Caruaru
Caruaru is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Pernambuco, located in the Northeast region of the country. It is part of the Caruaru Intermediate Geographic Region. According to the 2025 census, its population is 405,408 inhabitants, making it the second most populous municipality in the interior of Pernambuco and the fourth most populous in the Northeast countryside, surpassed only by Feira de Santana, Campina Grande, and Petrolina. The municipality is situated to the west of the state capital, Recife, approximately away. It covers an area of, of which is urban.
Founded on 18 May 1857, one account of its origin suggests that the municipality began to take shape in 1681 when the then-governor of the captaincy granted the Rodrigues de Sá family a sesmaria spanning thirty leagues, aimed at developing agriculture and cattle ranching in the region. However, a more widely accepted account considers a sesmaria charter granted in 1661 by Governor Fernão de Souza Coutinho to Captain Bernardo Vieira de Mello, a nobleman and knight of the Royal Household, who likely held lands that included Caruaru. A 1758 document recording an investigation into abuses committed by Bernardo’s son, Antônio Vieira de Mello, mentions "…in these my lands a site called Caruru, which my father settled eighty years ago…", dating the establishment of Caruru around 1678, when the area was demarcated and organized as a farm.
The name Caruru likely refers to the region and gave its name to a farm at the heart of what is now the city’s central landmark. Its strategic location and the entrepreneurial spirit of its inhabitants led to significant growth and rapid population increase, necessitating the construction of a chapel in 1782, dedicated to Our Lady of Conception. This chapel fostered a sense of community and visibility for the residents of the village and surrounding areas, eventually giving rise to the city. The chapel’s builder, José Rodrigues de Jesus, was not a native of the area but came from Cabo de Santo Agostinho, son of Plácido Rodrigues de Jesus and Lourença do Vale Pereira. He was married to Maria do Rosário, a native of Vitória de Santo Antão, and they had eleven children. Although it is claimed that the Rodrigues de Sá family is related to the Rodrigues de Jesus, no documentary evidence supports this.
According to the IBGE, Caruaru is a regional capital classified as category B, playing a significant centralizing role in the Agreste and countryside of Pernambuco. It is a major hub for medical-hospital services, academic institutions, culture, and tourism in the Agreste. The municipality is also renowned for its grand June Festivals. It hosts the Feira de Caruaru, recognized as the world’s largest open-air market and designated an intangible cultural heritage of Brazil by the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage. Its clay craftsmanship gained worldwide recognition through the work of Vitalino Pereira dos Santos, known as Mestre Vitalino, who represented Pernambuco at the 1955 Brazilian Primitive and Modern Art Exhibition in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. His works are displayed at the Louvre Museum in Paris and at his former residence in the Alto do Moura neighborhood of Caruaru. Mestre Vitalino’s followers have made Caruaru the largest center of figurative art in the Americas, according to UNESCO.
Etymology
Several hypotheses explain the origin of the toponym Caruaru. One widely accepted theory suggests it derives from the dialect of the Cariri people, who inhabited the region during the 16th-century exploration. In their language, "caru" can mean "food" or "abundance," and "aru aru" can mean "plenty." Thus, Caruaru could translate to "land of abundance." The IBGE’s "Brazilian Territorial Documentation" notes various meanings linked to pathological conditions but adds another definition: the name may come from a plant commonly known as caruru synonymous with curuaí synonymous with jacuraru, a common lizard known as tegu, also prevalent in the area.History
Due to its advantageous geographic position in the heart of the Agreste, a mandatory passage for cattle transport from the Sertão to the coast, numerous agro-pastoral properties were soon established. The lands where Caruaru now stands were owned by the Vidal de Souza and Almeida Pereira families. Land sale records and parish documents confirm that the Vidal de Souza family held large tracts along the Ipojuca River, including the Caruru area. José Rodrigues’ wife was a granddaughter of pioneer João Alvares Vidal, mentioned in 1758 as a cattle ranch owner whose farm was attacked by Antônio Vieira de Mello’s henchmen. No documentation clarifies how the Caruru farm passed to José Rodrigues, whether by purchase or inheritance. Baptism records and inventory transcriptions show that José Rodrigues de Jesus was already married by 1774, the year of the earliest recorded birth of one of his children, indicating he was married well before the 1782 inauguration of the Conceição Chapel. With permission from the Olinda Bishopric in 1781, he built the Nossa Senhora da Conceição Chapel, which spurred the creation of a weekly market and became a focal point for new settlers, increasing the population in the central area. Documents from 1794 confirm the existence of a village with a "considerable number of houses," already known by its current name.In 1834, Caruaru was listed as the 7th district of Bonito, as noted in a letter dated 8 November of that year from Bonito’s municipal chamber to the Pernambuco Government Council. Provincial Law No. 133 of 6 May 1844 created the São Caetano da Raposa district, annexed to the municipality of Caruaru. In 1846, Capuchin missionary Friar Euzébio de Sales from Penha began constructing the main church, now the cathedral. Rebuilt twice, the last time in 1883, the church received a bell that year, still in place today, the largest votive offering in the region. It was a promise by Francisco Gomes de Miranda Leão, who transported the offering on animal backs from Tapera to Caruaru, where it was enthusiastically received by the population. On 16 August 1848, Provincial Law No. 212 elevated Caruaru to the status of village, with territory detached from Bonito. This law transferred the parish seat from São Caetano da Raposa to Nossa Senhora das Dores in Caruaru, along with the Bonito judicial district seat. Article 3 of the same law divided the judicial district into two municipalities: the first comprising the parishes of Caruaru, Bezerros, and Altinho, and the second including Bonito and Panelas.
