at a glance

Substantial development of the region only took place in the 1960s, during which time a company called Companhia Imobiliária Santa Cruz, or 'Holy Cross Real Estate Company', built what would be called Jockey Club Guanabara.

There were heavy governmental restrictions in place on horse racing at the time which led to the club's demise and subsequent acquisition by the Associação Atlética Portuguese, or 'Portuguese Athletic Association', a football club which built a soccer stadium on the land.

The stadium was called Estádio de Futebol Luso-Brazilian, or 'Portuguese-Brazilian Football Stadium', and the prestige it earned for the region was the impetus for the future naming of the neighborhood - 'Portuguesa' meaning portugueses when given the female inflection.