The State of Maranhão, located between the Northern and Northeastern regions of Brazil, offers different climate patterns and different types of vegetation: the amazon forest in the North-western region; the "Cerrado" in the Mid and Southern regions; Semi-arid zones in the North-eastern part of the State.
With 217 municipalities, distributed across a 331,983.293 km2 area, Maranhão is slightly larger than Italy and slightly smaller than Germany. Its coast is the second largest in Brazil, with more than 650 kilometres of extension, losing only for the coast of the State of Bahia.
São Luís, Capital of the State, located in the isle of similar name, is the only capital of Brazil which has not been founded by the Portuguese, but rather by the French, in 1612.
The city of São Luís currently shelters more than 3500 historical large buildings under the National Historical Patrimony trust, 1100 of which have been acknowledged by UNESCO as Cultural World Heritage. Because of these buildings, which together form the largest Portuguese civil origin architectonic complex in Latin America of the 18th and 19th Centuries, São Luís is known as the City of Tiles and Two-storey Buildings.
Different cultural expressions exist in Maranhão, the "Bumba-Meu-Boi" being, unquestionably, the most remarkable of all. The plot tells the story of Pai Francisco who tries to satisfy the desire of his pregnant wife, Catirina, to eat the tongue of the most beautiful ox of their master's farm; Pai Francisco steals the Ox and cuts its tongue, the Ox agonizes; Chico is captured and taken before his Master; he confesses his madness and, threatened of death, he invokes the protection of Saint John, who interferes and saves the Ox. The master decides to offer a party in honour of St. John and to commemorate the return of his preferred ox: it is Party of Bumba-Meu-Boi, characterized by 3 different styles, which in June crowds the city of São Luís.
Maranhão has many other cultural expressions, among which the "Tambor de Crioula" [Creole Drum], the Cacuriá etc. São Luís is also known as "the Brazilian Jamaica" or "the Brazilian capital of the reggae", the Jamaican rhythm that arrived in town in the 70's.
There are many other interesting spots in Maranhão, among which, the "Parque Nacional dos Lençóis Maranhenses", in a 155 hectare area, a true natural paradise formed by dunes, fresh water lagoons, etc. The park surrounds the cities of Humberto de Campos, Primeira Cruz, Santo Amaro, where the movie "Casa de Areia" [The House of Sand], was shot in 2005, and Barreirinhas, the latter being considered the park portal, for gathering the best structure for visitors of the "Lençóis Maranhenses".
The city of Alcântara, 18 kilometres far from São Luís, by the São Marcos bay and that has for some time been the richest city in Maranhão, in the 18th and 19th Centuries, has an architectonic complex trusted by the National Historical Patrimony and until now shelters a base where rockets are launched from, in view of its privileged geographic conditions, as it is located close to the Ecuador line.
