The weapon of Volta Redonda
It doesn’t always have to be Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo. I think somebody should also put the spotlight on the lesser known places, and I thought I would start with the easiest one: Volta Redonda. Why it is the easiest one? Well, I live there.
Volta Redonda is about to celebrate its 58th birthday, so it is a fairly “new” city. Until 1954 it was one of the districts of Barra Mansa, which today it has outgrown by almost 100.000 inhabitants.
The city has a population of about 260.000, comparable with Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, but according to Brazilian standards, it is a medium-sized city.
The City of Steel (Cidade do Aço)
The reason why the city was able to grow so explosively in a relatively short period of time, is that in 1941, it was selected as the place to install South America’s biggest steel plant, (Companhia siderúrgica Nacional – CSN) which marked the start of Brazil’s industrialization.
The construction of the huge plant lured thousands of people from all over the country to Volta Redonda, and once it was completed, the plant needed thousands of workers. CSN also gave Volta Redonda its nickname: “Cidade do Aço”.
For many years, foreign (mostly US) engineers and other workers lived and worked in Volta Redonda, giving some neighborhoods a unique, non-Brazilian look. Today, CSN is the biggest employer of the wide area. On the downside, it is also the biggest source of pollution.
The flag of Volta Redonda
The name “Volta Redonda”, which literally means “Round turn” comes from the big curve in the Paraíba do Sul river that divides the city. It is by no means a touristic place, but it has low crime statistics, and it’s location in the region known as the “Vale do Café” (coffee valley), surrounded by several national parks, mountain ranges and places of stunning natural beauty, make it a great place to start exploring the state of Rio de Janeiro, and at the same time staying close to civilization and yet far from more “risky” – and hugely more expensive – cities like Rio or São Paulo.
There are a few nice hotels and pousadas, but don’t expect a Hilton. Most foreign visitors coming to Volta Redonda are business people who are related or connected to the Steel plant. There are several nice restaurants in and around the city centre, as well as three malls, where you can find all you need, but it’s not like in São Paulo.
Some interesting places and activities in and around Volta Redonda:
- Motorcycle tours (Mirantes Mototravel)
- The city zoo
- Paintball
- Aldeia das aguas (huge water park about 25km outside the city)
- International Karting track
- Itatiaia National Park
- Serra da Bocaina National Park
- Ilha Grande
- Santa Rita de Jacutinga (Terra das Cachoeiras)
- Fazenda Santa Clara
- Conservatória (Capital da Seresta)
- Penedo (Finnish colony near Itatiaia)
I’m not going to get into a lot more details about history or economics, there’s enough info on that on other sites like Wikipedia, I just want give an idea of what the city looks like.
The following pictures are all taken on a sunny winter’s day around 9.30 am, in and around the commercial center, the neighborhood known as “Vila”.
No slides are available.
Do you know Volta Redonda? How? Leave a comment and let me know… Thanks.
Other posts you might like:
- Bananal – One of Brazil’s hidden historical cities
- Morretes: Southern colonial charm and Rainforest
- Vassouras: City of the 19th century coffee barons
- Diamantina: Crown jewel of the Estrada Real
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hey I just happened to find your website looking up info on Volta Redonda . I as hoping you could tell me a little more about volta redonda? like the price of living and maybe the people and the life style there? Maybe you can recommend a few other sites that talk about volta a little more? Anyways I plan to visit a friend from there for a few months and would like to know more about the place thanks for any info.
Hey Joe, you will probably not find a lot of info about VR in English. It is not really a touristy city. What else do you need to know that is not in the post?
Raf
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Hello – I am a vegan Thai American married to a midwesterner from Illinois living in eastern Iowa. We are possibly moving to Volta Redonda in the next six months for his job promotion. I was also looking to do a graduate program in business management but was going to put it on hold until I read Lisa’s post.
Lisa – What universities are in the area have programs for business management? I know that there are schools in Sao Paulo but it is so far away. Any information will help tremendously!
Raf – thank you for sharing your views on the city, I am a bit concerned about finding food or ingredients to make vegan food in Volta Redonda. What about asian grocery stores? Please shed some light on this topic.
I hope to get to meet you all one day once we are in RD.
