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São Paulo

Região Sudeste: São Paulo



General Information



São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil and the 12th most populous on Earth. Its population alone facilitates in making it the largest economy by GDP in Latin America and the Southern Hemisphere. Being an economic powerhouse, the city attracts a lot of people immigrating from around the world. In 2016, inhabitants of the city were native to over 200 different countries. São Paulo also hosted the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and the IV Pan American Games.



Places

Parque do Ibirapuera

The Parque do Ibirapuera reminds me of New York's Central Park because it is an urban park that comprises 158 hectares in the middle of the city. It is one of the most visited park in the world with 14.4 million visits in 2017. The park was opened on August 21st 1954 for the 400th anniversary of the city. It has beautiful gardens and offers a beautiful view of some of the largest skyscrapers in all of Brazil. 

Ubatuba

Ubatuba is on the southeast coast of the city and is a very important tourist city. It features more than 100 beaches and even a few islands. It is home to a large recreational surfing population and is even known as the "Surf Capital of Brazil". The city is generally known for its amazing views, incredible beaches and enormous biodiversity of birds. There are nearly 565 species of birds that have been identified (What a much better number than the thousands of pigeons we have in Arizona).

Sao Paulo Museum of Art

Built in 1968, this concrete and glass structure houses some of the most internationally recognized collections of European art and considered one of the best museums in all of Latin America. It also features Brazilian art and drawings. The entire collection of more than 8,000 pieces is collectively known as Brazil's Institute of History and Art. However, if you look at the picture above you can see the museum's unique design. The building itself is a landmark in of itself and represents modern Brazilian architecture. Notable art work includes Portrait of a Young Man with a Gold Chain (Rembrandt), Resurrection of Christ (Raphael), and Pink and Blue (Renoir).

Guarujá

This town is frequently considered the "Pearl of the Atlantic". This may be because it is a popular tourist destination for those living in Brazil's most populous neighboring city. It is less than an hour away from BLAH. Why does everyone flock to Guarujá? This is a popular vacation spot due to its famous beaches including Guaiúba, Tombo, Astúrias, Pitangueiras, and Enseada. It's a very small municipality however contributes a lot to Brazil's GDP due to these famous beaches and vacation spots.

SP Cathedral



Its full name is the Catedral da Sé de São Paulo. It is a Roman Catholic church that has seen many reconstructions in its long history. Its most recent look dates back to 1954 where it was built in a Neo-Gothic style. However, a church stood in its place beginning in 1616. It was later demolished and built in a Baroque style by 1764 (picture on right) and remained until 1911 when construction started on its most recent construction.

Music

Chorinho (Adoniran Barbosa)



Also known as "choro", chorinho is a popular Brazilian instrumental music genre. It originated during the 1800s in Rio de Janeiro. After listening to it, it can be considered very fast, happy, and light rhythms. Choro was originally played by a flute, guitar, and a cavaquinho. However, the mandolin, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, and trombone are also used. It is special because it is one of the first genres that came to be known as "Brazilian"

Forró Universitário




Forró Universitário originated in São Paulo. This sub-genre was formed in the 90s by students with mixed elements of Forró with rock, punk rock, and reggae. It is a favorite for college students and even has an accompanying dance that originates from Forró dancing. It started at various university parties but later spread to the rest of Brazil and internationally!

Pop Rock (Rita Lee)

Rita Lee was a famous Brazilian Pop Rock singer. She has sold more than 60 million albums worldwide and is known for being an animal rights activist and dedicated vegetarian. She was originally in Os Mutantes but ended up leaving and going solo in 1972. 

Rap (Racionais MC)


Racionais MC is a Brazillian hip hop group that started in São Paulo. It was formed in 1988 with Mano Brown, Ice Blue, Edi Rock, and DJ KL Jay. They sang about social justice through gang imagery and was unconventional due to the serious topics they sang about. This might be because all of the members came from favelas around the city of São Paulo. They are considered the most influential Brazilian rap group.

