São João de Meriti

São João de Meriti
Municipality
Municipality of São João de Meriti
Church of Saint John the Baptist
Flag Seal
Nickname:  Formigueiro das Américas ("Americas' Anthill")
Location of São João de Meriti
São João de Meriti
Coordinates: 22°48′14″S 43°22′19″W
Country	Brazil
Region	Southeast
State	Rio de Janeiro
City Established	December 8, 1954
Government
• Mayor	João Ferreira Neto (PL)
• Demonym	meritiense
Area
• Total	34.838 km2 (13.451 sq mi)
Elevation	19 m (62 ft)
Population  (2022)
• Total	440,962
• Density	13,000/km2 (33,000/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−3 (BRT)

São João de Meriti (Portuguese pronunciation: [sɐ̃w ʒuˈɐ̃w dʒi meɾiˈtʃi, - miɾ-]) is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Its historical name is São João do Rio Meriti. Its population was 440,962 inhabitants in 2022. It's located in the region of Baixada Fluminense, having 34.996 km² (13.451 square miles).

The city is known as "Americas' Anthill", because its population density is one of the highest in the continent (13,185/km² or 34,815/sq mi).

History

The place we know today as São João de Meriti, cut by the rivers Sarapuí, Meriti and Pavuna, was known before as Freguesia de Meriti. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Meriti had many farms and chapels, being an important producer of corn, cassava, beans and sugar.

In 1833, the São João de Meriti village incorporated the Maxabomba village, now City of Nova Iguaçú. In 1947, São João de Meriti was elevated to the status of municipality.

It is considered a commuter town.

It has some commercial centers such as its downtown, Vilar dos Teles (ex-capital of jeans), Coelho da Rocha, São Mateus and Shopping Grande Rio mall.

Many poor districts surround these commercial centers and others don't even have proper sanitation, like Jardim Paraíso, close to Vilar dos Teles. Some districts like Vila Rosali are populated by middle class.

Recently, the city has become an important cultural centre, being home to IPAHB and SESC. São João de Meriti is the hometown of the writer Lasana Lukata, volleyball player André Nascimento, actor Paulinho Gogó and the young André Mercury, nationally known for his performance on the Brazilian reality show Ídolos, when he sang his own song Casa da Colina (House on the Hill, in English), probably inspired by the homonym film. Meriti was also the hometown of João Cândido, the Black Admiral, one of the most prominent fighters in the defense of black people's rights. The footballer Bira was born here as well.

Territorial organization

São João de Meriti is administratively divided into 21 bairros (neighborhoods) and 3 distritos (districts).

Bairros
Agostinho Porto
Centro
Coelho da Rocha
Éden
Engenheiro Belford
Grande Rio
Jardim Meriti
Jardim Metrópole
Jardim Sumaré
Parque Alian
Parque Analândia
Parque Araruama
Parque Novo Rio
Parque Tietê
São Mateus
Tomazinho
Venda Velha
Vila Norma
Vila Rosali
Vilar dos Teles
Vilar Tiradentes

Distritos
Coelho da Rocha
São João de Meriti
São Mateus