Thanks,
O
Hi Oun,
Apparently still lots of people are coming to Volta Redonda
As for grocery shopping, I think the best place (if you don’t mind spending a little more money) is a place called “Tutti Frutti” (see this wikimap: http://wikimapia.org/#lat=-22.5176017&lon=-44.1073072&z=17&l=9&m=b). I don’t know of any Asian ones, but I’m pretty sure you’ll find most of what you need at Tutti Fruttis…
We do almost all our shopping in “Supermarket Floresta” in Atterado
According to my wife, there are about 5 colleges in Volta Redonda, and they all have a business administration program. Apparently it is one of the most common courses.
Here are a few links:
General: http://www.mundovestibular.com.br/categories/Universidades/Rio-de-Janeiro/VOLTA-REDONDA/ or http://www.apontador.com.br/em/rj_volta-redonda/faculdades-e-universidades
UniFoa: http://www.unifoa.edu.br/portal_ensino/vantag/financ_financ_fies.asp
UGB: http://www.ugb.edu.br/web/graduacao.html
UFF: http://www.puvr.uff.br/
I hope this helps, but if you need more info, send me an email and I can give you my wife’s contact info so you can communicate directly with her (her English is very good) …
Grtz
Raf
Hi Raf –
Thank you so much for the info, I feel much better now about moving. I will have to learn portuguese very quickly and then see about going to school to get my MBA. I will take you up on the offer with getting in touch with your wife and yourself, especially once we get there.
I still have more questions about school and being a vegan in Brazil
Oun
Que saudades de Volta Redonda, sou de la e moro em Los Angeles, nao vejo o dia de voltar pra minha terrinha, quanto tempo. Comer um churrasco, tomar um copo do suco da cana de acucar ou da agua de coco. Fiquei muito alegre de ler sobre a minha querida cidade, obrigada por ter dedicado o seu tempo escrevendo e mostrando as fotos, valeu mesmo.
Oi Myriam,
Estou muito feliz que você gostou…
Quanto tempo mora já nos EUA? Pareçe que muitos Brasileiros(as) sonham de deixar o Brasil, mas uma vez no outro pais, a saudade coméça a bater
Thank you for the reactions carol and Lisa. I’m glad to see that my post gets some attention from people who know Volta Redonda well…
I have only been living here less than 3 years, and I must admit that in the beginning I wanted nothing more than moving ASAP to a less “industrial” place, but with time I’m kind of starting to get attached to this city.
If any of you know other interesting links that I could add to the list (no politics or religion…), I would be glad to include them…
Lisa, maybe it would be nice to organize a “Gringo churrasco” once a year for all the foreigners in Volta Redonda, what do you think?
hi everyone, Im brazilian american, born in Volta Redonda. I married a green bay Packer fan from Wisconsin and we live in madison-WI. I would love to get to know all of you.
Beijos pra todos,
Carol
Small world!! I’m an American and married a Brazilian from Volta Redonda and have been living here in VR for the past 23 years!! AMO BRASIL!!! It would be a pleasure to meet you both!
Raf, GREAT report!! I too think our small town very, very special and have seen the city improve as each year has passed. Neto is a great mayor and the city thrives with his management!
Erin, you should consider getting your masters here in Brasil!! I got two degrees in Education here and it really helped my fluency in Portuguese. We have excellent Federal universities and you would not have to pay a penny since they are government instituitions. Yet, even if you went to a private university, the cost is incredibly reasonable in comparrison to the US universities!! Although it was a struggle to pay for my university, we have NO SCHOOL DEBT and my children are now studying and they are able to pay their own way through university without debt. My daughter is studying her post grad at PUC in Rio, a university which is considered on the level of any other international university. So, you should consider coming down earlier!!!
LIFE IS GOOD HERE!! And the PEOPLE ARE TREMENDOUS!! Wouldn’t you agree???
Abraços!
Lisa
I sure do want to comment!! I am doing research for a paper and I stumbled upon your page! I am so thrilled to hear about Volta Redonda. I am an American married to a crazy brazilian from volta Redonda! Great to hear about Volta, and to see the pics from the city center! Funny thing is we love moto tambem!!! So congratulations on living your dream! I am jealous! I am planning on finishing my masters and moving down there too! Will find you on Facebook too! Can’t wait to hear more about you adventures! Even better would be to go for a ride thru volta! By the way, do you rent bikes to Americans?? Just kidding! Hope all is well!
Tchau!
Erin de Paula
Wow, what a coincidence… I ended up here because my wife is from Volta Redonda… Maybe your husband knows her. What “bairro” is his family from?
If you like bikes, there sure is a lot of exploring to do around here…
Take care…
Raf