernambuco (70 km to the south)
• Tamandaré, Barreiros, Pernambuco (110 km to the south)
• Itamaracá, Pernambuco (40 km to the north)
• Maragoji, Alagoas (150 km to the south)
• Praia de Pipa, Rio Grande do Norte (280 km to the north)
• Tambaba, Conde, Paraíba (115 km to the north)
• Serrambi, Ipojuca, Pernambuco

Music

• Frevo
• Maracatu
• Forró
• Manguebeat
• Baião
• Xaxado

Main Neighborhoods

• Torre
• Ipsep
• Boa Viagem
• Boa Vista
• Bongi
• Brasília Teimosa
• Cidade Universitária
• Cordeiro
• Aflitos
• Casa Forte
• Derby
• Tamarineira
• Espinheiro
• Graças
• Ibura
• Ilha do Leite
• Iputinga
• Pina
• Recife Antigo
• Santo Amaro
• Santo Antônio
• Setúbal
• Várzea
• Beberibe
• Casa Amarela
• Afogados
• Imbiribeira
• Muribeca
• Estância