São Gonçalo do Amarante, Rio Grande do Norte, Northeast Region, Brazil

🇧🇷 São Gonçalo do Amarante is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Norte in the Northeast region of Brazil. Governador Aluizio Alves International Airport, the new airport that serves the metropolitan area of Natal, was opened in 2014 and is located in the municipality.

It is a Brazilian municipality known around the world for having been the scene of one of the most significant events in the entire history of Rio Grande do Norte and the Brazilian Catholic religion, when the Dutch exterminated eighty people in the event known as the Uruaçu Massacre, which took place in 1645. In 2017, these martyrs were recognised as saints, in St. Peter's Square, in the Vatican, in a ceremony presided over by Pope Francis.

History Before, the territory that corresponds to the current municipality of São Gonçalo do Amarante was inhabited by the Potiguaras Indians, among which stands out Poti, known as Felipe Camarão, originally from a community of Extremoz.

Its name derives from Gonçalo de Amarante, who was a Portuguese ecclesiastic, patron saint of the city of Amarante in Portugal. São Gonçalo do Amarante had its first inhabitants only in the 17th century, the members of the family of Estevão Machado de Miranda, soon sacrificed by the Dutch in the massacre of Cunhaú and Uruaçu, in 1645. Only in 1689, there would have been the expeditions that gave rise to the repopulation of the place, coming from Pernambuco, after the expulsion of the invaders.

In the 18th century, in 1710, near the Engenho Potengi, they came from Pernambuco and settled, on the banks of the homonymous river, Paschoal Gomes de Lima and Ambrósio Miguel Sirinhaém, natives of Portugal, along with their families. After the installation, both built their residences and were responsible for building a small church, with saint Gonçalo de Amarante as patron saint. On her altar, an image of the saint made of stone was placed, giving rise to the toponym of the municipality.

On April 11, 1833, during the government of Manoel Lobo de Miranda Henrique, the municipality of São Gonçalo do Amarante was created. In 1856, during the government of Antônio Bernardes de Passos, São Gonçalo do Amarante was hit by a cholera epidemic, which killed a total of 171 people. In 1868, through a provincial law sanctioned by Governor Gustavo Augusto de Sá, the municipality lost its autonomy, being annexed to the municipality of Natal, capital of the province of Rio Grande do Norte. Only six years later the village was dismembered and again elevated to the status of municipality.

But five years later (1879), the population of São Gonçalo do Amarante was victimized by a coup that transferred the seat of the municipal government to the village of Macaíba, formerly called Cuité. In 1890, a few months after the episode of the proclamation of the republic, the vice president of the state of Rio Grande do Norte, José Inácio Fernandes Barros, elevated the village of São Gonçalo do Amarante, which belonged to Macaíba, to the condition of the municipality.

With the state decree-law nº 268 of 1943, São Gonçalo do Amarante once again lost its political autonomy, returning again to the district of Macaíba, with the name of Felipe Camarão, and losing part of its lands, which gave way to the current municipality of São Paulo do Potengi. It was only with the sanction of state law No. 2324, of December 11, 1958, that the district definitively obtained its political emancipation, and with its name changed, from Felipe Camarão to his current name, São Gonçalo do Amarante.

Geography According to the division of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) in force since 2017, São Gonçalo do Amarante belongs to the intermediate and immediate geographical regions of Natal. Until then, with the validity of the divisions into microregions and mesoregions, it was part of the microregion of Macaíba, which in turn was included the name-region of the East Potiguar.

Integrating the Metropolitan Region of Natal (RMN) and the Polo Costa das Dunas, São Gonçalo do Amarante is seventeen km away from the centre of Natal, the state capital, with which it borders to the east. The other limits of the municipality are Ceará-Mirim and Extremoz to the north, Macaíba to the south and Ielmo Marinho to the west. Its territorial area is 244.8 km² (0.473% of the state surface), of which 52 km² constitute the urban area (2015), formed by the Center and twelve other neighborhoods.

In the municipality, a flat relief predominates, formed by low land composed of clay, of yellow and/or red color. In its formation, it can be noted the presence of coastal sediments, near the floodplains of the Potenji River and on the deck terraces of the Barreiras Group. The predominant soil is the latosol, with smaller areas of quartz sands (neosoles in the new classification) to the east and, to the south-west, planessolos and red-yellow podzolic soils (this one now called luvissolo). On the banks of the Potenji River are both alluvial soils and mangrove soils, covered by floodplain and mangrove forests, respectively, both part of the Atlantic Forest biome, which also includes subperipheral and sub-ductal forests and coastal boards. Most of the municipality, however, is inserted in the domains of the Caatinga, which encompasses 94% of its territory, with the remaining 6% in the Atlantic Forest, thus characterizing a transition between the two biomes.

