By Jason Bermingham
São Paulo can confuse (and even frighten) the first-time visitor. But armed with a basic understanding of the region‘s history, and a little bravado, tourists will discover a lighter side to South America‘s largest metropolis.
"Something stirs in my heart
When I cross Ipiranga and São João Avenue.
You see, when I first arrived here,
I couldn't see my face.
I said it was all in bad taste,
Bad taste, bad taste..."
(The translated song lyrics featured in this article are from Sampa by Caetano Veloso.)
Imagine Ralph Sellston, a big-city executive on his first trip to São Paulo, Brazil. Seated comfortably in the business section of a major airline, Ralph is on his way to an annual Board of Directors meeting at his company's Latin American headquarters. Anxious to learn more about Brazil's commercial center, he skims the pages of a corporate brochure.
"Kidnappings," it cautions, "are on the rise in São Paulo. Do not venture far from the hotel, do not walk alone at night and always report your whereabouts to fellow staff members." "Violent crime," it adds, "is also a problem in the city. Do not carry large amounts of cash. If assaulted, do not resist." Nervously, he flips to the last page. More warnings. "Schedule meetings close to your hotel. Traffic in São Paulo is frequently backed up for hours. Air pollution along the heavily transited avenues can be hazardous to your health."
Ralph is now asking himself why they don‘t hold these meetings in Buenos Aires. His concern grows when he sees São Paulo for the first time from one of the airplane‘s small double-paned windows. Larger in size and population than New York City, its broad avenues and cement skyscrapers sprawl out under a grayish-blue blanket of smog. Only a few scattered patches of greenery break up the unbounded urban blight.
On the ground things get worse. Ralph hails a cab, but his intermediate Spanish skills get him nowhere in a country that speaks Portuguese. He spends an hour stuck in traffic along the foul-smelling Tietê river, where construction crews line the banks. Finally, the taxi pulls up to a hotel in the trendy Jardins district. Ralph hands the driver a bundle of Reals and stumbles into the lobby like a soldier coming home from combat.
"Hello," the receptionist says in perfect English. "First time in São Paulo?"
Admittedly, Ralph Sellston is a caricature of the modern business traveler. But this episode isn‘t so different from what many visitors will experience when arriving in São Paulo for the first time. The city can be intimidating, to say the least. Greater São Paulo is home to nearly 20 million people, making it the planet's fourth largest megalopolis. The city's east/west axis spans a full 80 kilometers and true to warnings found in both business and tourist brochures, the region is an incubator for pollution, crime, and poverty.
The statistics are equally shocking. On any given day there are 2,000 assaults and 25 murders in the greater metropolitan area. During that same period of time, four million cars spew 7,000 tons of toxins into the city's air and 1,000 tons of raw sewage are dumped into its main river. There are only 4.6 meters of vegetation per inhabitant - three times less than that recommended by the United Nations.
And the economic outlook is also bleak. More than half the families in São Paulo survive on less than US$150 per month and live in either substandard housing or outright slums. These aspects of Brazil's financial heart are well documented and, because of them, visiting the city either on business or pleasure shouldn't be taken lightly.
But this isn't to say it can‘t be enjoyed. Seasoned travelers in our age of packaged tourism know that the least likely destinations are often the most interesting. A large part of São Paulo‘s appeal, in fact, derives specifically from the fact that so few people consider it a destination in and of itself. While it's true that 70% of Brazil's foreign visitors pass through São Paulo's Cumbica International Airport, most are either on their way to somewhere more exotic, or in town on business for a few days.
This is good news for those looking to escape the tourist trail. But the question remains: how does one penetrate São Paulo's husk and tap the resources within? A good first step is to learn something of the region's history. This will make it easier to see the metropolis not as a modern-day phenomenon, but instead as a diverse community 450 years in the making.
"Narcissus finds unsightly
Anything but his own reflection.
And the mind can‘t make sense of
Things that aren't yet old..."
São Paulo at first glance is a perplexing place of immense proportions. But this hasn't always been so. If we could peel away the city's 1,700 square kilometers of cement and asphalt, a rich plateau of fertile earth would be exposed. It was precisely this topography that attracted tourists to the area for the first time in the early 16th century. They came by ship from Portugal and, despite the protests of the native Tupinakin people, set up a permanent camp between two rivers on the Piratininga plateau. A small group of Jesuit priests followed, journeying inland from Portugal's first coastal settlement near the modern port city of Santos. These missionaries founded a school on January 25, 1554, and it is this date that residents commemorate today as the Aniversário de São Paulo.
