Goiânia, also known as Capital of the Cerrado, turns 90 today, October 24th. The city was born in 1933 planned for 50 thousand people and currently has around one and a half million residents.
The name Goiânia originates from the term Tupi-Guarani Goyanna, which means “land of many waters”. The name went well with the city, as, in Goiânia, there are 85 springs and 80 streams catalogued.
To celebrate this date, we interviewed Hamilton Carneiro, writer, member of the IHGG (Historical and Geographic Institute of Goiás) and resident of Goiânia since 1964. See what we discovered.
Birth of Goiânia
Goiânia's founding date is October 24, 1933, but the name “Goiânia” only appeared in 1935. Before the Capital of Cerrado had a name, a competition was held to decide what it would be called.
Initially, the name Petronia obtained many more votes than Goiânia, however, at the time of the decision, Pedro Ludovico, one of the city's founders, he decided on the name we know today. Historical accounts state that Pedro's choice was to avoid personalizing the city's construction.
Hamilton tells us that shortly after the Revolution of 30, Pedro Ludovico was appointed intervener of Goiás by the then president, Getúlio Vargas. The new ruler noticed some challenges that complicated the lives of those who lived in the first capital of the State, Vila Boa de Goiás.
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The writer highlighted two main problems of the first capital:
- The rugged terrain, which would leave the city very vulnerable to attacks and invasions
- The amount of Iodine in the water that was causing goiter in people.
The problems were presented to Getúlio Vargas and the creation of the new city was approved. Initially, Goiânia was planned for 50 thousand inhabitants, currently the city's population is almost half a million people.
Goiânia's birthday
To celebrate the birthday of 90 years of the capital Many events will be held in the city, in addition to being a public holiday for most residents. Among the festivities held are shows by the band Ira! and the country duo Gian and Giovani.
The presentations take place in different places around the city and occupy the entire week with programs. There will also be performances by singer Leonardo and the duos Rio Negro & Solimões and Guilherme & Santiago.