It was once a French territory.
The name Natal is in reference to the date the city was founded on: December 25, 1599, i.e., Christmas day, or “Natal” in Portuguese.
During the Dutch invasion in the XVII century, the city was known as “New Amsterdam”.
It has been considered one of the four most strategic places in the world.
It served as a US military base during the II World War.
It was the first city to receive certain commercial items, such as chewing gum, jeans, Coca-Cola and Ray-Ban sunglasses.
It is considered to be among the cities with the purest air in the Americas. (INPE/Nasa);
It is also known as the City of Sun and the Space City of Brazil.
It has the largest collection of Dune Buggies in the country.
It was the home of Brazil’s greatest folklorist of all time: Câmara Cascudo.
It has the second largest urban park in Brazil: Parque das Dunas.
It has one of the largest hotel bed offerings per capita in the country.
It was one of 12 World Cup host cities in 2014.
Those born in Natal are known as “Natalenses”
Those born in the state of Rio Grande do Norte are either known as Potiguares (in the Tupi-Guarani language it means “shrimp eaters”), Norteriograndense or Papa-Jerimum (literal translation in English “Potato-Squash”, given the large quantity of vegetables they consume).
Natal, where being happy is the best deal you could make
