MINAS
GERAIS - BRAZIL |
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Minas Gerais is one
of the states of Brazil, the second most populous in the federation. The
capital is the city of Belo Horizonte, in the center of the state.
Location
This Brazilian state is in the west of the southeastern subdivision of
Brazil, which also contains the states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and
Espírito Santo. It has as its limits: Bahia and Goiás (N), the state of Mato
Grosso do Sul (W), the state of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro (S) and the
state of Espírito Santo (E). |
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Culture
Minas Gerais is the Profound Brazil by analogy with the France profonde. It
has a distinctly more native flavour than cosmopolitan São Paulo, a more
traditional slant than flashy Rio de Janeiro, and is more Portuguese than
the South and São Paulo with their great influx of Italians and other
Central Europeans, the North with their native Indians or Northeast with
Africans and Indians.
The people is considered reserved, prudent, relatively silent to the point
of melancholy, but welcoming and family focused. Legend has them divided
between misers and benemerits, mostly misers. It is one of the most
religious states, with a big proportion of staunch Romanists and a
burgeoning Evangelical and neo-Pentecostal population, with pockets of
African magic religions. Kardecist Spiritism is also professed by a
significant portion of the population, partly due to the influence of Chico
Xavier, the main spiritist icon of Brazil, that lived in Minas Gerais all
his life.
Minas Gerais is also know nationally for the particular character of its
cuisine. The cultural basis of local cuisine are the small farmhouses, and
many of the dishes are prepared using locally produced vegetables and meats,
specially chicken and pork. Traditional cooking is done using coal or wood
based owens, and cast iron pans, making for a particularly tasty flavor;
some restaurant chains have adopted these techniques, and made this type of
food popular in other parts of the country.
Many of the appetizers from the local cuisine use corn or cassava (know
there as "mandioca") flour instead of wheat, as the later didn't adapt well
to the local weather. Corn flour is the basis for a wide variety of cakes
and appetizers. But the best known dish from Minas Gerais is "pão de queijo",
recently introduced internationally as the "brazilian cheese rolls"; it's a
small baked roll made with cheese and cassava flour, that can be served hot
as an appetizer or for breakfast.
Minas Gerais is abroad often recognised as the state where the footballer
Pelé was born and raised. |
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