For the next 300 years, São Paulo dos Campos de Piratininga, as the settlement was known, remained little more than an outpost along Indian trails leading into Brazil's uncharted interior. It also served as a base camp for early pioneers called bandeirantes who scoured the region for riches and slaves. With a population of only 1,500 inhabitants, and no access to the sea, the Portuguese Crown considered the fledgling village of little importance. Instead, it chose to focus its attention on the profitable sugar plantations along the northeastern coast.
By the time Brazil gained its independence on September 7, 1822, São Paulo's population had grown to 25,000. Rio de Janeiro, with its seaport, had become rich exporting gold from the mining camps of neighboring Minas Gerais state. São Paulo's wealth, however, was still limited to cattle ranching and agricultural production. In 1880, it was only the tenth largest city in Brazil.
The shift from rural municipality to industrial metropolis began in the late 1860's, with the construction of a railway linking São Paulo to the coastal port of Santos. The line was completed in 1870, and it provided the city with a direct and permanent link to the outside world. With a transportation system in place, and large coffee plantations nearby, the region's economy began to boom. Between 1901 and 1910, coffee accounted for 51% of Brazil's total exports, outpacing rubber, sugar and cotton.
But coffee production required labor. Slavery in Brazil had been abolished in 1888, so plantation owners turned instead to immigrants. Foreign workers poured into the region from Spain, Portugal, Italy and Japan, taking fixed term contracts further inland. The coffee plantations were so eager for more workers that immigrants were often lured in with free passage and living subsidies. By 1893, more than half of São Paulo's population had been born outside of Brazil. By 1920, it was already Brazil's second largest city.
The coffee boom subsided in the 1920's, but São Paulo's momentum didn't. Many immigrants became industrialists and investors, providing goods and services for the region's growing population. President Juscelino Kubitschek promoted heavy industry during the 1950's, building car factories, steel plants, hydropower plants and roads. By 1958, 55% of Brazil's total industrial production was centered in São Paulo. The city's motto became "São Paulo Can't Stop" and for a while the future looked bright.
Then, in 1964, a military regime came to power in Brazil. In the years to come there was an illusion of growth as Brazil's GDP rose, but the country simultaneously incurred heavy foreign debts. Oil had to be imported to fuel Brazil's increasingly mobilized population, and the country was hit hard by oil-rate hikes first in 1973 then 1979. International interest rates on loans rose and Brazil spent a good part of the next fifteen years appeasing the IMF and foreign creditors.
There were industry strikes in the 1970's followed by the collapse of the military regime in the 1980's. In a stagnating economy, crime increased. Particularly in urban areas. Workers continued to pour into São Paulo, but most of these new immigrants came from Bahia and other drought-stricken parts of the northeastern coast. When they arrived, the jobs they were searching for had vanished. Increasing overpopulation and economic hard times conspired to generate the problems of poverty, crime and pollution that plague São Paulo today.
"New Bahians walk
In your drizzling rain.
And these new Bahians enjoy you
Just the same."
President Juscelino Kubitschek's investment in heavy industry once made proud paulistanos boast that their city's growth couldn't stop. Today most wish it had. Lack of urban planning has resulted in a labyrinth of one-way streets and wide avenues that twist through soaring, dilapidated buildings. Growing under- and unemployment have given rise to poverty and crime. Sorely needed environmental measures and vehicle emission controls await approval as quality-of-life indicators wane. And due to the varying degrees of inefficiency and corruption which plague municipal, city and state government bodies, nobody is sure who should be doing what to get things straightened out.
Given this scenario, one might ask why anyone would choose to live in, or even visit, São Paulo. It's worth pointing out that there are many encouraging signs among all the troubling statistics. Recognizing the plight of their city, many residents have organized themselves and are taking action. The Tietê river, for example, is being cleaned up through heavy investment in municipal sewer systems. Over a billion dollars has already been spent for additional lines, giving 80% of the city's population access to this public service. Industries have also been forced to reduce polluted output into the river. Similar environmental actions are being created to address the issues of air pollution, park areas, restoration of historical buildings and alternative housing options for the city's poorest citizens.
