Current Time in Maringá, Brazil

Maringá lies in the north of Paraná state in southern Brazil, on a plateau of deep red earth about five hundred metres above sea level, close to the Tropic of Capricorn. It is a young city and a deliberately designed one, laid out from scratch in the middle of the twentieth century with broad avenues, generous roundabouts and hundreds of thousands of trees. Aerial photographs show a settlement almost hidden beneath its own canopy, and Maringá is regularly described as one of the greenest cities in Brazil.

Around four hundred and thirty thousand people live here, with more in the surrounding metropolitan area. The city serves as the commercial capital of northern Paraná, a region of exceptionally productive agriculture, and its economy rests on agribusiness, food processing, textiles and clothing, machinery and a substantial services and education sector. Surveys of quality of life and safety consistently place it among the best-rated cities in the country.

The story begins with a British-founded land company that acquired an enormous tract of forest in northern Paraná in the 1920s and set about clearing it, selling small farm plots and founding towns along a planned railway. Maringá was formally established in 1947 and grew with extraordinary speed as settlers arrived from São Paulo, Minas Gerais and the south, along with Japanese, Italian, German, Portuguese and Arab immigrants. Coffee made the region rich, until the catastrophic black frost of 1975 destroyed the plantations and pushed farmers towards soybeans, maize and wheat, a change that ultimately strengthened the local economy.

The city's emblem is the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Glory, a soaring concrete cone rising more than one hundred and twenty metres, one of the tallest churches in South America. Designed in the late 1950s and inspired by the space age, it dominates the skyline from every direction. Parque do Ingá preserves a fragment of the original Atlantic forest in the middle of the city, complete with monkeys, a lake and forest trails, and the Horto Florestal and Parque das Grevíleas add further green space. The Maringá Museum and the Bosque das Grevíleas record the history of the pioneers.

Life in Maringá is comfortable and outdoor-oriented, with cycle paths, sports clubs, and a strong café and restaurant culture reflecting the city's immigrant origins. Japanese-Brazilian influence is particularly visible, and the annual expositions, agricultural fairs and music festivals draw crowds from the whole region.

The city is a road hub, with highways leading to Curitiba, São Paulo and the Paraguayan border, and Silvio Name Júnior Regional Airport offers daily flights to the main Brazilian cities. Public transport relies on an integrated bus network.

Education is a major strength. The State University of Maringá is one of the leading public universities in southern Brazil, with a large medical school and strong research output, and several private institutions bring the total student population to tens of thousands.

Maringá is a demonstration of what careful planning can achieve, a prosperous, shaded and welcoming city built within living memory.