Data de Fundação: 20 de Janeiro de 1758

258 anos de história!

Em Santo Antônio do Monte...


População: 27.752 (IBGE 2015)
Taxa de crescimento anual estimada: 2,0% (IBGE)
População masculina: 13.205 = 50,81% (IBGE 2010)
População feminina: 12.784 = 49,19% (IBGE 2010)
População Urbana: 22.205 = 85,44% (IBGE 2010)
População Rural: 3.784 = 14,56% (IBGE 2010)
Número de Eleitores: 17.438 (TSE - Novembro/2009)
IDH: 0,779 médio (Fonte PNDU 2000 Brasil)
IDHM: 0,724 médio (Fonte ONU 2013)
PIB: R$ 176.976.000 (IBGE 2005)
Renda per capita: R$ 6.575,00 (IBGE 2005)
Localização: região centro-oeste de Minas Gerais
Área: 1.125,78 km² (IBGE 2015)
Densidade demográfica: 23,07 hab/km² (IBGE 2015)
Altitude: 1.052 m
Fuso horário: UTC-3
Latitude: -20° 05' 14''
Longitude: 45° 17' 37''

sexta-feira, 27 de fevereiro de 2009

Dados Oficiais

População: 25.989 (censo IBGE 2010)
Taxa de crescimento anual estimada: 2,0% (IBGE)
População masculina: 13.205 = 50,81% (IBGE 2010)
População feminina: 12.784 = 49,19% (IBGE 2010)
População Urbana: 22.205 = 85,44% (IBGE 2010)
População Rural: 3.784 = 14,56% (IBGE 2010)
Número de Eleitores: 17.438 (TSE - Novembro/2009)

IDH: 0,779 médio (Fonte PNDU 2000 Brasil)
PIB: R$ 176.976.000 (IBGE 2005)
Renda per capita: R$ 6.575,00 (IBGE 2005)

Localização: região centro-oeste de Minas Gerais
Área: 1.129,35 km²
Densidade demográfica: 22,75 hab/km²
Altitude: 1.052 m
Fuso horário: UTC-3
Latitude: -20° 05' 14''
Longitude: 45° 17' 37''
Clima: tropical temperado
Ventos: predominância NE
Temperatura média: 23º
Variação de temperatura: de 10º a 35º
Chuvas: precipitação anual média 1.800 mm a 2.000 mm
Período chuvoso: outubro a abril
Bacia Hidrográfica: Rio São Francisco
Rios Principais: Rio Lambari e Ribeirão Diamante
Relevo: predominância de montanhas
Vegetação: cerrado
Reservas Minerais: argila e caulim (DNPM)

Gentílico: santoantoniense
Acessos: Rodovias MG-164 e MG-429
Distância de Belo Horizonte: 194 km
Distância de Divinópolis: 70 km
Distância de Lagoa da Prata: 30 km
Distância de Bom Despacho: 45 km
Distância de Arcos: 65 km
Distância de Formiga: 71 km
Distância do Rio de Janeiro: 530 km
Distância de Brasília: 700 km
Distância de São Paulo: 515 km

Municípios vizinhos: Divinópolis, Lagoa da Prata, Formiga, Pedra do Indaiá, São Sebastião do Oeste, Arcos, Luz e Bom Despacho

Comarca de Santo Antônio do Monte
Municípios: Santo Antônio do Monte e Pedra do Indaiá
Área: 1.478,44 km²
População: 30.238 (Estimativa IBGE 2012)
Número de Eleitores: 20.859 (TSE - Novembro/2009)

Amâncio Bernardes

Amâncio Bernardes Filho, filho de Amâncio Bernardes e de Maria Guimarães Bernardes, nasceu em 27 de Janeiro de 1876 em Santo Antônio do Monte. Ao atingir a idade escolar, seus pais o colocaram no curso primário das Escolas Reunidas da cidade, cujas aulas eram dadas pelo professor Mezêncio.

Em 1910, aos trinta e quatro anos de idade, Amâncio casou-se com Maria Luiza de Oliveira, a qual veio a falecer em 1922 sem ter gerado filhos. Dois anos depois, ele casou-se novamente. Sua nova esposa chamava-se Alzira Luiza de Oliveira, com quem teve duas filhas chamadas Eugênia e Teresa.

Amâncio Bernardes foi presidente da Câmara Municipal, quando então conseguiu do governo do Estado de Minas Gerais a construção do prédio em que foi instalado o Grupo Escolar que levaria seu nome. Nessa ocasião, ele obteve a nomeação das professoras e do diretor da recém-criada escola. Ainda durante seu mandato, ele instalou a primeira usina elétrica em Santo Antônio do Monte.

Já no final de sua vida, Amâncio tornou-se fazendeiro. Como era costume na época, ficou conhecido como “coronel”. Ele faleceu em 1954, aos setenta e oito anos de idade.

Amâncio Bernardes foi muito estimado pelo povo, sendo um homem empreendedor e de grandes planos para o desenvolvimento de Santo Antônio do Monte.

