at a glance
the lagoon was originally known as the piraguá, meaning cove of the fish ('pirá' fish and 'kűá' cove), and sacopenapă (way of the herons) by the native tamoios, who first inhabited the area. by the sixteenth century, farmers had begun to inhabit the land, due to the suitability of its soil for planting sugar cane. they also embanked most of the lakes and lagoons to allow the construction of buildings and plantations. what was once a sugarcane farm is now a wealthy, plush neighborhood. with the establishment of the colonizers, the region's name would change as the lands surrounding changed hands.
