Images of Rio Grande

The city of Rio Grande is in the souteast tip of the state of Rio Grande do Sul. It is home to the second largest port in Brazil, behind Santos. It has just been given an enormous investment by the government to expand the superport. With the speculated tripling of the port, the housing market in the city has boomed, although in the very lowest class of dwellings. The city contrasts a rich tradition of colonial and eclectic Portuguese architecture with the gritty industrialized superport development. Here are images from the downtown area, the housing projects in the outskirts, and the summer beach town next door.