Nilson Antônio da Silva

quarta-feira, 25 de fevereiro de 2009

Grupo Escolar Amâncio Bernardes


O Grupo Escolar Amâncio Bernardes, atualmente Escola Municipal Amâncio Bernardes, foi fundado em 30 de Setembro de 1917. Naquela época, houve um esforço do governo estadual em construir escolas em diversas cidades do interior do estado, haja visto ocorrera um notável avanço na área da educação. Por outro lado, também havia uma necessidade de o ensino oficial ser melhor controlado pelo poder público. Assim, tanto nas principais cidades do interior do estado como também em Belo Horizonte, foram erguidos várias escolas em padrão neoclássico. Dentre essas, o prédio em Santo Antônio do Monte.

Nilson Antônio da Silva

sexta-feira, 13 de fevereiro de 2009

A Igreja Católica

A primeira capela de Santo Antônio do Monte foi construída no final do século XVIII, no local onde hoje se encontra a igreja matriz.
Nilson Antônio da Silva

A Capital Mundial dos Fogos de Artifício

Atualmente, Santo Antônio do Monte tem o título de "Capital Mundial dos Fogos", sendo que esta é o maior centro produtor de artigos pirotécnicos do mundo.

History of Santo Antonio do Monte

Santo Antonio do Monte is a city in west-central region of the State of Minas Gerais, in Brazil. The west-central region of the State of Minas Gerais is a region whose altitude is about a thousand meters. Thus, the city lies on a series of gentle hills, which allow up to look beautiful and distant horizons at sunrise and sundown. The weather has higher temperatures in summer but it has temperatures below fifteen degrees in some colder days in the winter. Temperatures are quite pleasant during spring and autumn.

The city is located 180 km distant from Belo Horizonte, the capital city of State of Minas Gerais, in a place easily accessible by highways BR 050 and MG 262. Both of them are connected by highway MG 164, which passes through Santo Antonio do Monte. This same road also provides access to the Fernão Dias highway and the BR 040. Thus, Santo Antonio do Monte is a place of easy access to Belo Horizonte, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and the cities of region of Triângulo Mineiro. The area of the municipality is 1129.365 km², according to the IBGE – Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistic).

1758 A.D. marks the beginning of the history of Santo Antonio do Monte. On May 2nd of that year an expedition consisting of some men accompanied by slaves and guides departed from Pitangui towards the river Lambari. This expedition was formed by Antonio Rodrigues da Rocha, Domingos Gonçalves Viana, Antonio Dias Nogueira and also by the Sergeant-Major Gabriel da Silva Pereira. It was an expedition aimed at destroying quilombos (maroons) installed in the region. The expedition crossed the river Lambari and it reached the river São Francisco. Because it is an expedition, which later also had the goal of colonization, it is assumed that later women and children arrived in the region. After Antonio Rodrigues da Rocha has explored many miles of land, he provided the official requisition of land occupied by him. Thus, on April 6, 1763 was issued the letter of allotment which gave him possession of the land. The letter of allotment was granted the first between the rivers Lambari and São Francisco. This letter of allotment was signed by Claudio Manoel da Costa, the then secretary to the governor of the Captaincy of Minas Gerais. Domingos Gonçalves Viana established his farm on land currently owned by the municipalities of Santo Antonio do Monte, while Antonio Dias Nogueira hosted their farm on lands that now constitute the municipality of Moema.

According Dilma Moraes (Santo Antonio do Monte: Sweet Girlfriends, Politicians Famous), based on Laércio Rodrigues (History of Bom Despacho), the first settlers of the land where the Diamante River runs appear before 1760. The Diamante River empties into the Lambari River. Their names are Francisco de Araujo e Sá, Tomás Teixeira and Sergeant-Major Gabriel da Silva Pereira. Regarding Dilma Moraes, his book “Families who built the history of Santo Antonio do Monte” (1997) is in the Library of Congress Online Catalog.

Lopo Barroso Pereira received a land grant in the headwaters of Itaubira Creek, which is currently within the urban perimeter of Santo Antonio do Monte. Many years later this creek would be named Dona Jovita Creek. In this land allotment was erected a chapel in honor of St. Anthony. The chapel and the surrounding area became known as Alto Santo Antonio do Monte. There is a deed dated June 8, 1782, prepared by the heirs of the chief-guard Francisco Tavares Oliveira, who was the owner of the land allotment “Alta Serra” (High Mountains). This document was made to legalize the donation of land for the heritage of the site of the Saint Antony chapel. The donation had been made by the previous owner had several years earlier. However, was only legalized at that time.

