Qualla: Três Corações

Três Corações: Introduction

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit MisterSanderson, CC BY-SA 3.0. Edson Arantes do Nascimento was born here on October 23, 1940 - in a town of Three Hearts named for a chapel Tomé Martins da Costa had started building on the banks of the Verde River sometime after 1760. The chapel honored the Santíssimos Corações de Jesus, Maria, e José - the Most Holy Hearts of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Nobody imagined a small-town boy born almost two centuries later would carry the town's name across the world. But Pelé grew up to become the greatest footballer of his century, and Três Corações grew up to become, forever, the birthplace of the King. The street where the Nascimento family lived is now named Rua Edson Arantes do Nascimento - his full birth name, given back to the place that first gave it to him.

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Image: MisterSanderson | CC BY-SA 3.0

Três Corações: Three Versions of the Name

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Diegobiavati, CC BY-SA 4.0. The official history credits the chapel - Três Corações for the three holy hearts. But Mineiros like a good story, and two other origin theories circulate. One says the Verde River winds around the town in a pattern that traces three interlinked hearts when seen from a certain an...

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Image: Diegobiavati | CC BY-SA 4.0

Três Corações: The Emperor and the Railroad

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Luan S.R., CC BY-SA 3.0. In 1884, Emperor Pedro II of Brazil and the imperial family came to Três Corações do Rio Verde to inaugurate the Minas & Rio railroad, connecting the town to Cruzeiro in São Paulo province. Three months after the royal visit, the town was emancipated and officially became a city....

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Image: Luan S.R. | CC BY-SA 3.0

Três Corações: Pelé, Before He Was Pelé

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Luan S.R., CC BY 3.0. Edson Arantes do Nascimento was the son of Dondinho, a journeyman footballer, and Celeste, his mother. He left Três Corações as a boy when his father's career took the family to Bauru in São Paulo state, and it was there he was discovered and signed by Santos. But Três Corações h...

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Image: Luan S.R. | CC BY 3.0

Três Corações: A President for Two Days

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Diegobiavati, CC BY-SA 4.0. Três Corações also produced Carlos Luz, the nineteenth president of Brazil - and so far the shortest-serving. In November 1955, Luz held the presidential office for just three days before being ousted in a military coup. He had stepped into the role as acting president while Pres...

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Image: Diegobiavati | CC BY-SA 4.0

Três Corações: A Strategic Middle

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Juliohenriquefonseca, CC BY-SA 4.0. Três Corações sits close to the circumcenter of Brazil's three largest metropolitan areas: Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo. From the town, Belo Horizonte is 287 kilometers away, São Paulo 295, and Rio de Janeiro 360. That geographic accident turned Três Corações int...

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Image: Juliohenriquefonseca | CC BY-SA 4.0

Três Corações: The Economics of Three Hearts

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Diegobiavati, CC BY-SA 4.0. Cattle raising - both dairy and beef - drives a significant part of the local economy, alongside coffee, corn, potatoes, beans, and rice. The region's signature mineral resource is São Tomé stone, a quartzite used in civil construction that takes its name from neighboring São Tom...

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Image: Diegobiavati | CC BY-SA 4.0