Teofilo Otoni, state Minas Gerais

Теофило Отони, штат Минас Жерайс См. Фото-галерею

Origin of the Name

The city is named after Teófilo Benedito Ottoni (Vila do Príncipe, 27 January 1807 — Rio de Janeiro, 17 October 1869), who was a provincial deputy representing Minas Gerais, a national deputy and a senator in the Empire of Brazil from 1864 to 1869 and founder of the city of the same name.

Location

It lies at an elevation of 319 meters on the Todos os Santos River, a tributary of the Mucuri. It is part of the Valley of the Mucuri, a region which includes 27 municipalites. Situated on the Rio-Bahia Interstate Highway BR 116, it is 130 km. north of the regional center, Governador Valadares, on the Doce River, and 478 km north of the state capital, Belo Horizonte. It was founded in 1853 by German colonists and given city status in 1878.

The Economy

Teófilo Otoni is a trade centre for an agricultural hinterland in which livestock raising is of some importance. The city has small-scale manufacturing and food-processing plants. Poor soils for agriculture and lack of industry have made Teófilo Otoni a major source of immigration to other regions of Brazil and to the United States. In 2005 the GDP was R$723 million, of which 515 million was from services, 101 was from industry, and 37 million was from agriculture. Industry employed about 2,000 workers, services employed 8,800 workers, and public administration employed 2,300 workers.

Mining

Nationally and internationally Teófilo Otoni rivals Governador Valadares as the gem capital of Brazil. Extensive mining and gem trading for aquamarines, topaz, brazilianite, and various forms of quartz take place there.