Some years later, precisely on May 16, 1802, the chapel received grant of font from Catholic Church. The new parish belonged to the Diocese of Mariana. About fifty years later, on May 24, 1854, through Law No. 693, the parsonage was elevated to parish. Then, the new parish received its first priest named Vicar Father Francisco Alexandrino dos Santos. The Vicar Alexandrino, who was provincial deputy in the late 1860s, remained at the head of the parish until 1877, when he was replaced by young priest José Otaviano de Araújo. Father Otaviano directed the work of building of the new church of Santo Antonio do Monte. He hired the Italian artist Angelo Pagnaco to make the paintings inside of temple. In 1907, Don Silvério, bishop of the diocese of Mariana, obtained from the Holy See the honors of Secret Chamberlain of His Holiness Pope Pius X to Father Otaviano. Thenceforth, he began to use the title “Monsignor” and was known as Monsignor Otaviano. Monsignor Otaviano died in February 6, 1928. He was the leader of the parish of Santo Antonio do Monte for about fifty years.

Another priest whose presence was a landmark in the history of Santo Antonio do Monte was Father Peter Paul Michla. He was born in Klausberg, Germany, and arrived at the Santo Antonio do Monte in 1942. He took over the parish on January 1, 1943. Father Paul accomplished many works in education, health and social care. The hospital named Santa Casa de Misericórdia (Holy House of Mercy) and the State School Álvaro Brandão were institutions founded by him in Santo Antonio do Monte. The Casa da Criança (Children’s House) designed to accommodate abandoned children and juvenile offenders and the School Coralia Brandão were deactivated. Both of them were institutions founded by him too. The School of Pedra do Indaiá, a small town nearby Santo Antonio do Monte, was also founded by him. The construction of the current headquarters of the Parish House, located at Getúlio Vargas Square, was also Father Paul initiative.

The relics of St. Anthony, which were brought to Brazil to visit some dioceses, were at St. Anthony Parish in Santo Antonio do Monte during 18 to 21 November 1999. During the days they were exposed in the church, there were pilgrims from various parishes of the diocese. On occasion, the St. Antony Parish was directed by Father Ézio de Brito. The Bishop Eurico dos Santos Veloso, who few years later was appointed Archbishop of Juiz de Fora, was the bishop of the Diocese of Luz.

On February 6, 2010, Bishop Antônio Carlos Felix performed the installation of the Parish of St. Joseph, wich was created from the breakup of St. Anthony Parish. Father Adelson José de Sousa took over the new parish. This new parish is comprised of urban communities: St. Benedict, Brother Galvão, St. Luke, St. Gerard, Our Lady of the Rosary, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Sacred Heart, Our Lady of Grace, Saint Rita and St. Joseph. The rural communities that were belonging to the new parish are: New Bridge, St. Joseph of the Roses, Espraiado Veloso, Francisco Brás, Maçaroca and Buritis. The St. Joseph’s Parish array church is installed provisionally in the “Father José Nunes Social Center” at St. Luke’s neighborhood in Santo Antonio do Monte. The St. Joseph’s Parish array church it will be built in the St. Joseph’s Neighborhood in place already determined nearby the State School Father Paul.

The political and administrative establishing of Santo Antonio do Monte has gone through several stages. The Provincial Law No. 693 of May 24, 1854, created the district of Santo Antonio do Monte, which was subordinate to the city of Formiga. On June 3, 1859, by Provincial Law No. 981, the district was elevated to the village. This law remained the same name of Santo Antonio do Monte and also broke of Formiga the lands that now constitute the territory of the new municipality. The installation in the village of Santo Antonio do Monte was made on July 29, 1862. Nearly three years later, the Provincial Law No. 1248 of November 17, 1865, gave extinct the municipality of Santo Antonio do Monte and it annexed its again to the territory of Formiga. That same law also stipulated that Santo Antonio do Monte would return to the status of mere district of Formiga. The abolition of the privileges of town by the General Assembly of the Province of Minas Gerais was due to disputes between the Liberals who were in power, and Conservatives, who were then in opposition. However, efforts to restore the village forums were immediate, and the provincial deputies Vicar Alexandrino Francisco da Silva, parish priest of Santo Antonio do Monte, and Antonio da Silva Canedo succeeded in restoring the town in 1871. Thus, the Provincial Law No. 1636 of September 13, 1870, raised again the city of Santo Antonio do Monte, dismembering him of Formiga. The same law stipulated that the headquarters would be in the district of Santo Antonio do Monte. Resettlement of the municipality was held on 21 October 1870. Some years later, the Provincial Law No. 2413 of November 5, 1877, created the district of Esteios and attached it to the village of Santo Antonio do Monte.

The Provincial Law No. 2158 of November 16, 1875, elevated the village to the condition of the city with the name of Santo Antonio do Monte. About ten years later, for reasons unknown today, the Provincial Law No. 3356 of 10 October 1885, changed the name of the town to Inhaúma (black bird in Tupi language). However, the new name imposed did not please the residents. Thus state law No. 260 of April 18, 1899, restored the old name namely Santo Antonio do Monte. The County of Inhaúma, which was created by decree No. 255 of November 28, 1890, became known as County of Santo Antonio do Monte by the same state law No 260 which restored the name of the city.

