Cascavel

{{Short description|Municipality in Paraná, Brazil}} {{About||the snake|Crotalus durissus{{!}}''Crotalus durissus''|the armored car|EE-9 Cascavel{{!}}EE-9 ''Cascavel''|the place in Ceará|Cascavel, Ceará}} {{Multiple issues| {{more footnotes needed|date=April 2012}} {{expand Portuguese|topic=geo|Cascavel (Paraná)|date=April 2012}} }} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2014}} {{Infobox settlement | name = Cascavel | official_name = Municipality of Cascavel | settlement_type = [[Municipalities of Brazil|Municipality]] | native_name =  | nicknames = Capital of the West Mercosur Metropolis | image_skyline = {{multiple image|total_width=300px|perrow=1/2/2/1|border=infobox |image1 = Cascavel - Vista bairro Country.jpg |image2 = Foto da Praça do Migrante tirada a noite com Drone por Fabio Covaleski.jpg |image3 = Praça Itália, Cascavel(PR) 03.jpg |image4 = Monumento Imigração Japonesa 03.jpg |image5 = Igreja do Lago Municipal de Cascavel.jpg |image6 = Panorama de Cascavel.jpg }} | image_flag = Flag_of_Cascavel.jpg | flag_size = | image_seal = | seal_size = | image_shield = Brasao cascavel.jpg | shield_size = | image_map = Parana Municip Cascavel.svg | mapsize = 250px | map_caption = Location in Paraná | image_map1 = | mapsize1 = | map_caption1 = | pushpin_map = Brazil | pushpin_label_position = above | pushpin_mapsize = 250 | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Brazil | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_type1 = [[Regions of Brazil|Region]] | subdivision_type2 = [[States of Brazil|State]] | subdivision_name = {{flag|Brazil}} | subdivision_name1 = [[South Region, Brazil|South]] | subdivision_name2 = {{flag|Paraná}} | leader_title = Mayor | leader_name = Renato Silva (PL) Liberal Party | government_footnotes = | government_type = | leader_title1 =  | leader_name1 = | established_title = Founding | established_date = March 28, 1928 | established_title2 = Emancipation | established_date2 = November 14, 1951 | established_title3 =  | established_date3 = | unit_pref =  | area_footnotes = | area_total_km2 = 2101.074 | area_land_km2 =  | area_water_km2 = | area_total_sq_mi = | area_land_sq_mi = | area_water_sq_mi = | area_water_percent = | area_urban_km2 = | area_urban_sq_mi = | area_metro_km2 = 10562.37 | area_metro_sq_mi = | population_as_of = 2025 | population_footnotes = <ref name="IBGE_Cascavel">{{cite web |url=https://cidades.ibge.gov.br/brasil/pr/cascavel/panorama |title=Cascavel |author=Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE)}}</ref> | population_total = 368,195 | population_density_km2 = auto | population_metro = 552097 | population_density_metro_km2 = auto | population_urban = | population_density_urban_km2 = | utc_offset = -3 | coordinates = {{coord|24|57|20|S|53|27|19|W|region:BR|display=inline,title}} | elevation_footnotes =  | elevation_m = 781 | elevation_ft = | postal_code_type = Postal code | postal_code = 85816-000 | area_code = (+55) 45 | blank_name = '''[[Human Development Index|HDI]]''' (2010) | blank_info = 0.782 – high<ref>{{Cite web |title=Archived copy |url=http://www.pnud.org.br/arquivos/ranking-idhm-2010.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140708233352/http://www.pnud.org.br/arquivos/ranking-idhm-2010.pdf |archive-date=July 8, 2014 |access-date=August 1, 2013 |publisher=[[United Nations Development Programme]] (UNDP) }}</ref> | website = {{URL|cascavel.pr.gov.br}} }}