Economy The Gross Domestic Product of São Gonçalo do Amarante in 2010 was R$ 953 855 thousand, while the GDP per capita was R$ 10,876.34.

The primary sector contributes the smallest share of the municipal GDP. The practice of subsistence agriculture stands out, with cultivation aimed at the production of fruits and vegetables. In livestock, cattle (aimed at milk production), goats and sheep stand out. In fishing, the breeding of emolusk crustaceans stands out, mainly shrimp, seafood, oyster and sururu. São Gonçalo do Amarante also has two apiaries, one where bees are raised and the other for the production of honey.

In the secondary sector, the most abundant industry is ceramics, with emphasis on brick production. Eighteen km from the headquarters, the Serrinha Community is located, where the mineral extraction of stones is carried out, used in the paving of streets and avenues and in civil construction. São Gonçalo do Amarante has an industrial district, near the border with Natal, where seventeen companies from various sectors operate.

In the tertiary sector, the trade carried out in São Gonçalo do Amarante stands out in the sale of food products in commercial establishments, such as bars, snack bars, markets, grocery stores and supermarkets. In addition to food products, there is also emphasis on the commercialization of cultural artifacts, rubbers, materials used in construction, pharmaceutical products, clothing and fabrics.

Infrastructure In 2010, the municipality had 95.01% of its more than 24,000 households with piped water, 99.51% co-electricity and also 91.29% with garbage collection, whose tailings are disposed of in the Metropolitan Sanitary Landfill of Ceará-Mirim. In the last National Basic Sanitation Survey (PNSB), carried out in 2017, the water supply network of São Gonçalo do Amarante was 779 km long, with 32 538 connections or savings, of which 31 602 are residential. On average, 17,600 m³/day of water were treated, of which 16 577 m³ reached the places of consumption, resulting in a loss rate of 5.8%. The daily per capita consumption index reached 509.1 liters per economy. In turn, the sewage collection network had only 102 km, with 6,238 m³ treated daily on average. The water supply and sewage treatment services of São Gonçalo do Amarante are operated by the Autonomous Water and Sewage Service (SAAE).

The concessionaire responsible for the supply of electricity is the Energy Company of Rio Grande do Norte (COSERN), of the Neoenergia Group, present in the 167 municipalities of the state. The rated voltage of the network is 220 volts. The mobile telephone service, by mobile phone, is offered by four operators: Claro, Oi, TIM eVivo, being 084 the area code or direct distance dialing (DDD). In the last census, 70.43% of households had only cell phone, 17.53% cell phone and landline, 1.8% only landline and 10.23% did not have any. The Postal Address Code (CEP) varies in the range from 59290-000 to 59299-999.

São Gonçalo do Amarante has the Governador Aluízio Alves International Airport, in operation since May 31, 2014, replacing the Augusto Severo Airport, in Parnamirim, which since that date has operated only with military aviation. Administered by the Inframérica Consortium, it is the first airport in Brazil to be ceded to the private sector. In road transport, São Gonçalo do Amarante is cut by the federal highways BR-101 and BR-406 plus the state highways Humberto Pessoa, which allows access between BR-304 and the airport, and RN-160. The municipal fleet in 2020 had 13,650 cars, 9,782 motorcycles, 1,501 pickup trucks, 660 trucks, 538 trucks and 2,159 in other categories, totaling 28,290 vehicles. Local traffic is municipalized and managed by the Municipal Traffic Department (DEMUTRAN).

Health The health network of São Gonçalo do Amarante includes thirty basic health units (UBS), four health centres, two psychosocial care centres (CAPS) and a general hospital (August 2018), this being the Belarmina Monte Maternity Hospital, a philanthropic institution linked to the Unified Health System (SUS), inaugurated in December 1976 and directed, since November 2008, by the São Camilo Charitable Society It has beds for hospitalization in the specialties of medical clinic, pediatric clinic, surgical and obstetric.