Business




São Paulo is the business capital of Brazil and of Latin America, as well. São Paulo as a whole comprises one-third of the Gross Domestic Product of Brazil. It is the 10th richest city on the planet. If it were a country itself, it would have an economy close to the size of Poland or Belgium. In fact, it has an economy the size of Mexico. It is incredible! Many international companies that do business in Brazil base their headquarters in São Paulo (nearly 63%).

Why is São Paulo such an attractive business hotspot? It might be because it is the 12th most populous city in the world and has over 12 million inhabitants with almost 20 million if you included close surrounding cities. Not to mention, these inhabitants are incredibly diverse with over 200 countries represented in the population. This makes Brazil attractive to many international audiences. Lastly, it has an extensive and efficient transportation system with very few natural disasters.

Helicopter taxi

Despite having an extensive ground transportation system, there is still a need to ditch the traffic on the ground floor. Room offers on-demand helicopter taxis in the same way Uber offers car service. At peak hour, traffic can be backed up as much as 576 kilometers (358 miles). Why not take a helicopter taxi? It is not incredibly expensive with a 20-mile trip only taking nine minutes and costing $150. Not too bad for a quick ride across the city.

Food

Pizza


São Paulo is known for its pizza. However, it makes sense when you consider that nearly 6 million residents, almost half, have Italian descent. 4,500 pizzerias produce a million pizzas each day. It is rumored to have better pizza than Naples itself.

Bars

Of all the reasons to fall a little in love with São Paulo, its vibrant nightlife is one of the best. The SP night is blessed with a sophisticated, wide-ranging selection of styles and genres – and a relaxed, fun-loving crowd, so when nights out here are good, they’re some of the best you can have anywhere.

Homage to São Paulo


São Paulo - Terra da Garoa (mist land?)
A cidade de São Paulo é conhecida pelas drásticas variações de temperatura. Durante a primavera e outono, as garoas - chuvas com partículas mais finas de água - são mais frequentes. No entanto, devido ao crescimento urbano e as modificações causadas pelo homem, as garoas não são tão recorrentes, pois a baixa umidade e dificuldade de circulação do vento prejudicam a formação do fenômeno.

(Blog adapted from Justin Heywood's blog)

Question: What city in the U.S does São Paulo remind you of? Are you a "big city person" or more of a "small city person"? Don't forget to also make two comments about things you read about that were interesting to you. 

22 comments:

  1. Wow! Looks like Sao Paulo has the best museums, best surfing beaches and great food. I think I know where my next vacation will be. I love the fact that Sao Paulo has a diverse population. I believe Sao Paulo is a great example of how diversity influences society in a positive way. Its economy, food, music, architecture and art are influenced by the different cultures and traditions. I'm amaze of how the city welcomes immigrants from all over the world and how they make the best out of it. Sao Paulo can really be the example of how a great city attracts ambitious people. In my opinion the message that the city sends its "if you have an amazing culture and great ideas for economy to grow, you are welcome in our city."

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  2. Sao Paulo reminds me of New Orleans. Bourbon street in New Orleans has a great nightlife as wel. New Orleans citizens are very proud pf their Jazz music and the fun that goes on their streets. Also New Orleans is very popular for their food just like Sao Paublo is. New Orleans has Jackson Square a historic landmark. This park reminds me of Parque do Iberapuera from Sao
    Paulo. History tradition and culture describe these great cities.

    I'm more of a big city person. I love to try new restaurants and love to visit museums and parks. I also love the fact that I always get to meet new people and learn from their traditions and cultures.

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    1. Anali, I'm so jealous that you have been to New Orleans! I have always wanted to go to New Orleans. I feel like I am somewhat of a big city person and somewhat not. I love visiting cities for a brief time but I do not think I could live in a city as I feel for a city you have to be very fast paced and I like to be pretty lazy haha.

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  3. I was amaze to hear that Sau Paulo has helicopter taxis. This reminded me of LA's traffic, they need their own helicopter taxis. The fact that they have helicopter taxi talks about the great economy of Sao Paulo. I completely agree, $150 is not bad at all, I mean for those people that are taking their business to Sao Paulo and can afford luxury. I insist the message the city sends is amazing.