The municipal chamber was established on 16 September 1849, as reported in a letter to the province president, by Francisco Xavier de Lima, president of Bonito’s council. The first vicar of the parish was Father Antonio Jorge Guerra, who established it on 28 September of the same year. On 18 May 1857, Provincial Law No. 416 elevated Caruaru’s village to city and municipal seat status. On 20 May 1867, Provincial Law No. 720 created the Caruaru judicial district, classified as 1st instance by Decree No. 3,978 of 12 October of the same year; the first judge was Antonio Buarque de Lima. On 13 November 1872, Decree No. 5,139 reclassified it as 2nd instance.
Caruaru became a municipality on 1 March 1893, under Article 2 of the general provisions of State Law No. 52 of 3 August 1892. The first elected mayor was Major João Salvador dos Santos. A report attached to a 26 May 1893 letter from the mayor to the Government Secretary stated that the municipality was divided into three administrative districts: Caruaru, Carapotós, and São Caetano da Raposa.
Caruaru was established as the second municipality in the Pernambuco Agreste through project No. 20, proposed by provincial deputy Francisco de Paula Batista, debated on 3 April 1857 and enacted without further debate on 18 May 1857 through Provincial Law No. 416, signed by the then vice-president of Pernambuco, Joaquim Pires Machado Portela. Over the decades, the city developed, and the former Caruru Village is now known by various titles such as "Capital of the Agreste," "Capital of Forró," and "Princess of the Agreste," reflecting its political and economic significance in Pernambuco.
The municipality’s development peaked from 1896 with the construction of the Great Western, a railway connecting the city to the Pernambuco capital. Through its tracks, agricultural products and goods from its traditional market were transported. Initiated in 2001 by the Pernambuco government, the expansion of the main highway accessing the municipality, BR-232, was pivotal for industrializing its economy and boosting the service sector, as it reduced travel time and increased safety, attracting more tourists during certain periods. The first section, from Recife to Caruaru, began in 2001 and was completed in 2003, followed by the Caruaru-São Caetano section.
Geography
According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, the municipal territory spans, with classified as urban area. It is located at 08°17'00" south latitude and 35°58'34" west longitude, approximately from the state capital. Its neighboring municipalities are Brejo da Madre de Deus and São Caetano to the west; Taquaritinga do Norte, Toritama, Vertentes, and Frei Miguelinho to the north; Riacho das Almas and Bezerros to the east; and Altinho and Agrestina to the south.The municipality lies within the Borborema Province geo-environmental unit, characterized by high massifs and hills with altitudes ranging from 600 to 1,000 meters. The relief is predominantly rugged, with deep and dissected valleys, and an average elevation of 554 meters above sea level. Located on the Borborema Plateau, its highest point is Monte Bom Jesus, at 630 meters above sea level.
The municipal territory is crossed by perennial rivers with low flow and limited groundwater potential. It is part of the Ipojuca River and Capibaribe River basins, with major watercourses including the Tabocas, Caiçara, Borba, da Onça, Olho d’água, Mandacaru do Norte, Caparatós, São Bento, Curtume, and Taquara streams. Its main water reservoirs are the Eng°. Gercino de Pontes, Taquara, Guilherme, Serra dos Cavalos, and Jaime Nejaim dams.