Data from the Ministry of Health indicate that, in the period between 2001 and 2016, the municipality recorded 5,860 cases of dengue, 42 of leishmaniasis and thirteen of malaria; from 1990 and 2020 there were 247 notifications of AIDS, resulting in a rate of 16.4 cases per 100,000 inhabitants (2020). In 2019, 604 deaths from morbidities were recorded, with diseases in the circulatory system and tumors being the main causes, with a higher incidence among men. At the same time, 1,410 live births were recorded, mostly by cesarean deliveries, with an infant mortality rate of 14.89 deaths of children under one year of age per thousand live births.

Education The "education" factor of the HDI-M in the municipality reached in 2010 the mark of 0.564, while the literacy rate of the population over ten years indicated by the last demographic census of the same year was 86.1% (87.7% for women and 84.4% for men). The expectation of years of study was 9.18 years, lower than the state average, of 9.54 years.

The school flow of children between five and six years in school reached 90.92% and, from eleven to thirteen years attending the final years of elementary school, this value of 80.82%. Among young people, these rates were even lower, from 45.35% in the range of fifteen to seventeen years with complete elementary school and 26.58% from eighteen to twenty years with complete high school. Considering only the population aged 25 years or older, 18.42% were illiterate, 43.75% had complete elementary school, 28.09% complete average and only 2.96% complete higher education. More recent data from 2014 showed that the dropout rate in elementary school was 3.8%, reaching almost 20% in high school.

The network of educational establishments in São Gonçalo do Amarante covers all levels of education, from basic education to high school, in the public and private spheres, with a total of 22 991 enrollments (2020 school census), most (14 589) of elementary education. Among the higher education institutions is the Federal Institute of Rio Grande do Norte (IFRN), inaugurated in December 2012, on the same land where the Rockfeller Farm was located.

Culture The municipality has an outstanding position in Rio Grande do Norte regarding its production and its cultural resources. It has the Municipal Theater Mayor Poti Cavalcanti, inaugurated in 2003 and with capacity for 238 people, in addition to being considered as the temple of culture of the entire municipality, hosting various types of events. It is the birthplace of Militana Salustino do Nascimento, Dona Militana (1925-2010), the greatest novelist in Brazil and icon of the popular culture of Rio Grande do Norte. Municipal holidays are: January 28, the day of the patron saint São Gonçalo; October 29, the day of the patron São Benedito and December 11, the date of the political emancipation of the municipality, the latter instituted in 1990 and the others in 1978.

Events Religiosity in São Gonçalo do Amarante is directly linked to the role of the Martyrs of Cunhaú and Uruaçu, killed in the massacre of October 3, 1645, for the crime of love against the homeland and their resistance in fighting the Dutch. Also called deflamengos, the Dutch invaded the territory corresponding to the current Brazilian north-east, to collect from the Portuguese the debts left by the construction of mills in the colony. As a result of this episode, few survived and about eighty people died, being taken to neighbouring communities and to Keulen Castle, the current Fortress of the Magi. Only in 1989 were the victims of the massacre recognised as martyrs and beatified by Pope John Paul II on March 5, 2000. At the site of this massacre was erected the Monument of the Martyrs, inaugurated nine months later.

In the cultural calendar of the municipality, the main events are: the feast of São Sebastião, celebrated in some villages of the municipality on January 19; the feast of São Gonçalo, held on January 28 and municipal holiday; the Festa dos Motoristas on May 30; the feast of Santo Antônio in the district of Santo Antônio do Potengi on June 12; the traditional feast of Santa Terezinha of Nossa Senhora do Ó (in the village of Rego Moleiro) and the commemoration of the Martyrs of Uruaçu, in October; the feast of São Judas in the villages of Jacaré-Mirim and Uruaçu, in November and the feasts of Santa Luzia (held in the New Church and in the Serrinha community) and of political emancipation, in December.

Cooking and crafts In the cuisine of São Gonçalo do Amarante, typical traditional dishes are shrimp, free-range chicken and several other crustaceans. In the rural area of the municipality, the reference community is located in the gastronomy of the Metropolitan Region of Natal: the Pajuçara community, which is sparsely populated, but has several establishments where shrimp is the most consumed typical dish. From them, several derived dishes are prepared, such as the gratin shrimp and the shrimp pirão, combined with other foods. In addition to shrimp, the production of sweets and liqueurs with the flavour of tropical fruits also stands out in the community of Rio da Prata.