In the early 20th century, the area of present-day Nova Odessa was classified as an uninhabited land suitable for farming. On May 24, 1905, the Brazilian government founded Nova Odessa as a "Núcleo Colonial". The first settlers to arrive in the area were immigrants from Ukraine, but, not adapting to agriculture, most of them soon abandoned the colony and moved to larger Brazilian cities. In late 1905, only a few Ukrainian families had remained in the nucleus. Determined to consolidate the colony, the Brazilian government sent João Gutmann to Riga, capital of Latvia, with the goal of attracting farmers to the colony. In 1906, the place received the first settlers from Latvia, that were the responsible for the consolidation of the colony. Later, other Brazilian immigration agents were sent to Latvia and succeeded in attracting more families.
Culture
The settlement came amid great sacrifices and material deprivation. The first settlers arrived in an environment largely wild, and the Brazilian government offered little help. Just to avoid starvation required a lot of work. In this adverse context, the inhabitants did not have much free time they could use to devote to cultural activities, except for: the folkloric, the most prominent being the religious festivity; and the domestic leisure, such as paintings, games and songs. As the economic situation improved, so did the intensity of cultural activities. The situation today is very different from the initial one. The city maintains or supports directly in several ways a wide range of departments, programs, groups and cultural institutions. Those include the Municipal Public Library —that has a section of books in the Latvian language. Although the city later received many people from other ethnicities, the Latvian Culture is still very noticeable and there are plans for the creation of a Center of Latvian Culture there.
Economy
The economy is based on industry, mainly textiles. The city's GDP went from R$373 million in 1999 to R$1.6 billion in 2009. With its per capita value reaching R$32,862 —double the national average.
Climate
The city has a highland tropical climate, semi-humid with dry winters.