'''Cascavel''' is a city in the state of [[Paraná (state)|Paraná]] in Brazil. It is the fifth most populous city in the state with 368,195 inhabitants, according to IBGE 2025 estimate.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-28 |title=População em Cascavel (PR) é de 348.051 pessoas, aponta o Censo do IBGE |url=https://g1.globo.com/pr/oeste-sudoeste/noticia/2023/06/28/populacao-em-cascavel-pr-e-de-348051-pessoas-aponta-o-censo-do-ibge.ghtml |access-date=2023-07-24 |website=G1 |language=pt-br}}</ref><ref name="IBGE_Cascavel" /> The distance to [[Curitiba]], the state capital, is 491 kilometers by freeway.<ref name="Indicadores_da_Prefeitura">{{cite web | url = http://www.cascavel.pr.gov.br/indicadores.php | title = Indicadores do Portal do Município de Cascavel | year = 2013 | access-date = May 12, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130505084031/http://www.cascavel.pr.gov.br/indicadores.php | archive-date = May 5, 2013 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

Relatively new and with a privileged topography, Cascavel's development was planned, which gives it wide streets and well distributed neighborhoods. With an area of 2,100.831 km2, it is considered a strategic hub of [[Mercosul]]. It is the main city in the [[Cascavel Metropolitan Area]].

The city is on a [[plateau]] 781 meters above sea level. It is 504 km west of the state capital of Curitiba and 605 km west of the [[sea port]] of [[Paranaguá]], 140 km from the three borders ([[Paraguay]], [[Argentina]] and Brazil) at 24° 58' South, 53° 26' West.

== Toponymy == The name of the city means [[Crotalus durissus|rattlesnake]] in Portuguese; it arises from a variation of the classical Latin "cascabus", meaning "bubbling water boiling". According to legend, a group of [[settlers]] camped one night in the region and they were woken by the sound of a rattle; later they realized they set up the camp next to a rattlesnake.

== History == === Cycle of "erva mate" === The [[Kaingang people|Caingangue]] natives inhabited western Paraná, which was occupied by the Spaniards in 1557, when they founded the [[Ciudad del Real Guayrá]], in the current city of Terra Roxa.

A new occupation started in 1730 with troops (''tropeirismo'' in Portuguese), but the settlement of the current city began in the late 1910s by settlers of mixed racial ethnicity (''[[caboclos]]'' (people of indigenous and European descent)), and descendants of Slavic immigrants, at the peak of the cycle of ''[[yerba mate|erva mate]]''.

The village began to form on March 28, 1928, when José Silverio de Oliveira, dubbed "Nho Jeca", bought a glebe from the settler Jose Antonio Elias, in the historical area called Encruzilhada dos Gomes, and which is currently the Cascavel Velho neighborhood. It was at a junction of several trails open by ''ervateiros'' (cultivators of ''erva mate''), [[Droving|drovers]] and military, where de Oliveira set up his warehouse. His entrepreneurial spirit was key to the arrival of new people, who brought ideas and investments.

From the 1930s and 1940s, thousands of southern settlers, mostly descendants of Poles, Germans, Italians, Ukrainians and caboclos migrating from coffee regions, began logging, farming and raising pigs in the village, which became a district in 1938.

Notably, the locality was already included in military maps from 1924, and the village was made official by the town hall of [[Foz do Iguaçu]] in 1936, with the name of Cascavel. The prelate of that city, Monsignor William Maria Thiletzek, renamed it "Aparecida dos Portos" (a Brazilian name for Mary, The Mother of Jesus), a name that did not prosper amongst the inhabitants.

=== Cycle of wood === In the 1930s, with the cycle of ''erva mate'' at a close, the surrounding area entered into the so-called "cycle of wood", which attracted a large number of families from [[Santa Catarina (state)|Santa Catarina]] and [[Rio Grande do Sul]]. In particular, there were many Polish, German and Italian settlers, who formed the basis of the municipal population.

As the native forests were depleted, the land became available to agriculture sector, which underpins the present-day economy.

In 1938, Cascavel became an administrative district.

