R E C I F E by Renato Athias Professor in the Post-Graduation Programme of Anthropology at Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil in Encyclopedia of Urban Cultures: Cities and Cultures Around the World Melvin and Carol R. Ember, Editors The Encyclopedia of Urban Cultures contains original articles that summarize the cultural features of the most important cities around the world. Experts on each city have been chosen with the help of a distinguished board of advisors. Grolier/Scholastic will publish the Encyclopedia as a 4-volume in 2002, ISBN 978-0717256983 The name of the City of Recife, reef in Portuguese, comes from its natural characteristics:- not only the town’s beaches but the entire coastline of Pernambuco is full of coral reefs, up to six kilometres long and thirty metres wide, in an almost unbroken line. The city of Recife was founded and populated as a result of its natural port formed by coral reefs. At first it was called “Village of the Reefs” and “Creek of the Reef Coast”. Location Recife is currently the State capital of Pernambuco, in the Northeast of Brazil. It occupies an area of 218 Km2 and was built 4 metros above sea level, although some parts of the city are in fact below sea-level and hence vulnerable to flooding during heavy rains. It is intersected by the rivers Beberibe e Capibaribe, boasting 49 bridges. This gives Recife its second name: the Venice of South America. Recife is adjacent to the towns of Olinda, Jaboatão dos Guararapes, and Camaragibe. The humid tropical climate predominates, with only two seasons, rainy (April-August) and dry (September-March). This climate is shared by the coastal belt or zone which used to shelter a considerable part of the Atlantic Rainforest. Almost all of this mata atlântica has been destroyed for the planting of sugar-cane. Population The population of Recife is estimated at 1,421,947 (2000), but the Greater Metropolitan Area of Recife that encompasses the previously named neighbouring towns as well as others accounts for 2,903,972 inhabitants. Although the majority of the population in Brazil is white (54%), in the Greater Metropolitan Area of Recife the majority of population is either black or coloured (63,1%) followed by whites (35,9%). The specific blend of these populations is what has influence over the current behaviour of Recifenses, as people from Recife are known. As a result of Portuguese colonization, the predominant religion is Roman Catholicism. However, Protestant and Afro-Brazilian religions are significant in the regional culture. The language spoken is Portuguese with the distinctive lilted intonation, repeated used of the diminutive and specific vocabulary characteristics of the Northeast. In the 90s, information available invariably suggested the continued rate of decline of Brazil’s population growth. The PNAD (Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios) figures between 1992 and 1999, indicate that the annual rate of