Brazil is the largest country in South America based on territorial extension, with a total area of 8,515,767.049 km² and occupies the fifth position among the other countries in the world, with a smaller extension than Russia, Canada, China and The United States. As a result of the country’s territorial size and the history of each state (totaling 27 federative units), Brazil is a country with cultural plurality. Regionalism presents different aspects for the gastronomy, landscapes, traditions and linguistic variations in each state. Currently, the country’s population estimate is 211.755.692 million inhabitants.
As a forest country, Brazil has approximately 516 million hectares (60.7% of its territory) of natural and planted forests. It has the largest tropical forest in biodiversity in the world, the Amazon rainforest, which covers about 5.5 million square kilometers, the forest covers nine countries and has about 60% of its area in Brazilian territory, the Amazon biome represents about 30% of all the remaining tropical forests in the world.
With 853 municipalities, Minas Gerais, state of the Southeast region of Brazil, borders the states of São Paulo, Mato Grosso do Sul, Rio de Janeiro, Goiás, Federal District, Bahia and Espírito Santo. It currently has a territory of 586,513.993 km² and a population of 21,292,666 people. Minas Gerais’s capital, Belo Horizonte, has 2.4 million inhabitants. It is the sixth most populous capital in Brazil, the Metropolitan Region has 33 municipalities and 4.5 million inhabitants. Minas Gerais’s vegetation cover can be summarized into four types of biomes: Atlantic Forest, Cerrado, Campos de Altitude or Rupestres and Mata Seca. Different conditions, among them, the climate, the relief and the hydrographic basins, are evident in the constitution of the varied regional vegetation. Highly praised in Brazil and worldwide, the gastronomy of Minas Gerais, for its history and diversity, has been worked to become an immaterial cultural heritage of the state and the country. Some steps in progress will even be fundamental to, later on, being pleaded with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) for the post of “Cozinha Mineira” as Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
After talking a little about Brazil and Minas Gerais, we arrive in Juiz de Fora, where UFJF – Federal University of Juiz de Fora is located, the institution where the Global July event takes place. The city belongs to the state of Minas Gerais, but because it is very close to Rio de Janeiro, some customs and traditions mix, having a wide diversity. Currently, Juiz de Fora is considered one of the most important cities in the state, being a very important economic and social hub in the region.
Regarding Tourism, one of the most important activities in the world, both for the economic subject and for its subjects of relationships, social exchanges and experiences, we will bring a little of the attractions of the region, contextualizing them briefly, presenting photos and curiosities about.