From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Sao Paulo and São Paulo redirect here. This article is about the largest city of Brazil.
For other meanings, see São Paulo
(disambiguation).
Downtown São Paulo, showing the landmark buildings Italia (at left) and Copan (curved
façade at center).
São Paulo (meaning St. Paul in Portuguese) is the capital of São Paulo state in southeastern
Brazil. It is located 250 miles (400 km) from Rio de Janeiro, and
640 miles (1030 km) from Brasília.
The city proper has 575 sq mi of area and had a population of 10.9 million in 2003 (according to CityMayors), making it the largest city in Brazil by far and
the world’s second largest city in terms of population.
(http://www.citymayors.com/features/largest_cities1.html)
About 20 million people live in the Greater São Paulo metropolitan
area, which is currently ranked as the fifth-largest in the world and the largest in the Southern Hemisphere.
Highlights
São Paulo is the most important business center of Brazil. As the default location for music concerts, plays, film festivals,
fashion shows, and international sports events, São Paulo disputes with Rio de Janeiro the title of Brazil's capital of culture
and sports. However, unlike the well-known Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo is
not a popular destination for tourists, since its attractions are mostly hidden under a dense, chaotic urban scenery.
The city has a multicultural metropolitan area, which some have compared to New York, with heavy Portuguese, Italian, Arabian and Japanese
influences. It is the city with the largest number of Japanese people outside Japan. São Paulo is known for its varied and
sophisticated gastronomy, ranging from Chinese to French, from fast food chains
to five star restaurants. Its night life is animated by thousands of bars, pubs, lounges, and discos, that cater for a variety of
music tastes and are often open all night.
São Paulo is home to the largest university in Brazil (University of São Paulo), to a major art museum (MASP), a major symphonic orchestra (OSESP), a Formula One Grand Prix race track (Interlagos), and the world's largest private-owned sports stadium (Morumbi, site of the São Paulo soccer team).
There are two major airports in the São Paulo metropolitan area: Guarulhos (GRU, for domestic and international flights) and Congonhas (CGH, for domestic flights only).
São Paulo's birthday is January 25, and is a
major holiday date in the city.
Economics
São Paulo is the financial and industrial center of the country. Many national and multi-national corporations, including the
largest private banks, have their headquarters in the city or in its metropolitan area. For instance, the city is known to have
more German companies than any other single city outside Germany.
São Paulo's stock exchange is the Bovespa, while its futures exchange is the BM&F. Its financial districts are located on the surroundings of Avenida Paulista and in the Centro Velho. Other important business districts are located near the
aforementioned places plus Avenida Berrini, Itaim Bibi, Vila Olímpia and Chácara Santo Antônio.
There is also a number of highly specialized districts, like Bom Retiro and Brás (wholesale garment districts), Consolação
(lighting equipment), Rua Santa Ifigênia (electrical and electronic parts), Rua Teodoro Sampaio (furniture and musical equipment)
and the most croweded district located at Rua Vinte e Cinco de Março where you can find practicaly everything, to name a few.
Media and communications industries are also concentrated in São Paulo, which is house to a large number of advertising and
broadcasting companies.
Like many big cities in developing countries, a large percentage of São Paulo's population lives below the poverty line. The
city is surrounded and permeated by extensive shantytowns (favelas and
cortiços).
Politics
Because of its economic and demographic weight, São Paulo has always played a pivotal role in Brazilian politics. With a
constituency larger than that of many Brazilian states, the Mayor's office is viewed by politicians as a springboard for state-
and national-level offices.
São Paulo's current mayor is Marta
Suplicy from Workers' Party (PT). She will be
at the office until December 31st, 2004. As of 01/01/2005 to 2008, São Paulo's mayor is going to be José Serra from Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), who was elected on October 31st in a runoff voting.
Some of the last São Paulo mayors were:
A simulated-color satellite image of the Greater São Paulo metropolitan area (center), and the coastal towns of Santos and São
Vicente (below).
Culture
The theme of the 26th Bienal de São Paulo was chosen to enable a wide range of artistic positions to feel comfortable. The
concept of “Território Livre” (Free territory) involves various dimensions: it has a physical-geographical, a
socio-political as well as an aesthetic dimension – the latter, of course, being of greatest interest to us in the context
of this exhibition.
