Roque Gonzales, Rio Grande do Sul

Roque Gonzales is a municipality located in the northwestern region of the southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, not very far from Argentina which is located to the west, across the Uruguay River. Roque Gonzales was named after the jesuit missionary and saint Roque González de Santa Cruz.

The municipality would be partially flooded by the proposed Garabí Dam.

Primarily German-Brazilians or Deutschbrasilianer from the old colonized areas of the state of Rio Grande do Sul settled Roque Gonzales. The original German settlements whence they came were often referred to as Altkolonie because they are located on the eastern part of the state where Germans first put down roots, starting in 1824 (i.e. Estrela, Montenegro, Lajeado, etc.).

East Pomeranian has been spoken in Esquina Emanuel since the early days of its foundation because it was settled by immigrants of Pomeranian descent. Dona Otília was settled primarily by Lutherans. Typically most of the German speakers in the municipality and in the wider region spoke Riograndenser Hunsrückisch and identified with the Roman Catholic tradition and customs. In 2012 the state chamber of deputies voted unanimously in favor of recognizing this Germanic dialect an official historical culture good to be preserved.

The city of Roque Gonzales is home of writer Nelson Hoffmann who wrote, among other works, Eu vivo só ternuras which was translated into Italian as Io vivo di tenerezze by Marco Scalabrino. The book is about the relationship of a grandfather, the author, with his first grandson. It has received positive reviews and has been classified by some as a book for all ages.

...
Wikipedia