© CWJF Group. All Rights Reserved.
Juiz de Fora is a city marked by its pioneering spirit.
Its origins are linked to the settlement that emerged on the banks of the "Caminho Novo", one of the royal roads that emerged in the 18th century, opened around 1700 by explorer Garcia Rodrigues Paes with the purpose of facilitating the transport of gold from Minas Gerais, more precisely, from the old Vila Rica (today the city of Ouro Preto) to Rio de Janeiro.
In 1836, Henrique Guilherme Fernando Halfeld, an engineer of German origin who had already faced Napoleon Bonaparte`s armies in the Battle of Waterloo, was given the task by the Empire of Brazil to open a variant of the "Caminho Novo", starting from Arraial de Santo Antônio do Paraibuna, in Juiz de Fora. He is credited with founding the city. At the end of the century, Juiz de Fora was the Brazilian city that most developed and used energy produced in the first hydroelectric plant in Latin America.
In 1888, the city was connected to Rio de Janeiro by a paved highway and the Central do Brasil Railway.
The city of Juiz de Fora was appropriately nicknamed the "Minas Gerais Manchester" and its anthem says: "Hail to the Princess of Minas!"
Just a few hours from some of the most important tourist attractions in the Southeast Region, the city of Juiz de Fora is included in the itineraries of the historic cities of São João Del Rey and Ouro Preto.
Located in the center of the axis that runs from the city of Angra dos Reis to the city of Ouro Preto, the city is also very close to the cities of the "Circuito das Águas". The city of Juiz de Fora is less than two hours from Rio de Janeiro, the main gateway for tourists to Brazil.
The old Bernardo Mascarenhas Factory, from the last century, was one of the points that made Juiz de Fora known as the Mineira Manchester. Today, restored, it is an important cultural space in the city, for exhibitions, video screenings, theater and art workshops.
The memory of the city and the region is in the Mariano Procópio Museum, which is one of the three main museums in the country, due to the volume and importance of its collection, and is the only one with European characteristics in the entire state of Minas Gerais. The museum is also a leisure area with the enchanting beauty of its park.
The city of Juiz de Fora also has the Murilo Mendes Study Center, a tribute to the poet who was born in this city. The poet`s visual arts collection, which includes works by Picasso, Portinari and Max Ernst, among other great names in contemporary painting, was transferred from Portugal to the Center and opened in 1996.
Ecotourism and adventure tourism are found in several places in the Juiz de Fora region. Horseback riding, motocross, mountain biking and jeep tours are some of the sports practiced in the city, with adventure and nature as essential elements.
The nightlife of Juiz de Fora is full of bars, where young people are a strong presence. The city`s bohemian tradition is maintained in each of these places, which are always very busy. Cultural life is intense. The city has cinemas and theaters that present major shows in the major centers and even host national premieres.
The Cine Teatro Central deserves special mention and is among the most important theaters in the state of Minas Gerais. Admired by the artists who performed there, the theater was acquired by the Federal University of Juiz de Fora and is managed in partnership with the City Hall.
The installation of the Mercedes Benz do Brasil factory in the city was the harbinger of a new dawn of development at the end of this millennium.
In addition to all these attractions, Juiz de Fora has a sophisticated and complete commercial area. All the infrastructure is ready to receive tourists and businesspeople. Investing in this area is a fundamental decision for the resumption of development in the region.
The CWJF Group emerged in the 1980s with the ideas of an excellent telegraphist, our dear friend Júlio (PY4AG), who with his usual cordiality taught those interested how to use Morse code.
The number of his students grew and CW became common practice among radio amateurs in Juiz de Fora.
However, one of these radio amateurs stood out for the ease with which he learned to receive and transmit CW in just a few classes. It was the radio amateur Paulo (PY4EM).
A conversation at work between them gave Júlio and Paulo the idea of forming a CW Group in the city, initially only with local radio amateurs.
In the meantime, as the idea was taking shape, two other radio amateurs joined them to start a group, Guimarães (PY4CY) and Alvaro (PY4RU - SK), now a silent key.
In order not to waste time, Paulo drafted the Group`s two diplomas and established the conditions for obtaining them.
Finally, a first meeting was called for May 31, 1985, the date on which the city`s anniversary is celebrated.
At the end of this first day, the CW Group of Juiz de Fora (GRUPO CWJF) was formed, with Júlio (PY4AG - SK) as the first President and another group of 17 radio amateurs as Members, all residents of the city.
At the beginning of 1993, the Manchester Mineira Competition was created and in May of the same year our first competition was held for all of Brazil, obtaining excellent results in its first year, which gave us the courage to continue.
Some changes to the statute had to be made to allow radio amateurs from other states and countries to participate as Members of the group.
We are the first CW Group in Brazil to hold a national contest with the participation of at least one radio amateur from each state in Brazil (there are 26 states plus the Federal District), an achievement that occurred in 1994 and was achieved again in 1995.
For 4 consecutive years (1993 - 1996), with the contest being held only at the Brazilian level, we surpassed all previous national records (CW), a remarkable feat that remains with the CWJF GROUP to this day (2025).
In 1997, after receiving many letters and emails from Radio Amateurs in South America, we decided to expand our contest to the entire South American continent, thus obtaining excellent participation rates from neighboring countries.
Currently, we have over 1,300 radio amateurs affiliated with the CWJF GROUP, who are located in 126 different countries on 6 continents. This is a great honor for all of us on the Board.
In 2011, the Manchester Mineira All America CW Contest was expanded to all six (6) continents, with the new name: CQMM DX Contest.
The CQMM DX Contest is held annually, on the 3rd weekend of April.
© CWJF Group. All Rights Reserved.