Itajubá

Itajubá is a municipality in southeastern Minas Gerais state of the Federative Republic of Brazil. It lies in a valley by the Sapucaí river and has terrain elevations ranging from 827 to 1500 metres, occupying an area of 290.45 km2 (112.14 mi2), with a population of 97,334 people (2020 est). Neighboring the city are the mountain slopes of the Serra da Mantiqueira range. The climate sees heavy rain in the summer months with dry weather in the winter.

The city is a center with direct influence over 14 other municipalities of a region (called "Microregião do Sapucaí") that contains 6% of the population of Minas Gerais state. The local economy is based mainly on industry and agriculture. There are industries of auto parts, fiber optics, textile, electronic components, helicopters (Helibrás), and military weapons (IMBEL). In agriculture, most of the production is coffee, banana, potatoes, and is centred in the vicinity of Maria da Fé city where the climate is cooler.

History
In the beginning of the 19th century, the region was mostly occupied by native Brazilians, the Puri-Coroados. In January 1819, priest Lourenço da Costa Moreira moved to the parish of Delfim Moreira (known at that time as Soledade de Itajubá). The place was deserted, since it was just a small village in the middle of the woods of the Serra da Mantiqueira, far away from a river. Moreira told the people in the settlement that its topography was unfavorable to its development. He invited them to move the village to a place closer to the Sapucaí River, down the mountains. About 80 families accepted the invitation and, on the morning of March 18, 1819 they moved. The next day, Moreira celebrated the first catholic mass in the new location. The new Itajubá was founded. After comparisons of topography had been made, part of the population decided to build a new church. Moreira then gathered the people and they moved the old church's pictures and items to the new church.

According to historians Geraldino Campista and J. Armelim Bernardo Guimarães, the name Itajubá means "water that falls on the rock" or "waterfall". There are several small waterfalls scattered in the vicinities of Itajubá.

The town is also the site of the Federal University of Itajubá, founded in 1913, which offers degrees in several technical fields, and also three other regionally important educational institutions: the Centro Universitário de Itajubá - Universitas (Itajubá University Center), the Faculdade de Medicina de Itajubá (Itajubá College of Medicine) and the FACESM - Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Econômicas do Sul de Minas (South Minas Gerais Economic and Social Sciences College).

Local media
The city has two weekly newspapers, six radio stations (FM and AM) and a local TV station. Of the six radio stations, one is a federal university (UNIFEI) station.

Strategic industry
The city has a major armament and blade weapons factory, the Indústria de Material Bélico do Brasil - IMBEL (Brazilian Warfare Material Industry), builder of a licensed copy of the FN FAL assault rifle and several models of military-issue knives.

Demographics
The population was estimated at 96,869 according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics in 2019. The human development index of the municipality was estimated at 0.815.

It has a predominantly urban population, with 92 percent of the inhabitants living in its urban region and eight percent living in the countryside. Its vegetative growth rates are low, at around 1.3% per year. There is a large student population, mainly in undergraduate and graduate courses offered by colleges in the city. The city has many professional schools, thus having a lot of specialized labor.

Politics
The current mayor is Christian Gonçalves Tiburzio e Silva, elected by popular vote in 2021 of the DEM party.

Sister cities - twin towns
Itajubá has a one sister city:

🇧🇷 Itabira, Minas Gerais, Brazil