Concerning tourism, São Paulo has far to go. Many of the city's points of interest are not listed in guide books or promoted by tourist agencies. But they can be found by turning to the locals. In compensation for the adverse appearance of São Paulo itself, the paulistanos are a colorful and energetic lot who have become experts in unearthing the best their city has to offer. And better yet, they will gladly share this information with any foreigner who shows some interest in the city they call "Sampa".
Eugênia Fischer, an 87 year São Paulo resident, exemplifies the spirit of the paulistano. Certified as a professor in the area of tourism, Eugênia moved to the city from Porto Alegre when she was 50 years old. "When I arrived in São Paulo, it was a fast-paced and noisy city, but it didn't have as many problems as it does today," she says. "Still, there are many places I would gladly recommend for someone visiting the city for the first time. Places like the MASP art museum, the Ibirapuera Park and the nearby beaches of Guarujá."
Eugênia has listed just a few of São Paulo's top attractions. Because of its unique history, São Paulo is home to many of Brazil's best universities, museums, art galleries, concert halls and restaurants. It is also considered by many to be South America's most demographically and culturally diverse city. When migrant workers began arriving in the late 19th century, they brought their way of life with them. This means that greater São Paulo is really a system of cities within a city. Take Liberdade - a traditional Japanese neighborhood near the historic center. Even today, its residents maintain their ancestors' way-of-life through language and cuisine. In other areas of São Paulo, similar ethnic pools can be found. Some examples are the Italian districts of Brás and Belenzinho, and the Jewish neighborhood of Bom Retiro.
Foreign visitors, who have lived in São Paulo for a period of time, are another good source of information. Stewart Brock, a 31 year old Assistant Administrator who moved to São Paulo from Cincinnati, Ohio, two years ago, offers the following advice: "São Paulo was overwhelming at first, but I quickly learned how the city works and adapted myself to the lifestyle. My suggestion for someone coming to São Paulo for the first time, someone who really wants to get to know the city, is to explore it as if you were a 17 year old again. That way you are sure to enjoy it for all it has to offer."
Diversity is the hallmark of São Paulo, and the rewards for the persevering traveler are many. When Stewart Brock isn't working he spends his time skydiving with the Queda Livre Paraquedismo group. He also plays Ultimate Frisbee with the Brazilian national team at Ibirapuera Park each Sunday. Eugênia Fisher is taking Spanish and English classes at PUC university just three blocks from her home. On Sundays she studies computer science.
No other city in Brazil, or perhaps South America, offers so many cultural, historical and entertainment options. From country-western bars to high fashion shopping centers, from authentic Japanese restaurants to the best of Bahian cuisine, from Formula One racing to Zen Buddhist retreats - São Paulo has it all.
Yet, like the Portuguese colonists, the early pioneers and the immigrant workers who shaped São Paulo's history, today's traveler is bound to encounter many initial obstacles. Just don't lose heart. With some spirit of adventure, it's possible to take São Paulo's challenges head on, discover its many charms and enjoy some of what this great city has to offer.
More than half the families in São Paulo live in either substandard housing or outright slums, like these near the Tietê river.
The history of São Paulo begins in the 16th century, when Jesuit priests ventured inland from Portugal's coastal settlements. Searching for Indians to convert to Catholicism, they founded a missionary school on the Piratininga plateau. This historic building, called the Patio do Colégio, is now a popular tourist attraction near the city center.
Ibirapuera Park is to São Paulo what Central Park is to New York. It is also home to many of the city's best known monuments, like this 234-foot-high obelisk honoring the heroes of Brazil's 1932 Civil War.
Industrious paulistanos are adept at overcoming adversity. Here a young boy juggles tennis balls at a traffic light, earning change from passing motorists.
An afternoon match at a local soccer stadium.
Jason Bermingham works as a writer/musician in São Paulo, Brazil. This article appeared in Speak Up - Brazil's premier English-language magazine: www.speakup.com.br. If you enjoy Bob Dylan covers, send him an e-mail at jasonbermingham@uol.com.br. He'll set you up with a table at his next gig.
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