Paulista is a municipality in Pernambuco, Brazil, with a population of 334,376 as of 2020. It has the highest Human Development Index (HDI) of the Recife metropolitan area. It is the birthplace of footballer Rivaldo and is also famous for its beaches, including Maria Farinha with the giant Veneza water park. It was incorporated as a city in 1935.
In 1535 Paulista was a village, with two parishes, Paratibe and Maranguape, and formed part of the then village of Olinda. In the mid-16th century, the lands of Paratibe were donated by Coelho to Jerônimo de Albuquerque, services rendered to the Dubuquerque colony. Jerônimo de Albuquerque, after a while, ceded the lands of Paratibe to Gonçalo Mendes Leitão, at the time of marrying his daughter. Later, with the death of Mendes Leitão, his heirs sold them as properties, dividing from then on into Paratibe de Cima and Paratibe de Baixo (Upper Paratibe and Lower Paratibe). In 1856, the parish of Maranguape was acquired by João Fernandes Vieira and at the end of this century, in the year 1689, the two parishes, Paratibe and Maranguape, were sold to the pioneer of São Paulo, Manoel Álvares de Morais Navarro, known as "Paulista", giving rise to the current name of the city.
The later centuries were characterized by both political and economic growth for the city. Paulista was the second district of Olinda until 1935, which became an independent municipality and is currently formed by the districts of Paratibe, Arthur Lundgren I, Arthur Lundgren II, Jardim Paulista Baixo, Jardim Paulista Alto, Conceição, Janga, Pau Amarelo, Nobre, Maranguape I, Maranguape II, Jardim Maranguape, Alameda Paulista, Maria Farinha, Engenho Maranguape and Mirueira.