The territory of aesthetics begins where the normal world ends. It describes the space in which reality and imagination are in
conflict with each another. Artists are the border guards of a realm that lies beyond the administered world, where politics and
economics have no more jurisdiction over interpretation. While the whole world is constantly arguing about what belongs to whom,
art clarifies the ownership issue in its own way: in the realm of aesthetics everything belongs to everyone.
What interests us in the context of the Bienal is how the devastations of the real world and interpersonal relations are
reflected in art. Since works of art are more than bare facts, an artistic condensing of phenomena of reality will always be more
ambiguous and more complex than simple reporting. This rule even applies if the artist uses photography and video, i.e., two
media regarded as being very close to reality. Although artists are embedded into conflicts, they do not copy the world, but
create free spaces within reality. With the help of metaphors and symbols they transform the earthly raw material into a new
condition that can be experienced by the senses. The work of art reveals the other; it is allegory. Art exists outside of
causality and must not be imprisoned in the iron casing of mundane constraints.
Artists create a power-free zone, a world that runs contrary to the existing world: a land of emptiness, of silence and
respite, where the frenzy that surrounds us is brought to a standstill for a moment. But it is also a land of enigmas, where the
flood of images surging in on us from the breeding grounds of kitsch are encrypted. By breaking through the barriers of the
material world, the artist becomes a smuggler of images between cultures.
55 countries from all continents have accepted our invitation to bring the best and most relevant of their present production
to São Paulo. Most artists have created new work after preliminary visits to gain onsite knowledge concerning the building and
the city. There is a spatial interaction between the 55 artists of the “national representations” and the 80 artists
invited directly by the Bienal. With a total of 135 artists, the Bienal de São Paulo remains one of the biggest international
exhibitions. The 25th Bienal turned out to be the most highly attended exhibition of contemporary art in the world in 2002 with
670,000 visitors. This year there will again be a major, systematic program of guided tours to introduce contemporary art to a
whole generation of pupils and students, including many from the poorer suburbs of São Paulo.
In order to emphasize the thematic unity of the overall exhibition, the invited artists and those representing the countries
are mixed together on the 25,000 square meters of the spacious Oscar Niemeyer Pavilion. So, despite the complexity of individual
voices, the end result will be a common concert.
As always, the biggest contingent of artists comes from Brazil: like all the countries it has an artist in the “national
representations” segment, while another 19 Brazilians were integrated into the list of 80 invited artists from all over the
world. The regions São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and the rest of the country are equally represented, each providing one-third of the
invited Brazilian artists.
In addition to an intensification of the North-South dialog, the Bienal´s aims include the promoting of links between
non-European cultures along a South-South orientation.
It is predestined for this task, being based in one of the largest and most pluricultural cities in the world, where European,
African, indigenous and Asian elements mix and enter into productive relationships.
The Bienal Building itself – a cosmopolitan icon of modern architecture made of concrete, steel and glass that also
embodies the city’s industrial heritage – automatically places each work of art into a context of modernity and
offers perfect conditions for presenting and appreciating contemporary art over an area measuring the equivalent of four soccer
pitches.Its airy vault and its projecting ramp that cuts, baroque-like, through all three floors in irresistible spirals make it
a privileged venue.
Special attention was therefore devoted to the allocation of space. Conceptual, aesthetic and technical criteria were taken
into account. The point of departure was the architecture of the building itself, which suggests a spatial grouping of media. The
spacious ground floor, with a ceiling height of over seven meters and panoramic view of Ibirapuera Park, is particularly suitable
for a sculpture park with large, free-standing three-dimensional works. The first half of the second floor offers ideal
conditions for a salon of painting, thanks to the favorable light that comes in from the east and west and, diffusely, from above
and below. The second, darker half of this middle floor is perfect for a “multiplex” of video installations, a
planetarium in which viewers can lose themselves, undisturbed, in the cosmos of digitally generated pictures.
This arrangement not only helps the visitors to keep their bearings, but also makes it easier to reach a critical mass within
each medium. Various gravitational centers with their respective specific aesthetic “temperatures” thus develop in
the building. Crescendi and diminuendi alternate abruptly.
Photography, which allows cross-references to painting, sculpture and video, forms a central connecting link between the other
three techniques and runs like a thread through the entire exhibition. The Bienal as an extraterritorial zone
There has never been a lack of attempts to create free territories in Brazil. We simply have to remind ourselves of the
founding of Brasília, and before that, a good fifty years ago, of the Bienal de São Paulo. Both are natural allies, as they were
created by the same enlightened spirit, and share the call to change. Each was conceived as a quarry of new images, and together
they have smoothed the country’s path towards modernity.
