São Paulo (city)
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São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for '
Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
') is the
most populous city The United Nations uses three definitions for what constitutes a city, as not all cities in all jurisdictions are classified using the same criteria. Cities may be defined as the city proper, cities proper, the extent of their urban area, or th ...
in Brazil, and is the capital of the
state of São Paulo State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...
, the most populous and
wealthiest Wealth is the abundance of Value (economics), valuable financial assets or property, physical possessions which can be converted into a form that can be used for financial transaction, transactions. This includes the core meaning as held in the ...
Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the
GaWC The Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) is a think tank that studies the relationships between world cities in the context of globalization. It is based in the geography department of Loughborough University in Leicestershire ...
as an alpha global city, São Paulo is the most populous city proper in the Americas, the
Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, the term We ...
and the Southern Hemisphere, as well as the world's 4th largest city proper by population. Additionally, São Paulo is the largest
Portuguese-speaking Lusophones ( pt, Lusófonos) are peoples that speak Portuguese as a native or as common second language and nations where Portuguese features prominently in society. Comprising an estimated 270 million people spread across 10 sovereign countries ...
city in the world. It exerts strong international influences in commerce, finance, arts and entertainment. The city's name honors the Apostle, Saint Paul of Tarsus. The city's
metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...
, the
Greater São Paulo Greater São Paulo ( pt, Grande São Paulo) is a nonspecific term for one of the multiple definitions of the large metropolitan area located in the São Paulo state in Brazil. Definitions Metropolitan Area A legally defined specific term, ''Reg ...
, ranks as the most populous in Brazil and the 12th most populous on Earth. The process of
conurbation A conurbation is a region comprising a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ca ...
between the metropolitan areas around the Greater São Paulo (
Campinas Campinas (, ''Plains'' or ''Meadows'') is a Brazilian municipality in São Paulo State, part of the country's Southeast Region. According to the 2020 estimate, the city's population is 1,213,792, making it the fourteenth most populous Brazilian ...
, Santos,
Jundiaí Jundiaí is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, in the Southeast Region of Brazil, located north of São Paulo. The population of the city is 423,006 (2020 est.), with an area of 431.21 km². The elevation is 761 m. The GDP of the ...
,
Sorocaba Sorocaba () is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Sorocaba is the eighth-largest city in the state of São Paulo. Outside the Greater São Paulo region, it ranks behind only Campinas, São José dos Campos and Ribeirão Preto. It ...
and
São José dos Campos São José dos Campos (, meaning Saint Joseph of the Fields) is a major city and the seat of the Municipalities of Brazil, municipality of the same name in the state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Brazil. One of the leading industrial and res ...
) created the
São Paulo Macrometropolis The São Paulo Macrometropolis ( pt, Macrometrópole Paulista), also known as Expanded Metropolitan Complex is a Brazilian Megalopolis (city type), megalopolis that emerged through the existing process of conurbation between the São Paulo (state ...
, a
megalopolis A megalopolis () or a supercity, also called a megaregion, is a group of metropolitan areas which are perceived as a continuous urban area through common systems of transport, economy, resources, ecology, and so on. They are integrated enoug ...
with more than 30 million inhabitants, one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. Having the largest economy by
GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is often ...
in
Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
and the Southern Hemisphere, the city is home to the
São Paulo Stock Exchange B3 S.A. - Brasil, Bolsa, Balcão (in English, ''B3 - Brazil Stock Exchange and Over-the-Counter Market''), formerly BM&FBOVESPA, is a stock exchange located in São Paulo, Brazil, and the second oldest of the country. Its current form can be tra ...
.
Paulista Avenue Paulista Avenue (Avenida Paulista in Portuguese, ''Paulista'' being the demonym for those born in the state of São Paulo) is one of the most important avenues in São Paulo, Brazil. It stretches and runs northwest to southeast. Its northwest p ...
is the economic core of São Paulo. The city has the 23rd largest GDP in the world, representing alone 10.7% of all Brazilian GDP and 36% of the production of goods and services in the state of São Paulo, being home to 63% of established multinationals in Brazil, and was responsible for 28% of the national scientific production in 2005, as measured by the number of science papers published in journals. The metropolis is also home to several of the tallest skyscrapers in Brazil, including the
Mirante do Vale Mirante do Vale Building (Portuguese: ''Condomínio Mirante do Vale'', loosely translated as ''Overlook of the Valley Condominium''), commonly called Mirante do Vale, is a 170-metre (558 ft) office skyscraper located in São Paulo, Brazil, in ...
,
Edifício Itália Edifício Itália (Portuguese for "Italy Building") (whose official name is Circolo Italiano) is a tall 46-story skyscraper located in the República district, Central Zone of São Paulo, Brazil. Built from 1956 to 1965, it has a rooftop observat ...