Santo Antonio do Monte was in territory belonging to the County of Rio das Mortes when it was founded in 18th century. The County of Rio das Mortes was based in Sao Joao Del Rey. The Law No. 134 of March 16, 1839, created the County of Rio Grande, comprising the municipalities of Tamanduá, Vila Nova de Oliveira and Formiga. The Law No. 464 of April 22, 1850, ruled that the municipalities of Tamanduá, Formiga and Piumhy formed to the 8th County of Rio Grande. The County of Pará was formed by Law No. 1391 of November 16, 1866, comprising the municipalities of Tamanduá, Formiga and Oliveira. The Law No. 1740 of 08th October 1870 created the 19th County of Rio Grande, formed by the municipalities of Formiga, Tamanduá and Piumhy. Two years later, in 1872, was created the County of Itapecerica, formed by the municipalities of Tamanduá and Santo Antonio do Monte.

Santo Antonio do Monte was elevated to the town category in June 3, 1859, when it was created the municipality of same name. So seems that this date should be considered the municipal date in fact. Although the town and county have been eliminated, with the subsequent restoration, should be considered the date of its creation as June 3, 1859, as contained in the provincial law No. 981. So is the suggestion to the municipal government to examine the possibility of establishing the date of June 3 as the holiday commemorating the establishment of the municipality of Santo Antonio do Monte.

The arrival of the railway into Santo Antonio do Monte occurred in the early twentieth century. In June 1915 the first locomotive whistled already within the city. The railway station was opened in 1916. For the city received a railway line of the railroad Oeste de Minas much political effort was needed at the time. In this sense, the greatest enthusiast of new and modern means of transportation was Amâncio Bernardes, who had been president of the Board of Aldermen of the municipality. Amâncio Bernardes was a great visionary and a progressive politician. He and other politicians in the region struggled to get it done a long detour on the route of the railway so that it passed by Santo Antonio do Monte. He believed the railroad would be a carrier for development of the city but, even more, he wanted transform Samonte in the biggest city in Midwest of Minas Gerais. The city was already relatively large by the standards of the time. To get an idea, the school he managed to build through the state government was inaugurated in 1917 with three hundred students. It’s a number raised to the standards of the time. This school took the name of its founder, and on its facade embossed writing the original name “Grupo Escolar Amâncio Bernardes” ( School Group Amâncio Bernardes). However, after the two steel plants deployed in Santo Antonio do Monte to have exploded, the economy has shifted to the manufacturing sector of fireworks and the city has not grown as much as the Colonel Amâncio Bernardes had dreamed.

The years have passed and the passenger transport by rail was deactivated. Nowadays the railroad that passes through the center of Santo Antonio do Monte is used only for freight transport. The railway crossing Santo Antonio do Monte was a great achievement in the beginning of the twentieth century. However, now in the 21st century became a problem for the city. The passage of long freight trains at short intervals, for twenty-four hours a day, it’s caused traffic troubles in the city center and in some passages in other neighborhoods. Furthermore, it causes also noise nuisance and accidents involving vehicles at level crossings. There is a project of the Ministry of Transport to remove the rail line from downtown to a location outside the urban perimeter.

The first highway paved with asphalt to Santo Antonio do Monte was inaugurated on January 22, 1968. This is the MG 164, a stretch of Santo Antonio do Monte to MG 050, passing through Pedra do Indaiá. The MG 164 has provided the connection from Santo Antonio do Monte to Belo Horizonte by paved highway.

The highway from Santo Antonio do Monte to Lagoa da Prata was paved in the second half of the 1980s. The stretch of MG 164 connecting Santo Antonio do Monte to Bom Despacho was paved in two stages. In the first stage in the late 90s, it was floored up to in a place called Pirulito (Lollipop) near to village of Chapada. The rest of the road to Bom Despacho has been paved in a second stage. This second phase was inaugurated in March 2006.

The manufacturing of fireworks in Santo Antonio do Monte started in the second half of the nineteenth century. The production was made handmade until the 1940s when the first factories were established and legally constituted. The brothers Joaquim Silva and Luís Mezêncio Silva (known as Brothers Macota) manufactured fireworks and homemade gunpowder in 1859. Then they sold their products through the region carrying them in carts and bullock carts. The initiative for the establishment of factories with industrial production is due to Conrado José do Nascimento. He founded the first industry of fireworks in Santo Antonio do Monte in 1945. Since then, many businesses have emerged, many of which were deactivated over time. A characteristic of these companies was always being strictly related to the family from generation to generation. The new millennium has brought new market values, forcing many companies to increase their production and seek to compete with the quality of fireworks imported. Currently there are about fifty industries pyrotechnics installed in Santo Antonio do Monte, in areas outside the urban perimeter. This concentration makes the city as well as the municipalities of their surroundings be the largest producer of fireworks in the western world.

