Janauba

Janaúba lies in the valley of the Gorutuba River in northern Minas Gerais. Its name refers to a milky plant also known as silk cotton. Along the river lived the Gorutubanos, a community with Indigenous and African ancestry, including people who had escaped enslavement. Their settlements in the fertile valley date back to the late eighteenth century, long before the town of Janaúba itself grew up beside the river.