, Banespa, North Tower and many others. The city has cultural, economic and political influence nationally and internationally. It is home to monuments, parks and museums such as the
Latin American Memorial The Latin America Memorial (in Portuguese, ''Memorial da América Latina'') is a cultural, political and leisure complex, inaugurated in 1989, in São Paulo, Brazil. The architectural setting, designed by Oscar Niemeyer, is a monument to the cultur ...
, the
Ibirapuera Park Ibirapuera Park ( pt, Parque Ibirapuera) is an urban park in São Paulo. It comprises 158 hectares between Av. República do Líbano, Av. Pedro Alvares Cabral, and Av. IV Centenário, and is the most visited park in South America, with 14.4 million ...
, Museum of Ipiranga,
São Paulo Museum of Art The São Paulo Museum of Art ( pt, Museu de Arte de São Paulo, or ') is an art museum located on Paulista Avenue in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. It is well known for its headquarters, a 1968 concrete and glass structure designed by Lina Bo B ...
, and the
Museum of the Portuguese Language The Museum of the Portuguese Language ( pt, Museu da Língua Portuguesa, , ) is an interactive Portuguese language—and Linguistics/Language Development in general—museum in São Paulo, Brazil. It is housed in the Estação da Luz railway stati ...
. The city holds events like the São Paulo Jazz Festival,
São Paulo Art Biennial The São Paulo Art Biennial (Portuguese: ''Bienal de São Paulo'') was founded in 1951 and has been held every two years since. It is the second oldest art biennial in the world after the Venice Biennale (in existence since 1895), which serves as ...
, the
Brazilian Grand Prix The Brazilian Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prêmio do Brasil), currently held under the name São Paulo Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prêmio de São Paulo), is a Formula One championship race which is currently held at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace ...
,
São Paulo Fashion Week The São Paulo Fashion Week is an clothing trade show held semi-annually in São Paulo. It is notable as "Latin America's pre-eminent fashion event" and it is of the emerging fashion weeks, outside the ''Big Four'' of New York, London, Paris and ...
, the ATP Brasil Open, the
Brasil Game Show Brasil Game Show (known by the initials BGS and originally titled Rio Game Show (RGS)) is a yearly Brazilian video game convention organized by business executive Marcelo Tavares, that is currently held in São Paulo and is the largest gaming co ...
and the
Comic Con Experience CCXP (originally called Comic Con Experience) is a Brazilian multi-genre entertainment and comic convention. It is based on the San Diego Comic-Con and has attractions and contents about comics, TV series, movies, video games, literature and int ...
. São Paulo's LGBT Pride parade ranks second only to the
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
Pride March The NYC Pride March is an annual event celebrating the LGBTQ community in New York City. Among the largest Pride events in the world, the NYC Pride March attracts tens of thousands of participants and millions of sidewalk spectators each Ju ...
as the largest
LGBTQ pride LGBT pride (also known as gay pride or simply pride) is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people as a social group. Pride, as opposed to sha ...
parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...
in the world. São Paulo is a
cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...
,
melting pot The melting pot is a monocultural metaphor for a heterogeneous society becoming more homogeneous, the different elements "melting together" with a common culture; an alternative being a homogeneous society becoming more heterogeneous throug ...
city, home to the largest
Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
,
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
,
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
, and
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
diasporas, with examples including ethnic neighborhoods of
Bixiga Bixiga is a neighbourhood in the center of the city of São Paulo, Brazil. It is located within the district of Bela Vista. Bixiga is known for having been a hub for Italian immigrants.
, Bom Retiro, and Liberdade. In 2016, inhabitants of the city were native to over 200 countries. People from the city are known as ''paulistanos'', while ''paulistas'' designates anyone from
the state A state is a centralized political organization that imposes and enforces rules over a population within a territory. There is no undisputed definition of a state. One widely used definition comes from the German sociologist Max Weber: a "stat ...
, including the ''paulistanos''. The city's
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
motto, which it has shared with the battleship and the aircraft carrier named after it, is ''Non ducor, duco'', which translates as "I am not led, I lead." The city, which is also colloquially known as ''Sampa'' or ''Terra da Garoa'' (Land of Drizzle), is known for its unreliable weather, the size of its helicopter fleet, its architecture, gastronomy, severe traffic congestion and
skyscrapers A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...
. São Paulo was one of the host cities of the
1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...
and the
2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...
. Additionally, the city hosted the IV Pan American Games and the
São Paulo Indy 300 The Itaipava São Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestlé was an event in the IRL IndyCar Series, contested in the 2010 through 2013 IndyCar Series seasons. The event was originally announced on November 25, 2009, as the first championship event f ...
.