The Centro Tecnológico em Pirotecnia (Tech Center on Pyrotechnics) was inaugurated in 2006. This tech center and a unit of SENAI – Serviço Nacional de Aprendizagem Industrial (National Service of Industrial Education) have been named in honor of the businessman Oscar José do Nascimento. This complex is maintained by SENAI and aimed at professional courses and conducting analysis of fireworks. Its construction resulted from the partnership of FIEMG – Federação das Indústrias do Estado de Minas Gerais (Federation of Industries of State of Minas Gerais) and SINDIEMG – Sindicato das Indústrias de Explosivos no Estado de Minas Gerais (Association of Manufacturers of Explosives in the State of Minas Gerais). The laboratory of this technology center is the only authorized in Brazil by the Brazilian Army to do the analysis of fireworks sold in the country, from both national and foreign origin. The tech center is located in Chiquinha Mother Neighborhood next to Lady of Fatima Neighborhood.

For nearly two centuries, the urban core of Santo Antonio do Monte was reduced to what now forms the center of town, i.e. the area of the outskirts of square of the main catholic church up to the location where is the railway station and is bounded by current layout of JK Avenue and Colonel Amâncio Bernardes Avenue. The Neighborhood Lady of Fatima was created in the 1950s. Around this same time there was already a good part of what is now the Neighborhood Dom Bosco. The formation of the Neighborhood Dom Bosco, as well as part of the Neighborhood Bela Vista, took place from the confines of the railway. In the late 1970s, it was created the part of the Neighborhood Bela Vista comprising the streets near the chapel of Cruz do Monte (Mount Cross). Also at that time it was created the Neighborhood St. Luke. The Neighborhood St. Joseph and the Neighborhood Monsignor Otaviano were created in the 1980s. Also from 1980 are the housing Sinhá Linhares and Flávio de Oliveira. The Neighborhood St. Gerard, initially with the predominance of artifacts cement industries, also has developed from the 1970s. The Neighborhood Chácara (Estate) had its inception in the early 1990s. Also by this time it was created a considerable expansion in the neighborhood of Dom Bosco comprising the underside of the highway to Lagoa da Prata. The launch of the Neighborhood Mangabeiras in the mid-1990s started the expansion of the city to eastward beyond the limits imposed by the railway line. The Housing Maria Angelica Castro and the Neighborhood Planalto (Plateau) also are in the 1990s. At the beginning of the first decade of the millennium was built Housing Wilmar de Oliveira and the housing Geraldo Luís de Castro was built shortly thereafter. The residential neighborhood Retiro do Lago (Lake Retreat) was also formed at that time. Although it was launched in the late 1980's, the Neighborhood Cidade Jardim (Garden City) today is sparsely populated.

Santo Antonio do Monte had a population of 3542 inhabitants in 1832. Today, nearly two hundred years later, a district such as St. Luke or the Dom Bosco has the same number of inhabitants. Census data from 1872 report that there were 1842 slaves in Santo Antonio do Monte.

The economy of Santo Antonio do Monte’s been linked to various activities over time. The production of coffee, sugar and cattle had periods of prosperity and decay, as the national economy. The production of sheep, pigs and horses also has had some prominence, as well as the production of poultry for slaughter. A curious fact was the wine production, wich has been brought by Italian immigrants in the early twentieth century. The Italian immigrants have made Santo Antonio do Monte the largest wine producer in State of Minas Gerais in the early twentieth century. From the mid-twentieth century, as already stated, the production of fireworks began to stand out and began to rely on agricultural activities. The petty trade of sales of perfumery and trousseau in home started in the 1990s. The vendors leaving weekly from Santo Antonio do Monte and they go to other states, especially Rio de Janeiro, where the goods are marketed. This new type of trade was responsible for the large and rapid economic development that took place in the city since the mid-1990s. The city’s trade quickly turned from appliances to food. The local trade was stagnant until that time. Major appliance stores and supermarkets have opened branches and new gas stations, new pharmacies, car dealerships, clothing stores and building materials have opened too. So, in a few years, the city's trade has grown like never before. The cause of this rapid development is due to itinerant trade of perfumery and trousseau which is has the feature of deconcentration income. The previous economic activities, especially production of fireworks and agricultural products, have the characteristic of being highly concentrated income in the hands of a few, that is, only the owners.

The evidence that the income from home street trading is well distributed there is the growth of the construction industry in Santo Antonio do Monte. However, residential houses of good quality have been and are being built in all neighborhoods, especially in neighborhoods previously regarded as non-nobles. Another proof is on the increase in the number of cars, which were previously limited access to industrial workers.

Electric lighting was inaugurated in Santo Antonio do Monte in 1917 at the initiative of Colonel Amâncio Bernardes, then the Mayor. The plant was constructed at the Cachoeira dos Borges (Borges Waterfall). A new plant was built at the Cachoeira do Diamante (Diamond Waterfall) some years later. In 1964, CEMIG – Companhia Energética de Minas Gerais (Energy Company of Minas Gerais) took the services of electricity supply for the city. The energy provided is brought to the city by the network originating from substation of Pedra do Indaiá. Nowadays it is necessary to improve the energy supply for the city because of its development.

