00:00The eyes of the world are on Belem, a gateway city to the Brazilian Amazon playing host to what has been dubbed the Forest Cop Climate Conference starting 10th November.
00:11The city of 1.4 million got its name from Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus Christ.
00:17In Portuguese, it translates as Belem.
00:21Under a law promulgated on the 4th of November by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva,
00:27it will be the symbolic capital of the country for the duration of the conference,
00:32which is expected to gather some 50,000 delegates from around the world from November 10th to 21st.
00:39Here's what you need to know about Belem.
00:47Akai, a so-called super fruit derived from a palm tree, has become trendy globally in recent years
00:54and is reputed to hold energizing and antioxidant properties.
00:59In Belem, it is a staple with just about every meal.
01:03Resembling a large blueberry, the fruit is harvested in the Amazon rainforest that encircles the city,
01:09tons of it unloaded every day at a dock near the popular Vero Peso market, a major tourist attraction.
01:17In restaurants, crushed Akai in the form of a thick purple sauce with an earthy, somewhat tart taste,
01:24is served as a side with many typical dishes.
01:27It is a favorite with piraruku, an Amazonian freshwater fish that can grow up to 3 meters long.
01:34Belem has faced logistical difficulties, mainly in hotel room shortages,
01:42in hosting the 30th COP to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
01:47Yet every October, it hosts a religious ceremony that gathers hundreds of thousands of Catholic devotees,
01:54most of whom are from Belem or nearby.
01:57This year, the Syrio de Nazare, recognized as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO,
02:03set a record with 2.6 million attendees.
02:06The festivities honor Our Lady of Nazareth, the patron saint of Belem, nicknamed the Queen of the Amazon by locals.
02:14Her image is ubiquitous in the city, where religious references and imagery abound.
02:19Arriving in Belem by plane, one is struck by the emerald green forest growth surrounding a vast riverine metropolis.
02:30Paradoxically, less than half of the city's inhabitants live on tree-lined streets,
02:35only 45.5 percent, according to Brazil's IBGE Statistics Institute.
02:41The national average is 66 percent.
02:44Scientists have pointed to a growing trend of higher-than-normal urban warming in the city,
02:49already hot and humid, due to the shortage of heat-absorbing greenery and high asphalt coverage.
02:59More than half the population of Belem, 57.1 percent, lives in poor and densely populated neighborhoods known as favelas.
03:08This is the highest rate among Brazilian metropolises.
03:12Belem's most beloved star is Fafa de Belem, one of several female singers to have put the otherwise little-known city on Brazil's cultural map.
03:24The state of Para, of which Belem is the capital, is also the birthplace of Karimbo,
03:29an Afro-Indigenous music genre also recognized by UNESCO.
03:33Music
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