Santa Rita do Sapucaí (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈsɐ̃tɐ ˈʁitɐ ðu sɐpukɐˈi]) is a municipality situated in the southernmost part of the State of Minas Gerais.

In July 2012, Santa Rita do Sapucaí became the first jurisdiction in Minas Gerais to adopt same-sex marriage, and the first municipality in Brazil to individually legalize it.

Santa Rita is located in a privileged site, a few hundred kilometers away from the states of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, in one of Minas Gerais' richest regions.

[4] Although located in a rich coffee-growing region, Santa Rita is known for its high technology industries, being home to one of Brazil's foremost electronic, telecommunications and computer engineering colleges, INATEL [1] - Instituto Nacional de Telecomunicações, which was founded in 1965.

Inmates are offered the opportunity to shorten their sentences by pedaling a bike that is connected to a car battery, which then are used to power the lighting grid.