The Bienal de São Paulo is an extraterritorial zone where artists erect their utopian settlements. It is a sanctuary where the
streams of goods run dry and political strategies are to no avail. The Bienal sees itself as a place for retreat where critical
mass and positive energy can be concentrated and combined to create basic formulas for transforming society and conjuring up
premonitions of future forms of human social life. Each generation of artists is called upon to make a new survey of this
no-man’s-land and to draft its contours.
The arts are unique in that they possess a universal reservoir of signs and archetypes which, through exchange, mobilize the
collective memory of mankind. If the artist is an image smuggler, therefore, the Bienal can act as an emporium in the realm of
aesthetics, where curiosity and the desire to discover suffice as a passport, and an alert mind serves as the entrance ticket to
a place where priceless goods are traded yet no customs duties are levied.
History
The city was founded on January 25, 1554, by Portuguese Jesuit
missionaries José de Anchieta and Manoel da Nóbrega, who established a mission — the Colégio de São Paulo de Piratininga — to convert the Tupi-Guarani indians. Located just beyond the Serra do Mar cliffs overlooking the port city of Santos, and close to the Tietê River, the new settlement became the natural entrance to the vast and fertile plateau that would
eventually become the State of São Paulo.
São Paulo became officially a city in 1711. It experienced a boom during coffee cycle, starting in the late 19th
century — chiefly because of its privileged position next to the port of Santos, through which most of the country's exports were shipped.
After 1881, waves of immigrants from
Italy, Japan and other countries arrived in São
Paulo, at first to work on the enormous coffee plantations established in the
State. In the 20th century, with the industrial development of the country, many of them moved to the capital; which also attracted new
contingents of immigrants, including Lebanese, Armenians, Greek, Jews, Chinese, Koreans and Lithuanians.
Transportation
The city is crossed by many of the most important expressways of the country, like the BR-116, SP-330, Castelo Branco and
Imigrantes. Some railways also cross the city. They are, however, very old and were
constructed intending not to attend people, but to transport coffee to Santos's seaport. Santos continue to have Brazil's busiest
seaport thanks to São Paulo's needings (exportation and importation of industrializated goods).
São Paulo has two airports. Congonhas Airport operates domestic and regional flights (mainly Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and Brasília. Campo de Marte handles some private and small airplanes. Both are very busy airports. Guarulhos International Airport, located 25
km from the city operates domestic and international flights to the city, in the neighbooring city of Guarulhos.
The city has aproximately 60 km of subway (metro) system, complemented by another 60 km of CPMT trams (railways). They are not
sufficient to attend the city in a efficient manner.
São Paulo grew quickly during the 1940s to the 1980s and many roads and buildings were quickly constructed without major
planning. As a result, heavy traffic is common in the arterial avenues of the city, and traffic jams are relatively common in the
arterial highways (mainly during floods). The main mean of commuting the city is the car and the bus.
Ethnic Diversity
São Paulo has a great ethnic diversity that can compare to New York or Toronto:
- 3 million people are direct or indirect descendants of Portuguese.
- 3 million people are direct or indirect descendants of Italians. There is a building named Edifício Itália (Italy
Building), in honor to the Italians. It was once the tallest building of the city (165m).
- 3 million people have direct or indirect African heritage.
- 1 million people are direct or indirect descendants of Japanese. São Paulo has the largest number of Japanese outside
Japan.
- 1 million people are direct or indirect descendants of Germans.
- 350 thousand people are direct or indirect descendants of Lebanese.
Other considerable groups are:
Current Critical Problems
Since the beggining of the XX century, São Paulo has been the major economic city of Brazil. With the advent of the two
Great Wars and the Great Depression, exportation of coffee to the US and Europe was critically affected, which led the rich coffee farmers to
invest in industrialization in the city. This attracted many people from other regions of the country, especially 'nordestinos'
(name given to the people who lives in the poor Brazilian Northeast). From a 32,000 habitants in 1880, São Paulo had aproximately
250,000 in 1900, 1,800,000 in 1940, 4,750,000 in 1960 and 8,500,000 in 1980. The effects of this in the city:
- São Paulo grew quickly and in a very disorganized manner. With no proper organization, the city grew without leaving much
space for highways and parks. Until now,
big traffic jams are relatively common in many roadways of the city.
