São João de Meriti (ˈsɐ̃w ʒuɐ̃w ˈdʒi meˈɾitʃi) is a brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

ian city

City

A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...

 in Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

 state. Its historical name is São João do Rio Meriti. Its population was 468.309 inhabitants in 2008. Its located in the region of Baixada Fluminense

Baixada Fluminense

The Baixada Fluminense is a region of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between the city of Rio de Janeiro to the south and the Serra dos Órgãos hills to the north, and bordering on Guanabara Bay. Its government is separate from that of the city of Rio de Janeiro, but depending on the writer it...

, having 34,996 km².

The city

City

A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...

 is known as "Americas' Anthill", because its population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 is one of the highest in the continent

Continent

A continent is one of several very large landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, with seven regions commonly regarded as continents—they are : Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.Plate tectonics is...

.

History

The place we know today as São João de Meriti, cut by the rivers Sarapuí, Meriti and Pavuna, was known before as Freguesia de Meriti. In the XVII and XVIII centuries, Meriti had many farms and chapels, being an important producer of corn

Corn

Corn is the name used in the United States, Canada, and Australia for the grain maize.In much of the English-speaking world, the term "corn" is a generic term for cereal crops, such as* Barley* Oats* Wheat* Rye- Places :...

, cassava

Cassava

Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...

, beans and sugar

Sugar

Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...

.

In 1833, the São João de Meriti village incorporated the Maxabomba village, now City of Nova Iguaçú. In 1947, São João de Meriti was elevated to the status of municipality.

It's considered a commuter town

Commuter town

A commuter town is an urban community that is primarily residential, from which most of the workforce commutes out to earn their livelihood. Many commuter towns act as suburbs of a nearby metropolis that workers travel to daily, and many suburbs are commuter towns...

.

It has some commercial centers such as its downtown, Vilar dos Teles (ex-capital of jeans), Coelho da Rocha, São Mateus

São Mateus

The name São Mateus is Portuguese for Saint Matthew, and may refer to one of the following:=*São Mateus , a municipality and a city in the state of Espírito Santo...

 and Shopping Grande Rio mall.

Many poor districts surround these commercial centers and others don't even have proper sanitation, like Jardim Paraíso, close to Vilar dos Teles. Some districts like Vila Rosali are populated by middle class

Middle class

The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....

.

Recently, the city has become an important cultural center, being home to IPAHB and SESC. São João de Meriti is the hometown of the writer Lasana Lukata, volleyball player André Nascimento, actor Paulinho Gogó and the young André Mercury, nationally known for his performance on the brazilian reality show Ídolos

Ídolos

Ídolos may refer to:*Ídolos Brazil*Ídolos Portugal* Ídolos, Chilean telenovela...

, when he sung his own song Casa da Colina (House on the Hill, in English), probably inspired by the homonym film.

Districts

List of districts

• Agostinho Porto
• Centro
• Coelho da Rocha
• Éden
• Engenheiro Belford
• Grande Rio
• Jardim Califórnia
• Jardim Meriti
• Jardim Metrópole
• Jardim Nóia
• Jardim Sumaré
• Parque Alian
• Parque Analândia
• Parque Araruama
• Parque Novo Rio
• Parque Tietê
• São Mateus
• Tomazinho
• Venda Velha
• Vila Norma
• Vila Rosali
• Vila Tiradentes
• Vilar dos Teles