Arapiraca, Alagoas, Northeast Region, Brazil

🇧🇷 Arapiraca is a municipality located in the centre of the Brazilian state of Alagoas, some 135 km from the state capital, Maceió. It was founded in 1924. It is the second municipality with the largest population in Alagoas and the ninth in the interior of the Northeast.

The development of the city took place mainly in the 1970s, when the culture of producing tobacco, formerly known "Green Gold", one of the main economic activities of the time in the region, elevated the city to the category of municipality. But, currently, the city has several large companies and countless small companies that give a great boost to the local economy.

Currently, the Arapiraquense City has been standing out for being one of the most generating jobs throughout the national territory. According to data from the General Register of Employees and Unemployed, released by the Ministry of Labor and Employment, Arapiraca was the fourth largest generator of formal jobs in the country in 2015. According to the MTE, the city generated 2,076 jobs last year, second only to the cities of Canaã dos Carajás, in Pará, which generated 2,801 formal jobs, Pontal do Paraná, in Paraná, which registered 2,265 job openings and Matão, in the state of São Paulo, with the creation of 2,110 formal jobs.

History Although the city of Arapiraca appears to be a recent city, there are records that, around 1848, the Arapiraca lands belonged to Marinho Falcão. He sold them to Amaro da Silva Valente, who moved in with his family. Some time later, Amaro da Silva's son-in-law, Manoel André Correia, began to penetrate the long, untouched virgin forests until he discovered a fertile plain rich in leafy trees, mainly the tree that gives its name to the city, "Arapiraca". It was below Arapiraca, located on the banks of Riacho Seco, where Manoel André Correia rested and had the idea of building a hut.

After some time, with the arrival of other families, the Arapiraca tree was surrounded by a village. The place began to be populated in the first half of the nineteenth century. In 1855, Manoel André's wife died, and in her honor, in 1864, Manoel André decided to build the chapel of Nossa Senhora do Bom Conselho over her grave. In 1863, a year before the construction of the chapel, the son of Amaro da Silva Valente and brother-in-law of Manoel André, Manoel Ferreira de Macedo, arrived in the village. Agricultural products produced in the village were sold at the Lagoa dos Veados fair, close to the village of Arapiraca.

Manoel André also contributed to the economic growth of neighboring towns. Manoel opened a trail along which it was possible to take animal convoys to the village of Porto da Folha (today the city of Traipu), as it was known until 1876. This trail became known in the central region of Alagoas and all the products from neighboring towns were shipped through it. In the year 1880, Esperidião Rodrigues, associating with Florêncio Apolinário, settled in the village of Arapiraca with the first business house, in the field of stevedores and fabrics and in 1884 Esperidião created the first fair.

Political Emancipation As a district, Arapiraca was successively subordinated to Penedo, Porto Real do Colégio, São Brás and Limoeiro de Anadia. It was elevated to the category of municipality on October 30 1924, consisting of territories dismembered from Palmeira dos Índios, Porto Real, São Brás, Traipu and Limoeiro de Anadia.

From the decade of 1970, due to the large area planted with tobacco, which generated an excess of the product in the small tobacco processing industries in the region, and the consequent decrease in price, a cycle followed of decline in tobacco farming. Since the 1980s, it has experienced economic growth with its trade (with emphasis on the traditional street market) and services. In addition, the industrial sector of the municipality has shown relative growth in recent years.

Geography Its area is 351 square kilometers, located on a wide plain, at an altitude of 265 meters, 123 km from Maceió and 44 km from Palmeira dos Índios. The climate is considered one of the healthiest in the state.

The most important municipality in the interior of Alagoas, Arapiraca stands out as an important commercial centre in the rural region, located in the geographic centre of the state of Alagoas. The area of direct influence of the municipality reaches a population of approximately half a million inhabitants.

It limits to the north with the municipality of Igaci, to the south with the municipality of São Sebastião, to the east with the municipalities of Coité do Noia and Limoeiro de Anadia, to the west with the municipalities of Lagoa da Canoa and Girau do Ponciano and Feira Grande, to the north-west with the municipality of Craíbas and to the south-east with the municipality of Junqueiro.

Neighboring municipalities Clockwise from the north: • north: Igaci • north-north-east: Craíbas • north-east: Coité do Nóia • east: Limoeiro de Anadia • south-east: Junqueiro • south-south-east: São Sebastião • south: Feira Grande • south-west: Lagoa da Canoa.

Policy and administration The municipal administration is carried out by the powers Executive and Legislative. The first representative of the Executive branch and mayor of the municipality was Esperidião Rodrigues, elected in the first elections held after political emancipation.

The Legislative branch, in turn, is constituted by the Municipal Chamber, composed of 19 Councilmen elected for four-year terms (in compliance with the provisions of Article 29 of the Constitution). It is up to the house to prepare and vote on fundamental laws for the administration and the Executive, especially the participatory budget (Budget Guidelines Law).

Economy The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Arapiraca is the highest in its micro-region, followed by the GDP of Marechal Deodoro, São Miguel dos Campos and Coruripe. In the IBGE data for 2012, the municipality had R$2 billion and 416 million reais in its Gross Domestic Product.

Access Access to the city is via Airporto de Arapiraca and through the Deputado Nezinho Bus Station.

Education The city of Arapiraca, in 2012, for both public and private schools, had approximately 5,544 enrollments, 322 teachers and 98 schools for pre-school education; 36,387 enrollments, 1,602 teachers and 108 schools for fundamental education and 10,877 enrollments, 461 teachers and 26 schools for High School.

The municipality also has 2 public universities, UFAL and UNEAL, and 1 federal institute, IFAL, in addition to several private institutions of higher education, such as Cesmac University Center, UniSEB, Arcanjo Mikael Higher Education Center, Integrated Colleges of Patos etc. In addition, Arapiraca has what is considered one of the best and most modern digital planetariums in Brazil with an auditorium with a capacity for 235 people being inaugurated on October 2, 2012 The municipality also has a wide network of digital libraries built in several squares in Arapiraca called "Arapiraquinhas", with its first unit inaugurated in August 2010, in the Jardim Esperança neighborhood.

Sport Arapiraca has two football teams: the ASA, founded on September 25, 1952, and Cruzeiro de Arapiraca, founded on May 28, 2019. The two teams play their games at Estádio Municipal Coaracy da Mata Fonseca, popularly known as Fumeirão, which opened in 1953 and has a capacity of 15,000. A match with record attendance was held on July 12, 1981.