Santa Rita do Sapucaí 6.1

Santa Rita do Sapucaí is a municipality situated in the southernmost part of the State of Minas Gerais. The city is known as the "electronic valley", since it has plenty of electronic industries, and both a technical school (ETE - Escola Técnica de Eletrônica Francisco Moreira da Costa) and a University (Inatel - Instituto Nacional de Telecomunicações) which hold courses in electronic knowledge. It also has another University - FAI, which has majors in Administration and Informatics.It has an area of 350,874 kilometers square.Santa Rita has an old freemasonry fraternity, called Loja Caridade Sul Mineira.According to last census (2010), it has an estimated population of 37 thousand people.The town holds the Festa de Santa Rita every year in May, which attracts people to the town.Carnival (Carnaval) in Santa Rita is also a very celebrated party, traditionally Bloco do Ride and Bloco dos Democráticos are the major street amusers, and for the young adults there is Bloco do Urso, which brings thousands of young people each year to the city in February.In July 2012, Santa Rita do Sapucaí became the first jurisdiction in Minas Gerais to adopt same-sex marriage, and the first municipality in Brazil to individually legalize it. (See: Recognition of same-sex unions in Brazil).HistorySanta Rita do Sapucaí is a municipality in the southern region of Minas Gerais state (MG) in Brazil. Traditionally, the foundation date of Santa Rita, short name for the city, is considered to be 1825-05-22, when the first mass was held in the chapel built on orders of Dona Genoveva Maria Martins da Fonseca, honoring a promise made by her late husband Manoel José da Fonseca. The Fonseca family arrived in the region in the early 19th century and is considered the founding family of Santa Rita do Sapucaí.