Rio Grande do Sul (Portuguese pronunciation: [!

i w"# $%&d'du" s uw] ( listen);

[2]
lit. "Great Southern
River") is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fourth highest Human
Development Index (HDI) in the country, and the third and last in the Brazilian South Region,
with by far the highest standard of living.
[3]
Founded by Manuel Seplveda, who used the
fictitious name or pseudonym Jos Marcelino de Figueiredo (fictitious name), to hide their
identity, was the founder of Porto Alegre and the first governor of the Region. In this state is
located the southernmost city in the country, Chu, on the border with Uruguay. In the region
of Bento Gonalvesand Caxias do Sul, the largest wine producing center in Brazil, the
attraction is Italian cuisine. Besides the European influence, the gachos, or inhabitants of
Rio Grande do Sul, strongly cultivate the traditions of thePampas region of the border
with Uruguay and Argentina such as drinking mate (known as chimarro drunk in special
gourd cups), eating the typical barbecue, known as churrasco, and the traditional clothes are
the bombachas (baggy trousers), boots and large hats. Although the majority of the
population dresses non-traditionally, there is
[citation needed][according to whom?]
a widespread value for
tradition and culture, which renders the image of "cultural zealots" sometimes attributed
[by
whom?]
to the gachos.