at a glance

paquetá is an island situated in the north east of guanabara bay, itis made up of the island of paquetá and a number of smaller islands, which are in its vicinity. it wasas recent as 1975, when the guanabara bay administrative region merged with rio de janeiro, that the paquetá island became an official neighborhood of the city.

the name of paquetá island  (ilha de paquetá) is derived from a tupi word meaning 'many pacas'. a paca is a member of the genus cuniculus of ground-dwelling, herbivorous rodents in south and central america. they are large rodents with dots and stripes on their sides, short ears, and barely visible tails.

curiously, the smithsonian tropical research institute in panama has studied the possibilities of developing the paca as a viable high-priced food supply for the tropics.