=== Emancipation === The municipality of Cascavel was emancipated on November 14, 1951, by state law n° 790, separating it from [[Foz do Iguaçu]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legislacao.pr.gov.br/legislacao/pesquisarAto.do?action=exibir&codAto=16495&indice=1&totalRegistros=1 |title=Exibir Ato |publisher=Legislacao.pr.gov.br |date=1980-01-01 |accessdate=2022-08-26}}</ref> For decades there was a discussion about whether this would be the proper date, as the installation of the first municipal government occurred only on December 14, 1952. However, in 2010, with the law n° 5.689, the discussion was put to rest.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cascavel.pr.gov.br/noticia.php?id=19340|title=Portal do Município de Cascavel - Prefeito Edgar Bueno faz lançamento da marca|website=www.cascavel.pr.gov.br|access-date=November 20, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110918085243/http://www.cascavel.pr.gov.br/noticia.php?id=19340|archive-date=September 18, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Development === [[File:Praça_Migrante_Galafassi.jpg|thumb|right|Praça do Migrante]] As the cycle of timber closed in the late 1970s, industrialization began along with increased agricultural activity and a rising service industry. In less than six decades, Cascavel went from a rest stop for travelers and trappers, to the largest municipality in western Paraná and one of the largest economic centers in southern Brazil.

=== List of mayors === {| class="wikitable" |- ! Name ! Terms |- |José Neves Formighieri |December 14, 1952, to December 14, 1956 |- |Helberto Edwino Schwarz |December 14, 1956, to December 14, 1960 |- |Octacílio Mion |December 14, 1960, to December 14, 1964 |- |Odilon Correia Reinhardt |December 14, 1964, to January 31, 1969 |- |Octacílio Mion |January 31, 1969, to January 31, 1973 |- |Pedro Muffato |January 31, 1973, to January 31, 1977 |- |Jacy Miguel Scanagatta |February 1, 1977, to January 31, 1983 |- |Fidelcino Tolentino |February 1, 1983, to December 31, 1988 |- |Salazar Barreiros |January 1, 1989, to December 31, 1992 |- |Fidelcino Tolentino |January 1, 1993 to December 31, 1996 |- |Salazar Barreiros |January 1, 1997, to December 31, 2000 |- |Edgar Bueno |January 1, 2001, to December 31, 2004 |- |Lísias Tomé |January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2008 |- |Edgar Bueno |January 1, 2009, to December 31, 2016 |- |Leonaldo Paranhos |January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2024 |- |Renato Silva | January 1, 2025 to Current affairs |}

Source: ''Jornal Hoje''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jhoje.com.br/pdf/especial_cascavel_55anos.pdf |title=Jornal Hoje – Especial Cascavel 55 anos |access-date=November 27, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202231145/http://www.jhoje.com.br/pdf/especial_cascavel_55anos.pdf |archive-date=December 2, 2013 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

==Geography== ===Climate=== Cascavel is a humid city, with a [[humid subtropical climate]] (''Cfa'', according to the [[Köppen climate classification]]). The annual average temperature is 21 °C (70 °F), with a maximum of 28° (85 °F). Annual average precipitation is 1965 mm (77.362 inches).

