CAMPINA GRANDE

city, eastern Paraba state, northeastern Brazil, in the Serra do Bacamarte, at 1,804 ft (550 m) above sea level. Located on the site of an Ari Indian village, it was originally called Porta do Serto (Gateway to the Desert). Made a village in 1766, it was elevated to city status in 1864 and renamed Campina Grande (Great Plain). It is an important commercial and industrial centre in the northeastern interior. The city is a distribution centre for cotton, sisal, feijo (beans), cassava, and leather products. Factories manufacture textiles, metallurgical products, plastics, and pharmaceuticals. The city is the seat of a regional university and has mineral and agricultural research stations and an art museum. Goods are transported by road, rail, river, and air to Joo Pessoa (the state capital) to the east, Recife, and other communities in Paraba and neighbouring Pernambuco and Rio Grande do Norte states. Pop. (1980 prelim.) 222,229.