Current Time in Taubaté, Brazil

Taubaté lies in the Paraíba Valley in the eastern part of the state of São Paulo, halfway along the corridor that connects the cities of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The valley is framed by two mountain ranges, the Serra da Mantiqueira to the north and the Serra do Mar to the south, and the city occupies gently rolling ground beside the Paraíba do Sul River. The climate is warm and humid, tempered by the altitude of around six hundred metres.

The municipality has a population of roughly three hundred and twenty thousand and forms part of one of Brazil's most industrialised regions. Its economy rests on vehicle manufacturing, metalworking, ceramics and services, and a large Volkswagen plant has operated here for decades, producing engines and cars for the domestic and export markets.

The settlement was founded in 1645 and grew as a base for the bandeirantes, the expeditions that pushed inland from São Paulo in search of gold, gemstones and captives. In the nineteenth century the Paraíba Valley became the centre of Brazilian coffee production, and Taubaté prospered enormously, filling with mansions and farm estates. The city gave its name to the Taubaté Agreement of 1906, a landmark decision by three state governments to support coffee prices that shaped Brazilian economic policy for years. When coffee moved west and the soil was exhausted, the valley reinvented itself around industry, helped by the opening of the Presidente Dutra highway in the 1950s.

Taubaté is celebrated across Brazil as the birthplace of Monteiro Lobato, born in 1882, the writer who effectively created Brazilian children's literature with his stories of the Yellow Woodpecker Ranch. The city calls itself the national capital of children's literature, maintains a museum in his honour and has built a themed park recreating his fictional farm, which delights families. Other attractions include the Basilica of Santo Antônio, the eighteenth-century convent church of Santa Clara, the old railway station and the Museum of Sacred Art.

Cultural life includes theatres, a symphony orchestra, lively Carnival street blocks and the traditional festivals of the interior of São Paulo, with country music, rodeos and food stalls selling pastel and pinhão. The surrounding region offers plenty for weekend travellers: the great national shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida is half an hour away, the mountain resort of Campos do Jordão an hour to the north, and hiking trails climb into the Mantiqueira.

The Dutra highway gives fast bus connections to both São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, each around two hours away, and the city has a regional airport, while São José dos Campos and Guarulhos handle larger flights. The University of Taubaté, founded in the 1970s from older colleges, is a respected regional institution with courses in medicine, engineering and law that draw students from the whole valley.

Taubaté combines industrial strength, colonial and coffee-era heritage and a warm literary identity that makes it memorable to Brazilians of every generation.