Curitiba

 Curitiba is the capital of the state of Parana in the southern third of Brazil.  It had a greater metropolitan area the size of Houston, Texas and a population of about 3 million people.   Located on the same latitude south of the equator that Orlando, Florida lies upon to the north, its convenient location 60 miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean, separated by the lush Serra do Mar mountain range, makes it an attractive city in which to live.  Resting upon a 3ooo feet high plateau, the  year-round temperate climate does not allow excessively hot temperaturea in summer - rarely as high as 90 degrees and then it frequently rains in order to relieve this heat build up.  Conversely, winter tempertures rarely fall below 50 degrees, as a result vegetation grows year- round. 

 In the 1950’s, with Curitiba’s population at 100,000 people, city administators aggressively wooed industry and manufacturers to locate on the plateau.  Their endeavors succeeded beyond their own goals, with hundreds of businesses taking advantage of tax relief and other incentives offered through the mayor’s office.  The resultant sudden population explosion, as more and more people came to fill the new jobs, almost strangled the smallish town infrastructure.  But Curitiba’s success was – and is today – ultimately found within its own citizenry’s willingness to employ creative problem-solving and a desire to accomodate their neighborhood’s needs. 

 This exhibition of photographs is my homage to my adopted city and its hard-working and generous people.  Here are a sampling from the 100 piece show:

   

City On A Dozen Hills

 

                                                                                   In The Land Of The Palm And The Pine 

The unique flat-topped Pineiro tree grows only in or very near Parana and is the state tree.  When I first came here, I once asked Diana, “Are these trees regularly trimmed in this manner?”  She laughed.  BTW, the “pine cone” from the female of this species annually grows to 18 inches in diameter.  When it falls, hundreds of spiral arranged 2-inch long arrowhead-shaped components that make up the cone, break apart when falling on the ground.  Those “pinão” the birds and other animals don’t get are quickly harvested by people to be later boiled or roasted to an exquisite nut-like delicacy.

 

Historic Polish Immigrant Cabin

Curitiba was founded in 1691 by Portuguese Monks travelling inland from the Atlantic Ocean.  Many European countries are represented in the early settling of Curitiba.  There are developed parks and public squares dedicated to the heritage of each of those nationalities located throughout the city.

 

 

Just outside of the city limits, in every direction, are small villages of which this is a typical abstract.  Usually built around a church, these pockets of community are typically nestled in rolling hilly terrain having lush, fertile soil - ideal for farming and animal maintainence.

 

  Nightlife

In the center of it all is a spawling metropolis where modernity mixes with quaint methodology in such a way that sometimes makes me feel I am back in 1950’s America.  But the night I took this picture, I was sure looking over the 21st century!

 

     Rua Quinze Novembro – a pedestrian walkway that used to be a motored street.    Businesses and shops outline this 8 block strip  in the center of the city, named to honor Brazil’s Republic Day, November 15th.

 

                                                         Curitiba Business Center with Serra do Mar mountain range in the distance.

This verdant mountain range - peaking at 7000 feet - serves as sentinal, absorbing the oceanic weather systems formed over the Atlantic, 60 miles away from the city.

 

 

 

 ”Calmaria” is the local term referring to the upper atmospheric phenomenon whereby multiple cells have merged some 90 miles away from Curitiba, out over the Atlantic Ocean, yet the height of the storms and intensity/frequency of the lightning would lead one to believe the storm is directly over the city.  However, because the storms are so distant, with a lush, absorptive mountain range between, there is never the hint of thunder accompanying this display of lightning.  The above photo is a 3 second exposure, during which time there were about a dozen lightning strikes, but I heard nothing but the gentle breeze upon the hilltop where I was standing.  It was this way the entire 30 minutes I stood watching and photographing Calmaria.