The supply of piped drinking water in Santo Antonio do Monte was inaugurated on 12 October 1906 during the administration of Mayor Colonel José Luis Gonçalves Sobrinho. The deployment of the network of sewage collection was performed in 1945. COPASA – Companhia de Saneamento de Minas Gerais (Sanitation Company of Minas Gerais) took the services of supply of treated water in 1965. The services of sewage, however, remained under the responsibility of the municipality. COPASA renewed in 2004 with the municipal authorities to grant the supply of treated water to the city. In this renewal of the concession, the state company also took the services of collecting and treating sewage. Besides improvements in nets of treated water and sewage, COPASA has committed to build sewage treatment plants collected. However, to date, the work of building the treatment plant has not even begun.

The first newspaper in Santo Antonio do Monte, called “Inhaúma” (Black Bird), was founded in the second half of the nineteenth century by the Portuguese Bento José Dantas. Apparently, some years later the name was changed to “Aristarcho”, since the same Bento José Dantas was the editor of this newspaper in 1885. José Mendes Mourão founded a printing press in 1923. That same year he also founded the newspaper “Porta-Voz” (The Spokesman). The newspaper “A Pátria” (The Homeland) was founded in 1938 by Job Viegas. In the 1940s there was the newspaper “O Tempo” (The Time) and in the late 1950s, at exactly December 25, 1959, was founded “O Farol” (The Lighthouse). The parish bulletin “A Nossa Cidade” (Our Town) was founded by Father José Nunes on August 15, 1976. In the late 1980s Telinha de Castro founded the newspaper “Pirata Montense” (Pirate of Hill), which was circulated until 1991. Today the newspaper was reactivated in a virtual format and made available on the Internet. The newspaper “Gazeta Montense” (Gazette of Hill) was founded in 1998 with weekly circulation. Currently it has a circulation of 1,000 copies. The parish bulletin “Partilhando” (Sharing) began circulating in March 2005. Its first edition has brought the name “Informativo Paroquial” (Parish Newsletter). The second edition’s came with the name “Partilhando Com Os Fiéis” (Sharing With The Faithful) as put forward by the then seminarian Marcelo Ribeiro. Some months later, the name was shortened to “Partilhando” (Sharing). Currently, the only city newspapers whose circulation is permanent is the “Gazeta Montense” and the “Partilhando”.

The communication by telephone was installed in Santo Antonio do Monte in 1929. Initially, only a few farms had links with the city. In the urban area, few homes had a telephone line. The “Telefônica Santo Antonio do Monte Corporation” was created in 1959. This company operated until 1977, when TELEMIG – Telecomunicações de Minas Gerais (Telecommunication Company of Minas Gerais) acquired telephony services in the municipality.

Cellular telephony was introduced in Brazil in 1990. The extinct company TELEMIG Celular deployed mobile service in Santo Antonio do Monte in 1992. In subsequent years, other mobile operators have raised their towers for transmission and reception on the outskirts of town.

The Internet access service was inaugurated in Santo Antonio do Monte in 1999, through the provision of a subsidiary of X-Next, a firm from Divinopolis. From the end of 2002, the company Isimples Telecom acquired the full to provide Internet access services in the municipality. Initially, services were provided via the telephone network and a few years later, was provided via radio and via cable. The company has expanded and currently provides services in the area also in Pedra do Indaiá, in Itapecerica and Pium-hy. This company although it has partnerships with companies in Arcos, Dores do Indaiá and Campo Belo.

Radio Montense, with transmission on FM, began operating in 1988. Radio Samonte of community character, also broadcast on FM, began operating in 2007. However its reach is limited almost exclusively to the urban perimeter and around the city. Radio Montense, however, reaches a radius of more than 200 kilometers, getting cover more than 100 municipalities of Minas Gerais. Currently it operates with a power of 30.000W. Its transmitters are installed at 1100 meters altitude.

Santo Antonio do Monte currently has a well developed trade. The city has seven large supermarkets, two of them subsidiaries of large networks. There are some car dealerships in town. However mostly of dealerships are small. Pharmacies and optical properties exist in adequate numbers, as well as bakeries and snack bars. As for furniture stores, appliance and electronics, there are five large stores, three subsidiaries of large networks. A good indicator of trade is undoubtedly the number of gas stations, a total of seven, and also banks, which account for a total of six agencies. There are two bank branches of Banco CREDIMONTE-BANCOOB, a bank branch of Banco do Brasil, a bank branch of Caixa Econômica Federal, a bank branch of Banco Itaú and a bank branch of Banco Bradesco. There is also a bank branch of Banco Popular and two lottery outlets. According to IBGE data for the year 2006, Santo Antonio do Monte has 591 shops and 204 industrial establishments. The industries mostly are from fireworks and components used for their production. However, a considerable number of small shoe factories and also of female underwear. There is a large graphic company and three other medium-sized.

