Alvorada

Alvorada is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in the south of Brazil, adjacent to the capital of the state, Porto Alegre. The city is also known as "The Capital of Solidarity." Alvorada is primarily a bedroom community with most workers commuting to adjacent cities such as Porto Alegre to work. Its name means "the awakening" or "the sunrise". Although improvements have been made, the city suffers from heavy crime and squatting. The largest of these slums or favelas is the dangerous Umbu subdivision. Drug and arms trafficking are punctuated by periodic violence. Alvorada is bordered by the municipalities of Porto Alegre by west, Viamão by south, Gravataí by east and Cachoeirinha by north.