Saquarema was “discovered” by the world in the 1970’s, when surfers from the capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro discovered the interior in search of the best waves. The place, at the time, was a fishing village with difficult access. Ricardo Bocão, Daniel Friedman, Pepê Lopes, and other strong names from the surf scene would camp there for days.

The mystique of the place became popular. Itaúna with long lefts, with a different water pressure than the best known locations in the country up to that point.

With the hippie wave of the 70’s, the discovery of a place with high waves, and inspiration from the Woodstock music festival, the “Sound, Surf & Sun” festival took place at Itaúna Beach in 1976. There were three days of concerts featuring Rita Lee, Raul Seixas and other artists, and a surf championship (Saquarema Surf Festival), which took place along with the music.

This vibe around Saquarema has shaped what the city is today. An important factor in this equation is the waves, obviously, since the geographical position favors the quality of the waves.

According to reports, the event happened with a 10 ft (equivalent to 3 m) sea. Surfers did not wear a lanyard, which was developed outside the country the previous year, and few still had the accessory.

The first world championship in the city was in 1997, valid for the WQS (“second division” at the time), in Itaúna. The great champion of the event was the Cabofriense Victor Ribas, who made history two years later on the World Circuit with a 3rd place in the final ranking.

In 2002, the city hosted the first world level WCT event, also in Itaúna, won by Australian Taj Burrow. Then, Itaúna would host three more stages of the World Cup: in 2017, won by Adriano de Souza, 2015 world champion; in 2018, with Filipe Toledo lifting the trophy, a feat he repeated in 2019.

The information is from Hardcore.