{{Weather box|width=auto |metric first=y |single line=y |collapsed = Y |location = Cascavel, elevation {{convert|760|m|ft|abbr=on}}, (1976–2005 normals, extremes 1973–1998) |Jan record high C = 34.4 |Feb record high C = 34.1 |Mar record high C = 33.9 |Apr record high C = 32.2 |May record high C = 31.0 |Jun record high C = 28.0 |Jul record high C = 28.9 |Aug record high C = 33.2 |Sep record high C = 35.4 |Oct record high C = 34.9 |Nov record high C = 36.6 |Dec record high C = 36.4 |Jan record low C = 9.8 |Feb record low C = 9.2 |Mar record low C = 6.7 |Apr record low C = 3.6 |May record low C = -0.4 |Jun record low C = -0.8 |Jul record low C = -4.2 |Aug record low C = -1.9 |Sep record low C = 0.2 |Oct record low C = 4.0 |Nov record low C = 7.2 |Dec record low C = 10.8 |Jan high C = 28.6 |Feb high C = 28.3 |Mar high C = 28.2 |Apr high C = 25.8 |May high C = 22.4 |Jun high C = 20.4 |Jul high C = 20.9 |Aug high C = 22.7 |Sep high C = 24.0 |Oct high C = 26.2 |Nov high C = 27.8 |Dec high C = 28.3 | year high C = |Jan mean C = 23.1 |Feb mean C = 22.7 |Mar mean C = 22.2 |Apr mean C = 19.9 |May mean C = 17.0 |Jun mean C = 15.1 |Jul mean C = 15.2 |Aug mean C = 16.7 |Sep mean C = 18.0 |Oct mean C = 20.2 |Nov mean C = 21.8 |Dec mean C = 22.8 | year mean C = |Jan low C = 19.1 |Feb low C = 19.0 |Mar low C = 18.3 |Apr low C = 16.0 |May low C = 13.3 |Jun low C = 11.5 |Jul low C = 11.3 |Aug low C = 12.6 |Sep low C = 13.6 |Oct low C = 15.8 |Nov low C = 17.1 |Dec low C = 18.6 | year low C = |precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation mm = 191.9 |Feb precipitation mm = 177.6 |Mar precipitation mm = 141.5 |Apr precipitation mm = 167.2 |May precipitation mm = 192.3 |Jun precipitation mm = 131.1 |Jul precipitation mm = 110.2 |Aug precipitation mm = 107.1 |Sep precipitation mm = 159.0 |Oct precipitation mm = 224.9 |Nov precipitation mm = 181.7 |Dec precipitation mm = 187.5 |year precipitation mm = | unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm | Jan precipitation days = 14 | Feb precipitation days = 13 | Mar precipitation days = 12 | Apr precipitation days = 10 | May precipitation days = 10 | Jun precipitation days = 10 | Jul precipitation days = 8 | Aug precipitation days = 8 | Sep precipitation days = 10 | Oct precipitation days = 12 | Nov precipitation days = 11 | Dec precipitation days = 12 | year precipitation days = | Jan humidity = 77 | Feb humidity = 79 | Mar humidity = 75 | Apr humidity = 74 | May humidity = 76 | Jun humidity = 77 | Jul humidity = 73 | Aug humidity = 69 | Sep humidity = 69 | Oct humidity = 70 | Nov humidity = 68 | Dec humidity = 73 | year humidity = |Jan sun = 224.3 |Feb sun = 193.7 |Mar sun = 216.0 |Apr sun = 202.3 |May sun = 196.5 |Jun sun = 183.9 |Jul sun = 209.7 |Aug sun = 202.8 |Sep sun = 179.0 |Oct sun = 203.7 |Nov sun = 223.9 |Dec sun = 226.4 |year sun = | source 1 = [[Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária]] (EMBRAPA)<ref name=WREGE>{{cite web | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240114130030/https://ainfo.cnptia.embrapa.br/digital/bitstream/item/143521/1/Atlas-climatico-da-regiao-Sul-do-Brasil.pdf | archive-date = 14 January 2024 | url = https://ainfo.cnptia.embrapa.br/digital/bitstream/item/143521/1/Atlas-climatico-da-regiao-Sul-do-Brasil.pdf | title = Atlas climático da Região Sul do Brasil: Estados do Paraná, Santa Catarina e Rio Grande do Sul. | publisher= EMBRAPA | access-date = 25 May 2024}}</ref> | source 2 = IDR-Paraná (precipitation days and sun 1973–1998)<ref name=IDR-Paraná>{{cite web | url = https://www.idrparana.pr.gov.br/system/files/publico/agrometeorologia/medias-historicas/Cascavel.pdf | title = Medias_Historicas - Cascavel | publisher= IDR-Paraná | access-date = 24 May 2024}}</ref> }}

===Demographics=== According to the IBGE, the population of Cascavel is formed of the following ethnicities<ref>[http://www.ibge.gov.br/cidadesat/link.php?codmun=410480 IBGE Cidades - Cascavel]</ref> {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |- style="background:#096;" colspan="2" !Ethnicity !Percentage |- |White |70,15% |- |Mixed |26,25% |- |Black |2,59% |- |Asian |0,88% |- |Indigenous |0,27% |}