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  4. I would like to know how to edit an already published post? I noticed I have a few spelling mistakes. I'm sorry and thank you.

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  5. Sao Paulo is a pretty interesting city. I think what hit me the most about this blog was the collective size of the city. 12 million people in the city and 20 million with the surrounding area. It's got a wide arrange of parks,beaches and city landmarks. While the size doesn't quite match this reminds me of Miami. I think that it is because of the mixture of city center and beach. With big buildings and commerece finding itself right next on the coastal sands. I thought the economy section was really amazing too. That one city would have the economic equivalent of the whole country of Poland. This makes me excited to see what kind of interesting things I will learn when I do my blog.

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    1. Just to clarify... the beaches are about 1 to 2 hours (depending on the traffic) from the capital of São Paulo. The capital is like New York, tons of building and traffic, and a great night life.

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  6. Anali, I like the connection you make with Sao Paulo being like Bourbon Street in New Orleans. I think that captures a different part of the Brazilian culture. With the chorro music and dancing. I was must suprised how folky the songs were, I was expecting a more "latin ensemble" sound to it.

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  7. I will love to visit Sao Paulo in my next vacation! I fell in love of brazilian music since I was 12 years old. The food is the best!

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  8. Boa tarde! Muito obrigada por esta informação!

    When I flew into São Paulo several years ago, I immediately thought that it reminded of Los Angeles. But to be honest, even Los Angeles seemed smaller and less green in comparison. I remember being surprised by the sheer quantity of buildings and the many trees. When we flew in, it felt like we flew over buildings for a long time to get to the airport. I think of myself as more of a big city person but I have never lived in a city as large as São Paulo!

    I found the first video very informative. I had not previously thought about how São Paulo's unique, high altitude location protects it from many natural disasters. No need to worry about a hurricane up there. I had never before heard of the helicopter taxi! That seems like an amazing way to avoid rush hour. I imagine you must try to live very close to where you work in São Paulo to avoid the crazy traffic. I also would love to spend time there and explore the night life. São Paulo looks like a really fun place to go out and enjoy the night!

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    1. Hey Beth! I thought the same about it being similar to Los Angeles, you did open my eyes about the more green environment that they have in São Paulo though! After reading other peoples comments I can see how it reminds a lot of people of a lot of other big cities like New York. São Paulo is now on my bucket list and hope to be visiting soon!

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  9. I loved reading your post about São Paolo! São Paolo remind of me of Chicago, where I am originally from. I consider myself a "big city" person, and I loved reading about that aspect of São Paolo. São Paolo is actually on my bucket list of places to travel, mainly because it is the biggest city in Brazil and has many things to experience there. I was interested to learn about Ubatuba, because I love going to beaches! Ubatuba would be interesting to visit to experience "surf culture" that I haven't experienced before.

    Beth Anne, I liked your comparison of how long it took to fly over the city of São Paolo compared to other cities. I've never put that into perspective before! From this blog, it seems that the city of São Paolo would take much longer to fly over than Chicago.

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  10. What a cool city! This is probably going to sound rude, but most of my time in Central and South America have been spent in impoverished places. So I often forget that there are lots of modern, beautiful cities that exist in these countries.

    São Paolo reminds me a lot of New York City because of how packed it is! So many buildings and so, so many people. I have only been to New York City one time and although it was exciting and spectacular, I think I prefer more of the nature experiences than the big city ones. I recently took a trip to Seattle, Washington and I loved exploring Seattle. However, nothing compared to hiking Mt. Rainier or visiting the rainforests and lakes. That being said, I love that São Paolo has beaches!! That makes it so fun and beautiful and interesting. I think its definitely unique to have such a huge city next to beaches. This is a beautiful post!

