Recife

Recife (Portuguese for reef), 2005 population 1,501,000 (3,599,181 in the metropolitan area) is the third largest city in the Northeastern Region of Brazil and the largest metropolitan area. It is the 5th largest metropolitan area in Brazil and the capital of Pernambuco. Recife is also where the Beberibe River meets the Capibaribe River to flow into the Atlantic Ocean. It is a major port on the Atlantic Ocean.
Recife was built as a port city along tropical, white-sand beaches lined with palm trees. It is the capital of the northeastern state of Pernambuco. Recife is a fast-growing urban area that has been called the "Venice of Brazil" because it is dissected by numerous waterways and connected by many bridges. The city got its name from the coral reefs that line the coast. Local fishermen go out into the high seas in jangadas, crude log rafts with beautiful sails unique to the area, that require expert navigational skills to maneuver. Recife exports great quantities of the hinterland's products, including sugar, cotton, and coffee. Its population is around 1,500,000 inhabitants.(Source: Brazilian Embassy, Washington, DC.)

It is situated at 8°4′S 34°52′W. Surrounded by rivers and crossed by bridges, Recife is full of islands and mangroves that magnify its geography. It is known as the American Venice, thanks to its fluvial resemblance with the european city, and is considered one of Brazil's cultural capitals.

Recife is the birthplace of poets and writers Manoel Bandeira, Carlos Pena Filho, Saulo Moreira, Sebastião Uchoa Leite, Nelson Rodrigues, Gilberto Freyre, Paulo Freire and João Cabral de Melo Neto; and of such composers as Lenine, Fred Zero Quatro, Otto, Pochyua Andrade, Don Tronxo, Valença Brothers, Antônio Nóbrega, Naná Vasconcelos, Jorge du Peixe, Paulo Diniz, Fernando Lobo, Antônio Maria and Chico Science. Canadian ice hockey player Robyn Regehr and footballers Rivaldo, Juninho Pernambucano, Carlinhos Bala were also born in Recife.