Poços de Caldas

Poços de Caldas is a city in the southwest of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, with about 154,000 inhabitants ( estimate 1 July 2006).

Geographical Location

The city is located on the border of the state of São Paulo and is located in a volcanic crater on 1200 m height. To the west lies the lake Represa Bortolan, north of the lake Represa de Graminha.

History

The city was founded in 1872 as a captain José Junqueira Bernardes donated by order of Senator Joaquim Floriano de Godoy 96 acres of his land for the founding of the city. The signing of this Act, November 6, 1872, is considered the founding of the town.

1886 already a sulfur-containing bath for the treatment of skin diseases was used in the city. So in October to the well received health emperor Dom Pedro II. In the 1940s it was the casinos bestowed the Poços de Caldas to, visit the Brazilian aristocracy. President Getúlio Dornelles Vargas had a special suite in the hotel and used the heated pool in a room with columns of Carrara marble.

Among the artists who visited the Palace Casino in that period include Carmen Miranda and Carlos Gallardo. The poet and novelist Olavo Bilac and the President Juscelino Kubitschek resided there for a long time. The ban on gambling in 1946 and the discovery of antibiotics had an impact on tourism in the city, as the spa facilities were no longer considered the most effective way to treat disease. You have now been transformed after a period of downturn for the middle class and made ​​an effort to stimulate the economy. According to the website of the city today has Pocos de Caldas one of the best HDI (Human Development Index ) of the State and Brazil experienced a massive influx of tourists., Mayor is currently (2009) Paulo César Silva.

Sons and daughters of the town

• Sandro Ricci ( born 1974 ), international football referee