Barcelos, Amazonas Brazil

Barcelos

Barcelos, located on the northern bank of the Negro River, is the second largest city of the State of Amazon, located 246 miles as the crow flies from Manaus and 308 miles by riverboat.

Brief history - Mariuá, a village of the Manaus Indians, was the original site of what is today Barcelos. The Carmelite priest, Frei Matias São Boaventuras, established the Mission of Nossa Senhora of Mariuá in 1738. Thirty years later, Mariuá receives the name Barcelos becoming the capital of the State of São Jose of the Negro River, which eventually became the state of Amazonas.

Unfortunately the local agricultural production, based on the crops of banana, rice and mandioca, is not enough for the necessities of the city, so the majority of the foodstuffs consumed in the city are imported from the region.

Barcelos has a large eco tourist business, since nearby is part of the National Park of the Jaú, the State Park of Aracá Mountain and the Mariuá Archipelago, with more than 1.400 islands, considered the largest fresh water archipelago in the world. This archipelago contains over 700 species of eatable and ornamental fish (exported to countries in Europe, Asia and America).

Since the sale of ornamental fish is responsible for the income of more than 60% of the population, the Festival of the Ornamental fish was incorporated in 1994, praising the culture of the city and the life of the " piabeiros " fishermen.

During the festival, fishermen display rare species of fish allowing tourists to purchase the most exotic.

Another source of income is from sports fishing, with fishermen coming from around the world to attempt to land one of the famous “peacock” bass of the area.

More in the next edition.