[3] To Brazilians, the main historical distinctions of the city are the driving off an attack by Lampião and his gang of "social bandits" (see Cangaço) that plundered entire towns in the sertão during the 1920s and 1930s; and also the fact that the city freed its slaves five years before the Lei Áurea abolished slavery in the rest of the country in 1888.

Mossoró was also the first city to give women the right to vote in Brazil (Professor Celina Guimarães Viana cast the first vote in 1928), sparking a movement among other cities and states in Brazil that culminated in the official recognition of women's suffrage by the national government in 1934.

Mossoró is also home to the Hotel Thermas Resort which is the largest thermal water park in Brazil.

The heated water used in the resort arises from a zone of geothermal hot springs located in the vicinity of the city.

The following have campuses in the city: You can see a listing of public and private elementary, junior, and senior high schools in Mossoró HERE (In Portuguese.)