- A very common scene (that can still be seen today) is of 'nordestinos' arriving in packed buses, in the Bus Terminal of the
city, in the search of a better life (ironically, it is also common nowadays to see these same buses to carry 'nordestinos' back
to their homeland). Many of these people don't find a job, many of them do not have any kind of education (most are illiterate),
and most, when realizing that their dream of a better life is over, don't have the money to go back, and stay in the city. Many
go to 'favelas' (very poor communities in the suburbs of the city), and others live in the streets (as homeless). Aproximately
1,500,000 people now live in favelas.
- Crime increased, and kidnappings and robbery are relatively common in the city. Many hate crimes were committed by people who
discriminate against 'nordestinos' (who are commonlly associated with the high criminality in the city).
- Floods are common nowadays in São Paulo. This is due to the fact that the city grew in so unorganized a way that the ground
where the city lies was made impermeable. Rainwater does not have anywhere to go (other than the small rivers that crosses the
city) and water accumulates quickly.
- São Paulo is the Brazilian London. Polution is high in the air and the Tiête River,
which crosses the river, is critically polluted (like the Thames was in London).
- The city has so many high-rise buildings that the city is sometimes called 'Selva de Pedra' (Stone Forest). Although the city
has lots of parks spread over the city, the per capita green area of São Paulo is very small. This fact, together with the high
criminality, led to a reclusion in the lives of many people in the city. Condos equipped with cameras and homes and apartments
with windows equipped with bars are standard in the city and Shopping Centers are the main entertainment to middle-class people
(which are afraid to go to open areas or any other that they may think that is not safe enough for them).
Major Holidays
- January 1 - New Year
- January 25 - São Paulo's birthday
- Between January and March - Carnival (it is a Brazil's national holiday, and it
is not regular. It is always during the two days following a weekend, and the holiday finishes itself at 11:59 am in in the 3rd
day (a Wednesday, Quarta-Feira de Cinzas)
- In the beginning of April - Páscoa (Easter)
- April 22 - Brazil's Discovery Day
- May 1 - Labor's Day
- 1st Sunday of May - Mother's Day
- June - Festa Junina
- July 9 - Constitutional Revolution of 1932
- 1st Sunday of August - Father's Day
- October 12 - Children's Day / Nossa Senhora Aparecida (Appeared Our Lady's
Day)
- November 2 - All Souls Day
- November 15 - Republic's Day
- December 24 - Christmas Eve
- December 25 - Christmas
- December 31 - Last day of the year
External links
Photographs
- Virtual
postcards (http://anhembi.terra.com.br/turismo/eng/) (requires to locate and click
on the option entitled "postcards")
- Brazil
Skyscrapers (http://www.brazilskyscrapers.hpg.com.br) - Many Photos of São Paulo and
its skyscrapers
- A very complete photo album (http://members.aol.com/pochetti5/sampa-brazil.html)
General Aspects
- Geography: São Paulo State has an area of approximately 248,800 sq. km.
- Population: approximately 38 million.
- Economy: São Paulo state is responsible for approximately one-third of Brazilian GNP. Its economy is based in machinery,
automobile and aviation industry, textiles, orange, soil, sugar cane and coffee production.
Government and Politics
The governor is Geraldo
Alckmin (PSDB), elected for the period 2003-2006.
Like other parts of Brazil, São Paulo politics is controled by the Workers' Party (PT) and the Party of the Brazilian Social Democracy (PSDB). Both parties have their
origins in this state.
Principal characters of the local politics are José Serra (PSDB), Geraldo Alckmin (PSDB), José Genoino (PT), José Anibal (PSDB), Antônio Palocci (PT), Eduardo Suplicy (PT), Aloísio Mercadante (PT),
Marta Suplicy (PT), Romeu Tuma (Party of the Liberal Front),
Paulo Maluf (PP). The last one is a pitoresque fenomenous in the state. Known by said irregularities when
São Paulo City's major and São Paulo's governor, he is still voted by some part of the population.
The two last Brazilian presidents, Fernando Henrique (PSDB)
and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), live in São
Paulo state. The first lives in São Paulo city, the second
one, not far away, in the city of São Bernardo do Campo.
Governor
Federal Senators
Main cities are São Paulo (capital), Campinas, Santos, Osasco, São José dos Campos and Ribeirão Preto. Other cities include: Araraquara, Araçatuba, Barretos, Bauru, Franca,
Jacareí, Jundiaí, Marília, Piracicaba, Presidente Prudente, São Carlos, São José do Rio Preto
and Sorocaba.
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