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  11. Wow! I am amazed at how big and beautiful this city is! I grew up in Los Angeles California and a lot about São Paolo reminds me of Los Angeles beginning with the structures of the buildings. In downtown Los Angeles we have a very big business district that looks just like theirs, and how it was stated in the video about what people call Beverly Hills is so true! What I absolutely loved the most was how they incorporate the culture into the city like in parks, which reminds me a lot of Echo Park and Macarthur Park. Brazil has definitely made it to my bucket list!

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  12. São Paolo reminds me a lot of New York City and Los Angeles. The photos of Parque do Ibirapuera reminds me alot of Echo park, which we have in Los Angeles. The skyscrapers remind me of New York City and Downtown Los Angeles. I have always considered myself a big city person even though I have not lived in a big city my entire life. The atmosphere is very different in a bigger city. I thought it was very interesting that the beaches of São Paolo are a huge tourist attraction. When I hear or read about Brazil they always mention the beautiful beaches. I also thought it was interesting that São Paolo has a helicopter Uber service. I have never heard of that before and hopefully the United States will have those options to take a helicopter to avoid traffic as well.

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  13. Wow, São Paolo is grand and breathtaking! The city São Paolo reminds me of Chicago which is actually 20 minutes away from where I was born and raised. São Paolo reminds me of Chicago in a lot of ways. One of the most important ways it reminds me of Chicago in my opinion, is the fact that it is known for its pizza. I love Chicago pizza and have had pizza in Italy but if São Paolo is rumored to have even better pizza then I definitely need to visit to give it a try. Another thing that peaked my attention was the helicopter taxi! Chicago definitely does not have a cool transportation system like this! And the price doesn’t even seem too bad to be able to see so many amazing views of the city. One of the other things about São Paolo that reminds me of Chicago is the Catedral da Sé de São Paulo which looks very similar to the Harvest Chicago Cathedral which I have visited and it was beautiful so im sure this cathedral is even more beautiful.

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  14. I never knew that Sao Paulo was such a cosmopolitan city with inhabitants from over 200 countries. I liked how in the first video it touched a lot on this and spoke to how it is helping the city to grow and develop, as people bring in newer and more innovative ideas.

    In my head I always knew that it was an incredibly populous city, but I had no idea it was considered the 12th most populous metro area in the world. Brazil really is an enormous country, and one that in the past has seemed almost overwhelming when trying to fit it into a neat little mold to understand. I´m excited to learn more about this beautiful country as our class moves forward.

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  15. I agree with all the information. I love São Paulo. It is a place with a lot diversity economically, physical, etc. I was in São Paulo years ago and I really enjoyed the food and music there. It is a beautiful place to live and I will go back someday. Thank you very much for your post. Have a wonderful night.

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    1. I would love to hear your perspective (the good and the bad) of São Paulo, since you have been there. I think your classmates would benefit from it greatly.

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  16. I learned so much about São Paulo in this blog entry. I had no idea that the economy was large enough to be comparable to a European country! I have heard that knowing Portuguese is a very useful language because of the booming economy and growing businesses. Something that really interested me in this post was the Forro dancing. I am a lover of latin dances such as salsa, cumbia, and bachata. I have never heard of Forro or the style of dancing that was shown in the video and I'm impressed at the level of coordination required to follow those steps. I love watching partner dancing and I found it very enjoyable. I can't say that São Paolo reminds me of any one city in particular because there are aspects of so many cities. Perhaps Dubai because of the booming economic growth. I am definitely a big city person - I thrive in the urban environment where art and culture is diverse and you can experience it every day of the week.

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  17. Boa tarde!
    I never knew, of all foods, that Sao Paulo was known for its pizza. I find this very interesting. Thank you for the insight on the Italian population there, I would have never guessed. I loved watching the video which shows the vastness of the city. If I were ever to visit, I would like to see the architecture up close. I think that business cities have a lot of architectural structures as art to offer tourists / visitors of a city. Generally speaking there are facilities that look like or are skyscrapers and I see the downtown area of L.A. at least, to stand out quite a bit with some phenomenal structures. Thanks for the information you have shared!

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