Romaria
Romaria is a Brazilian municipality located in the northwest of the state of Minas Gerais. Its population as of 2007 was 3,566 people living in a total area of 402 km². The city belongs to the mesoregion of Triângulo Mineiro e Alto Paranaíba and to the microregion of Patrocínio. It became a municipality in 1962.
Location
The municipality is located in the region of the Alto Paranaíba, just north of the important federal highway BR-365, which links the state boundary of Goiás to Montes Claros. The elevation of the town center is 960 meters. Neighboring municipalities are: Estrela do Sul and Monte Carmelo (N); Iraí de Minas (E); Nova Ponte and Indianópolis (S); Araguari (W). [1]
Distances
- Monte Carmelo: 20 km
- Patrocínio: 75 km
- Uberlândia: 75 km
- Belo Horizonte: 511 km
History
Água Suja, today Romaria, began as a settlment during the War of Paraguay, when some prospectors found diamonds. The first stone was discovered in 1857 in the Agua Suja stream, a tributary of the Bagagem River. A chapel was built to honor Our Lady of Abadia and an image was brought from Portugal. By 1926 there were already around fifty thousand pilgrims (romeiros) coming to worship the statue of the Virgin and the construction of a sanctuary was begun. The celebration takes place from August 06 to 15 and it attracts thousands of pilgrims who fill the small town. [4]
Economic Activities
The most important economic activities are cattle raising for meat and dairy, commerce, and agriculture, with the main crops being coffee, corn, soybeans, sorghum and wheat. [5] Romaria is in the top tier of municipalities in the state with regard to economic and social development.
Health and Education
- Municipal Human Development Index: 0.775 (2000)
- State ranking: 139 out of 853 municipalities as of 2000
- National ranking: 1,196 out of 5,138 municipalities as of 2000
- Literacy rate: 90%
- Life expectancy: 71 (average of males and females)[6]
The highest ranking municipality in Minas Gerais in 2000 was Poços de Caldas with 0.841, while the lowest was Setubinha with 0.568. Nationally the highest was São Caetano do Sul in São Paulo with 0.919, while the lowest was Setubinha. In more recent statistics (considering 5,507 municipalities) Manari in the state of Pernambuco has the lowest rating in the country--0,467--putting it in last place.[7]