Curitiba information

Curitiba (pron. kuɾi'tʃibɐ) is the capital city of the Brazilian state of Paraná and the largest financial center in southern Brazil. The city has a population of approximately 1,788,559 people, being the largest in the Southern Brazil (7th largest nationwide), and has the largest GDP in the Southern Region (ranking 4th nationwide) according to IBGE (2005).
Its metropolitan area comprises 26 municipalities with a total population of over 3.5 million (2006 IBGE estimate). Curitiba is the most important city of Southern Brazil, being a cultural, political and economic center. Curitiba's main airport Afonso Pena International Airport is one of the most modern Brazilian terminals and the most important airport in Southern Brazil 2007 and will be the region's transportation hub according to Minister Nelson Jobim.
The city is on a plateau 932 m above sea level. It is 105 km west of the sea port of Paranaguá, at.
People from Curitiba are known as Curitibanos.
One theory about the name "Curitiba" comes from the Tupi words kurí tyba, "much pine," due to the large number of Brazilian Pines (Araucaria angustifolia), in the region prior to its foundation. The Portuguese who founded a village in 1693 gave it the name of "Vila da Nossa Senhora da Luz dos Pinhais" (Our Lady of the Light in the Pine Forest). The name was changed to "Curitiba" in 1721. Curitiba officially became a town in 1842. Growth was based on the cattle trade, being half way between cattle breeding country to the South and markets to the North. (...) more....

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