Londrina

Londrina is a city in southern Brazil that was founded towards 1920s by immigrants from Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais who arrived in Londrina towards 1904 and 1908. It was named after Londres, London's name in Portuguese, from an English company called "Plantaions LTDA", which had a great interest in Londrina's fertile soils. George Craig Smith, a young paulist, was one of the English people who contributed to the development of the city. Since then, Londrina has not stopped growing and developing its industrial, economic and educational area. Londrina is the second largest city in the state of Paraná. The city has a population of 447,065 (estimation IBGE, 2000), 662,885 (metropolitan area, estimation IBGE, 2000). It is a regional centre and is made up of commerce, services, agro-industries, and universities, including the State University of Londrina, UEL, which is famous for its quality of teaching and attracts students from all over the country.

Londrina is the birthplace of Brazilian supermodel Michelle Alves.

Due to the large number of migrants German, Japanese and other minority languages are widely spoken in the city.