There is also the Instituto Regional da Saúde da Mulher (Regional Institute for Women's Health) maintained by the Foundation José Maria dos Mares Guia. This institute is installed in the buildings of the former College Eneida Leite de Oliveira. The headquarters of this school was built in the early 1980s in the then new Neighborhood Bela Vista. The school operated for a few years of that decade and was disabled. About ten years later, the buildings were used to host the facilities of the Instituto da Mulher (Institute for Women). This institute was the result of the project “Consórcio Intermunicipal de Saúde do Alto São Francisco” (Intermunicipal Health Consortium of High São Francisco River) which has emerged in the late 1990s. Currently, the institute is a reference to health in all cities of the region, being able to perform tests of high precision.

Every city is constantly evolving. Thus, it could not be different with Samonte. There is still much to do to get better the city, yet there are many services that the city needs. We still need to be deployed more industries that can further diversify the economy of the county and also generate more jobs.

Santo Antonio do Monte needs new businesses and major industries. Only large industries could generate many jobs and create favorable conditions for the growth of the city. The city needs to be installed large companies, for example, subsidiaries of multinational companies in areas of technology, steel or automobiles.

With regard to urban traffic, it is urgent removal of the railroad of downtown and the construction of ring road linking the three roads which currently pass through the downtown area. The problem of noise and inconvenience caused by trains and by heavy traffic certainly would be solved if these works are carried out.

Santo Antonio do Monte is a city of characteristically modern architecture. In the central area there are still some buildings from the early twentieth century. Although much rarer, it is still possible to find some buildings of late nineteenth century. Currently, the central area and neighborhoods Lady of Fatima and St. Luke are places where there are several tall buildings. Some have more than ten floors. However most of them has between five and ten floors. There are also many buildings of two and three floors in virtually every neighborhood in town. So, the traditional image that we have about small towns, which are made of nice houses with tiny windows opening onto the street carelessly, can hardly be associated with Samonte. There are still so many houses which, however, have bars on the windows or they remain forever closed.

Anyway, Santo Antonio do Monte is a pleasant city to live, where you can live in quiet neighborhoods and at the same time being close to the facilities modern and current. With HDI (Human Development Index) of 0.779, a value for the year 2000, the city has relatively good quality of life. However, this index is considered medium. Divinópolis has an index of 0.831; Arcos, 0.808; Bom Despacho, 0.799; Formiga, 0.793; Nova Serrana, 0.801; Luz, 0.801. All of these nearby cities have high levels, since they reflect better conditions in education, health and infrastructure. In addition, Brazil's HDI is 0.813, according to data for the year 2007. It is therefore urgent and necessary to improve the HDI of Santo Antonio do Monte, so that it exceeds 0.8 and thus the qualitative conditions of life in the city are appropriate and more dignified for its residents.

Nilson Antônio da Silva

To quote the content of this article, please use the following reference:

SILVA, Nilson Antônio da. História de Santo Antônio do Monte. Santo Antônio do Monte: RN TTESTT, 2010.

All rights reserved. This work is recorded in the National Library of Brazil (Biblioteca Nacional) under number 513213.

Collaborate with the record of the history of Santo Antonio do Monte sending your suggestions, information and possible fixes to the email below:

samonte1758@gmail.com

References

MARCONDES, Renato Leite. Estrutura da posse de cativos no Paraná e em Minas Gerais (1872-1875). XIV Encontro Nacional de Estudos Populacionais, ABEP, Caxambu-MG, September 20-24, 2004.

MARTINS, Tarcísio José. Quilombo do Ribeirão de Santo Antônio. Available at:
http://www.mgquilombo.com.br/site/Artigos/Reminiscencias-Quilombolas/Quilombo-do-Ribeirao-de-Santo-Antonio.html. Accessed: July 19, 2010.

MELO, Helena do Carmo Pereira de. Gazeta Montense. Ano XII, nº 567, 28 de Maio de 2010. Santo Antônio do Monte: Editora Gazeta Montense, 2010.

MORAES, Dilma. Santo Antônio do Monte: doces namoradas, políticos famosos. [Belo Horizonte]: Minas Gráfica Editora, 1983.

SANTOS, Elisângela Maria Melo. O trabalhador pirotécnico de Santo Antônio do Monte e seu convívio diário com o risco de acidente súbito. Belo Horizonte: Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais, 2007.

_______. Boletim da Secretaria de estado de transportes e obras públicas. Secretaria de Estado de Governo, 27/03/2006. Belo Horizonte, 2006.

_______. Consórcio Intermunicipal de Saúde. Instituto Polis – Boletim AA Nº 161-2000. São Paulo: 2000.

_______. Enciclopédia dos Municípios Brasileiros – Volume XXVII ano 1959.

_______. IBGE – Área territorial oficial – consulta por município. Available at:
http://www.ibge.gov.br/home/geociencias/areaterritorial/area.php?nome=Santo+Ant%F4nio+do+Monte&codigo=&submit.x=34&submit.y=10. Accessed: July 13, 2010.

