Trindade, Goiás

Trindade
Municipality

Flag

Coat of arms

Location in Goiás state
Trindade

Location in Brazil

Coordinates: 16°39′29″S 49°29′01″W / 16.65806°S 49.48361°W / -16.65806; -49.48361Coordinates: 16°39′29″S 49°29′01″W / 16.65806°S 49.48361°W / -16.65806; -49.48361
Country  Brazil
Region Central-West Region
State Goiás
Microregion Goiânia Microregion
Area
  Total 713.2 km2 (275.4 sq mi)
Elevation 756 m (2,480 ft)
Population (2007)
  Total 97,491
  Density 140/km2 (350/sq mi)
Time zone BRT/BRST (UTC-3/-2)
Postal code 75380-000
Website www.trindade.go.gov.br

Trindade is a city and municipality in Goiás state, Brazil. It is famous for the religious celebrations held there in July and is now the third most important pilgrimage site in Brazil.

On the west side of the city is a purpose-built raceway where, in 2014, the city hosted a MotoCross World Championship, Grand Prix race.[1]

Trindade is part of the Goiânia Microregion, which has over one million six hundred thousand inhabitants. It is located approximately 30 km. west of Goiânia, to which it is connected by a four-lane highway, GO-060.

Origin of the City

Although Trindade became a city in 1943, its origins go back to 1840, when, according to local folklore, in a small village called Barro Preto Constantino Xavier and his wife Ana Rosa found in their fields a small clay medallion showing the Holy Trinity crowning the Virgin Mary.

Soon a palm covered chapel was raised to be later replaced by a mortar chapel covered with tiles. Lands were donated by local farmers and a religious shrine began to take form.

Followers decided to embellish the simple clay medallion and it was taken to Pirenópolis to be worked on by the greatest artist of the region. The original clay medallion returned to Trindade substituted by a wooden representation and that is what is seen by pilgrims today in the main church.

Today this statue is displayed in the basilica of Trindade, the only basilica in the world dedicated to God, the father figure of the Catholic trinity.

Pilgrimage

Every year starting on the first Sunday of July thousands of pilgrims arrive in Trindade to pray to the "Divino Pai Eterno" (Divine Holy Father). The festival lasts for fifteen days and attracts an estimated population of close to one million visitors, one of the largest religious festivals in Brazil.

From Goiânia to Trindade the distance is 18 kilometers and the road is called a Rodovia dos Romeiros (The highway of the Pilgrims). It is lined with outdoors lit up by spotlights showing the stages of the cross, the Via Sacra, painted by a local artist Omar Souto. The artist incorporated contemporary events into the pictures, for example, Leide das Neves, victim of the accident with Cesio 137 in Goiânia in 1987.

The highlight of the celebration is a procession of several hundred "carros de boi" (ox carts), from all parts of the state. In 2003 alone 230 ox carts made their way through the streets of the town accompanied by almost two thousand riders. Close to one hundred thousand people witness the parade, perhaps the largest parade of ox carts in the world. See City of Trindade for photos.

Basilica of Trindade at Christmas
Square of Trindade
Trindade (Goiás)

Political Information

In January 2005 the mayor was George Moraes Ferreira. There were 11 members on the city council and the number of eligible voters was 63,024 in December 2007.

Demographic Information

The population density was 136.68 inhab/km² in 2007. The population has increased by almost 70,000 inhabitants since 1980. The majority of the inhabitants lived in the urban area—94,515 in 2007 while there were 2,976 people living in the rural area.

The economy

In addition to the tourists and pilgrims who flock to Trindade to pray to the Holy Trinity, Trindade is becoming an industrial center. Today there are approximately 150 industries producing ceramic, aluminum byproducts, paint, soft drinks, and clothes, and leather. The biggest employers in the town are Refrescos Bandeirantes (Coca-Cola) and Indústria e Comércio de Bebidas Taguatinga S/A (Grupo Imperial/Antarctica).

In 2006 there was 1 meat-packing plant, 2 dairies, and 4 financial institutions.

Despite the proximity to Goiânia and the rapid industrialization, Trindade still has a substantial cattle herd with 78,000 head in 2006, of which 25,000 were milking cows. There were also 11,000 pigs and 64,000 poultry.

Trindade is also a big producer of fruits, especially citrus fruits, bananas, and tomatoes.

The main agricultural products were bananas, coffee, coconuts, oranges, lemons, papayas, mangoes, passion fruit, tangerines, pineapple, rice (300 hectares), beans, manioc, corn (2,000 hectares), soybeans, and tomatoes.

All data are from IBGE

Education (2006)

- Pólo Universitário da UEG

Health (2007)

For a complete list see Frigoletto.com

See also

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/3/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.