Varginha

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Varginha
Municipality
Municipality of Varginha
Flag Seal
City location in Minas Gerais
Varginha
Coordinates: 21°33′06″S 45°25′48″W / 21.55167°S 45.43000°W / -21.55167; -45.43000
Country	Brazil
Region	Southeast
State	Minas Gerais
Government
• Mayor	Verdi Lúcio Melo (Avante)
Area [1]
• Total	395.647 km2 (152.760 sq mi)
Elevation	980 m (3,220 ft)
Population  (2020)[2]
• Total	136,602
• Density	314.7/km2 (815/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−3 (BRT)
HDI (2010)	0.778 – high[3]
Website	www.varginha.mg.gov.br

Varginha is a municipality in southwest Minas Gerais state, Brazil. Varginha stands out as one of the major centers of commerce and coffee production in Brazil and the world. The city is a center for export of coffee draining most of the production of the south of Minas Gerais, making the grain trade with several countries. The city is equidistant from the three largest metropolitan areas in Brazil (Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo). The city is close to Rodovia Fernão Dias. The city is served by Maj. Brig. Trompowsky Airport (IATA: VAG, ICAO: SBVG).

Varginha achieved moderate fame in UFO circles due to the so-called Varginha UFO incident in 1996, in which two extraterrestrial beings were allegedly spotted by locals and later captured by the Brazilian Army, along with the local police and fire department. After this episode, the city began to invest in "UFO tourism". Today there are bus stops with the shape of spaceships and a water tower downtown also in the shape of a spaceship. In August 2004, UFO researchers from all over Brazil came together at the UFO Congress of Varginha, organized with the support of the City Hall.^{[citation needed]}