_______. Institucional. Available at:
http://www.radiomontensefm.com.br/. Accessed: June 11, 2010.

_______. Library of Congress Online Catalog - Famílias que construíram a história de Santo Antônio do Monte. Available at:
http://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon. cgi?DB=local&BBID=12745162&v3=1 and available at: http://lccn.loc.gov/2001299669. Accessed: July 13, 2010.

_______. Mais seis cidades renovam concessões. Available at:
http://www.copasa.com.br/cgi/cgilua.exe/sys/start.htm?infoid=268&sid=129&tpl=printerview. Accessed: June 11, 2010.

_______. Página informativa virtual do Sindicato das Indústrias de Explosivos no Estado de Minas Gerais.

_______. Porta-Voz. Nº 33 e 34 – Ano I – Santo Antônio do Monte, 19 de Fevereiro de 1928.

_______. Santo Antônio do Monte se torna oficialmente Centro de Avaliação Técnica do Exército Brasileiro. Available at:
http://www.fiemg.org.br/Default.aspx?tabid =3738. Accessed: July 08, 2010.

_______. Tabela do Índice de Desenvolvimento Humano 1991-2000. Available at:
http://www.pnud.org.br/atlas/tabelas/index.php. Accessed: July 13, 2010.

quinta-feira, 12 de fevereiro de 2009

Foto

Vista aérea de Santo Antônio do Monte no início do século XXI

Foto

Vista aérea de Santo Antônio do Monte nos anos 70

Foto

Atual Praça Monsenhor Otaviano em meados da década de 1920.

quarta-feira, 11 de fevereiro de 2009

Monsenhor Otaviano

Otaviano José de Araújo nasceu em 5 de Junho de 1850 em Itapecerica, cidade do centro-oeste de Minas Gerais. Seus pais, Honório José de Araújo e Firmina de Góis e Lara, puseram-no ainda criança para estudar no Colégio Tessan, ainda em Itapecerica. Em seguida, ele foi enviado para Mariana para estudar no Seminário Menor. Ao terminar os estudos em Mariana, ele foi para o Colégio do Caraça em 1870. Naquele famoso colégio mineiro ele foi ordenado sacerdote pelo bispo Dom Viçoso em 1874. Após a ordenação, foi nomeado vigário da freguesia de Desterro, atual Marilândia, distrito de Itapecerica. Três anos depois, ele foi enviado para Santo Antônio do Monte, aonde assumiu a função de pároco.

O padre Otaviano chegou a Santo Antônio do Monte no dia 16 de outubro de 1877 e, então, assumiu a direção da paróquia em substituição do vigário Alexandrino, que se encontrava doente e já estava em idade avançada. O vigário Alexandrino havia sido deputado da província de Minas de Gerais no final da década de 1860.

Nas últimas décadas do século XIX, o padre Otaviano foi o responsável pelas obras de construção da nova igreja matriz de Santo Antônio do Monte, tendo então contratado o pintor italiano Angelo Pagnaco para fazer as pinturas internas do templo.

Em 1907, Dom Silvério Gomes Pimenta, então bispo de Mariana, conseguiu da Santa Sé as honras de Camareiro Secreto de Sua Santidade, o Papa Pio X, para o sacerdote Otaviano que, a partir de então, passou a ser chamado pelo título de monsenhor. Em um de seus escritos, Dom Silvério afirma a respeito do amigo Otaviano que “é sacerdote virtuoso e cheio de zelo como se vê do cuidado que tem com a instrução cristã dos meninos.”

Durante o tempo do Império, o monsenhor esteve ligado ao partido conservador e, com a implantação da república, passou a militar no partido civilista. Durante toda sua vida, o Monsenhor Otaviano acompanhava de perto a evolução social e política do país.

O monsenhor presenciou o desenvolvimento do centro-oeste mineiro, tendo vivido na época em que foram construídas as ferrovias e quando muitas estradas foram abertas interligando as pequenas cidades da região. Em 1900, ele celebrou a primeira missa na capela em torno da qual se desenvolveria a cidade de Lagoa da Prata.

O padre Otaviano esteve à frente da paróquia de Santo Antônio do Monte durante cinqüenta anos e meio, até quando faleceu em 6 de fevereiro de 1928. Ele costumava dizer ao povo: “Comungai muitas vezes e achareis força para combater vossas paixões, para abater vosso orgulho, para humilhar vossa ambição, para abafar vossos ressentimentos, para acalmar vossas cóleras e impaciências.”

Em 1950 foi publicado em Belo Horizonte o livro “Monsenhor Otaviano José de Araújo: esbôço biográfico”, de autoria de José Geraldo de Araújo.

Referências bibliográficas:
Jornal Porta-Voz, nº 33 e 34, ano 1, 19 de Fevereiro de 1928
MORAES, Dilma. Santo Antônio do Monte: doces namoradas, políticos famosos. [Belo Horizonte]: Minas Gráfica Editora, 1983. 225p.

NUNES, José. História da Paróquia de Santo Antonio do Monte, Minas Gerais. Santo Antônio do Monte: [s.n.], 1994. 82 p
Nilson Antônio da Silva