Minas Gerais - is one of the 26 states of Brazil, the second most populous and fourth largest by area in the federation. The capital is the city of Belo Horizonte, near the center of the state.

Minas Gerais is in the west of the southeastern subdivision of Brazil, which also contains the states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo. It borders on Bahia and Goiás (north), Mato Grosso do Sul (far west), the states of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro (south) and the state of Espírito Santo (east). It also shares a short boundary with the Brazilian Federal District. Minas Gerais is situated between 14º13'58' and 22º54'00' ' south latitude and between 39º51'32' ' and 51º02'35' ' longitude west of Greenwich.

Culture
Minas Gerais may be called the Profound Brazil by analogy with the France profonde. It has a distinctly more native flavour than cosmopolitan São Paulo, a more traditional slant than flashy Rio de Janeiro, and is more Portuguese than the South and São Paulo with their great influx of Italians and other Central Europeans, the North with its native Indians, or the Northeast with its heavy Afro-Brazilian influence.

The people are considered reserved, prudent, relatively silent to the point of melancholy, but welcoming and family-focused. It is one of the most religious states, with a large proportion of staunch Roman Catholics and a burgeoning Evangelical and neo-Pentecostal population, with pockets of African religions. Kardecist Spiritism is also professed by a significant portion of the population, partly due to the influence of Chico Xavier, the main spiritual icon of Brazil, who lived in Minas Gerais all his life.

Minas Gerais is also known nationally for its cuisine. The cultural basis of its cuisine is the small farmhouses, and many of the dishes are prepared using locally produced vegetables and meats, especially chicken and pork. Traditional cooking is done using coal- or wood-fired ovens and cast iron pans, making for a particularly tasty flavor; some restaurant chains have adopted these techniques and made this type of food popular in other parts of the country.

Many of the appetizers of the local cuisine use corn or cassava (known there as mandioca) flour instead of wheat, as the latter didn't adapt well to the local weather. Corn flour is the basis for a wide variety of cakes and appetizers. But the best-known dish from Minas Gerais is "pão de queijo", recently introduced internationally as "Brazilian cheese rolls"; it's a small baked roll made with cheese and cassava flour that can be served hot as an appetizer or for breakfast.

Minas Gerais is often recognised abroad as the state where the footballer Pelé was born and raised.

Many famous Brazilian writers were born in Minas Gerais: Carlos Drummond de Andrade, Fernando Sabino and João Guimarães Rosa.

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