Maracanaú

Maracanaú is a municipality in the state of Ceará, in northeastern Brazil. Its name comes from the Tupi language and refers to the lagoons and river where maracanã macaws gather; the settlement was first called Santo Antônio do Pitaguary and took its present name in 1890. The land was home to the Pitaguary, Jaçanaú and other indigenous groups, and the railway that arrived in 1875 gave the area its first major boost. In the 1970s it was chosen to host the Industrial District of Fortaleza, and in 1983 it won its independence from Maranguape. The 2022 census counted 234,509 residents in a municipality of about 106.6 square kilometres.