CUIABA: In Cuiaba, they like to say there are two seasons: winter and hell.
That's not the kind of weather descriptor likely to draw hordes of visitors to this agricultural boom town.
Brazil's warmest state capital. The place endures temperatures in excess of 45 degrees C (113 F) in summer, also known as "hell."
But the World Cup soccer tournament now playing out in the Cuiaba "winter" a relatively mild 33 C, or 91 F is giving this former backwater of 550,000 people the international stage it has long sought.
After years of construction upheaval and widespread disappointment over unfinished work, Cuiaba's inaugural match on Friday between Chile and Australia at the new, sleek Pantanal arena filled locals with pride.
"Now people know Cuiaba," said Aroldo Rodrigues, who sells the region's famous river fish at the Cuiaba port market. "The arena is really beautiful. The image we projected was great. People have had fun and it's been safe."
It's been a long slog for Cuiaba, which like Manaus, had to lobby hard to be chosen as a World Cup venue. Originally, the world soccer governing body FIFA wanted just 10 venues, but Brazil wanted to include two cities that would promote its unique natural treasures, the Pantanal wetlands near Cuiaba and the Amazon rainforest around Manaus.
Both cities have taken their share of knocks for being too hot, too far to travel to and too unprepared to receive teams and tourists.
Mato Grosso state police reported 12 cases of minor theft involving tourists near the stadium on Friday night and are investigating two cases of attempted rape, one involving an American. But visitors to the World Cup say the earlier bad press was perhaps undeserved.
"I thought Cuiaba would be much less developed and more rural, but it's not like that," said Francisco Quesada, 33, a schoolteacher from Chile who came to watch his team.
Quesada also said Cuiabanos, as the locals are known, "are so happy to be hosting the World Cup, they have been very affectionate with us."
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