===Evolution of the population=== The city has experienced significant population growth since its foundation, especially during the first decades. On the other hand, several municipalities were ultimately removed from Cascavel, which slightly reduced its demographic expansion. {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |- style="background:#009909;" colspan="3" !Year !Population !Percent change |- |1950 |404 | |- |1960 |39,598 |9.701% |- |1970 |89,921 |127,08% |- |1980 |163,459 |81,78% |- |1991 |192,990 |18,07% |- |2000 |245,369 |27,14% |- |2010 |286,172 |16,63% |- |2022 |348,051 |21,6% |}

=== Cascavel Metropolitan Region === Cascavel is the headquarters of the Cascavel Metropolitan Region, an area undergoing [[conurbation]] that comprises 23 [[municipalities]] in the Western Mesoregion and has a total population of 552,097. It was approved by the Paraná [[Legislative Assembly of Paraná|State Legislative Assembly]] on December 16, 2014, through bill 402/2012 and sanctioned by Governor [[Beto Richa]] on January 14, 2015, thus meeting a long-standing local demand.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sobre a RM de Cascavel |url=https://www.amep.pr.gov.br/Pagina/Sobre-RM-de-Cascavel |access-date=2025-09-18 |website=Agência de Assuntos Metropolitanos do Paraná |language=pt-br}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Tudo sobre a cidade Cascavel |url=https://www.encontracascavel.com.br/cascavel/ |access-date=2025-09-18 |website=www.encontracascavel.com.br}}</ref>

==Economy== [[File:Centralpark cascavel.jpg|thumb|right|230px|Economic center of Cascavel]] Cascavel is responsible for 26% of the total production of cereals in the state of Paraná. The main crops are soybeans, wheat, corn, rice, cotton and beans. It is also a big producer of poultry, swine and cattle.

Participation in the municipal GDP: :Livestock raising: 5.95% :Industry: 16.63% :Services: 77.42%

The main industries are food processing, chemicals, metallurgy, and beverages.

It is the terminus of a metre-gauge railway line that goes to the port of [[Paranaguá]].

==Transportation==

In a strategic position within a big road junction, served by seven intercity roads, being four interstates, making it a mandatory passage for those traveling by road to the [[Iguazu Falls]] in [[Foz do Iguaçu]], and to the neighboring countries, [[Argentina]] and [[Paraguay]]. Also for those heading from South to [[Mato Grosso]] and [[Mato Grosso do Sul]], Northwest to [[Santa Catarina (state)|Santa Catarina]], [[Rio Grande do Sul]] and [[Uruguay]] or West to the state capital, Curitiba, the beaches and the seaports in the coastline.

The city is served by the [[Cascavel Airport|Regional West Airport]], previously named Coronel Adalberto Mendes da Silva Airport. The airport has been named in 2022 and 2023, the best regional airport in Brazil.

== Universities == Cascavel is a very important college center. Besides a state university, in recent years the city became an important student hub centre, with an increasing number of private universities starting their activities in the city.<ref>{{cite web |title=Universitários ganham novo espaço para eventos |url=http://www.cascavel.pr.gov.br/ |website=Portal do Município de Cascavel |access-date=7 June 2018}}</ref>

=== List of universities === * [[Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná]] * [[Universidade Paranaense]] * [[Federal Institute of Paraná]] - Cascavel campus

==Sport== The city is home to the [[Autódromo Internacional de Cascavel|Autódromo Internacional de Cascavel - Zilmar Beux]], racing track hosting among others the [[Copa Truck]], [[Stock Car Brasil]], [[Campeonato Brasileiro de Turismo]], and the [[Mercedes-Benz Challenge]].

The city is home to one of the top [[futsal]] clubs, [[Cascavel Futsal Clube]], being a two-time [[Libertadores Futsal|Futsal Libertadores Cup]] winner.

The local [[association football]] teams are [[FC Cascavel]] and [[Cascavel Clube Recreativo]], in the past there was also [[Cascavel Esporte Clube]]. The home of all the teams is the [[Estádio Olímpico Regional Arnaldo Busatto]].

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[http://www.cascavel.pr.gov.br/ Cascavel official website] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20050222130043/http://www.citybrazil.com.br/pr/cascavel/turismo.htm Tourist points of Cascavel] {{in lang|pt}}

[[Category:Cascavel| ]] [[Category:Populated places established in 1928]] [[Category:Municipalities in Paraná (state)]]