History


Pre-colonial period

The region of modern-day São Paulo, then known as Piratininga plains around the
Tietê River The Tietê River (Portuguese, Rio Tietê, ) is a Brazilian river in the state of São Paulo. The name Tietê was registered for the first time on a map published in 1748 by d’Anville. The name signifies "The truthful river", or "truthful wa ...
, was inhabited by the
Tupi people A subdivision of the Tupi-Guarani linguistic families, the Tupi people were one of the largest groups of indigenous Brazilians before its colonization. Scholars believe that while they first settled in the Amazon rainforest, from about 2,900 ...
, such as the
Tupiniquim Tupiniquim (also Tupinã-ki, Topinaquis, Tupinaquis, Tupinanquins, Tupiniquins) are an indigenous peoples of Brazil, indigenous people of Brazil, who now live in three Indigenous territory (Brazil), indigenous territories (''Terras Indígenas'' ...
, Guaianás, and Guarani. Other tribes also lived in areas that today form the metropolitan region. The region was divided in Caciquedoms (chiefdoms) at the time of encounter with the Europeans. The most notable
cacique A ''cacique'' (Latin American ; ; feminine form: ''cacica'') was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, the indigenous inhabitants at European contact of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. The term is a Spa ...
was
Tibiriçá Chief Tibiriçá (died 1562) baptized as Martim Afonso was an Amerindian leader who converted to Christianity under the auspices of José de Anchieta. He led the Tupiniquim people of Piratininga and other tribes. His daughter, Bartira, took the n ...
, known for his support for the Portuguese and other European colonists. Among the many indigenous names of places, rivers, neighborhoods, etc., that survive today are Tietê, Ipiranga, Tamanduateí, Anhangabaú,
Piratininga Piratininga is a municipality ''(município)'' in the state of São Paulo (state) in Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin Americ ...
,
Itaquaquecetuba Itaquaquecetuba, also simply called Itaquá, is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. The population is 375,011 (2020 est.) in an area of . It sits at an elevation of . The municip ...
,
Cotia Cotia is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. The population is 253,608 (2020 est.) in an area of 323.99 km². The city is at an elevation of 853 m. Cotia is linked with th ...
,
Itapevi Itapevi is a Brazilian municipality in the state of São Paulo located in the western part of the Greater São Paulo metropolitan area (35 km to the west of São Paulo city). The population is 240,961 (2020 est.) in an area of 82.7 km2. ...
,
Barueri Barueri ( or ) is a Brazilian municipality in the State of São Paulo located in the northwestern part of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. The population is 276,982 (2020 est.) in an area of . Its boundaries are Santana de Parnaíba to th ...
,
Embu-Guaçu Embu-Guaçu is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated s ...
, etc.


Colonial period

The Portuguese village of
São Paulo dos Campos de Piratininga São Paulo dos Campos de Piratininga (''Saint Paul of the Fields of Piratininga'' in Portuguese) was the village that developed as São Paulo, Brazil in the region known as Campos de Piratininga. It was founded as a religious mission and a J ...
was marked by the founding of the Colégio de São Paulo de Piratininga on 25 January 1554. The
Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
college of twelve priests included
Manuel da Nóbrega Manuel da Nóbrega (old spelling ''Manoel da Nóbrega'') (18 October 1517 – 18 October 1570) was a Portuguese Jesuit priest and first Provincial of the Society of Jesus in colonial Brazil. Together with José de Anchieta, he was very influent ...
and Spanish priest
José de Anchieta José de Anchieta y Díaz de Clavijo (Joseph of Anchieta) (19 March 1534 – 9 June 1597) was a Spanish Jesuit missionary to the Portuguese colony of Brazil in the second half of the 16th century. A highly influential figure in Brazil's hi ...
. They built a mission on top of a steep hill between the Anhangabaú and Tamanduateí rivers. Rachel Lawrence: 2010, p. 183 They first had a small structure built of
rammed earth Rammed earth is a technique for constructing foundations, floors, and walls using compacted natural raw materials such as earth, chalk, lime, or gravel. It is an ancient method that has been revived recently as a sustainable building method. ...
, made by Native Indian workers in their traditional style. The priests wanted to
evangelize In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are in ...
these Indians who lived in the Plateau region of Piratininga and convert them to Christianity. The site was separated from the coast by the
Serra do Mar The Serra do Mar (, Portuguese for ''Sea's Ridge'' or ''Sea Ridge'') is a 1,500 km long system of mountain ranges and escarpments in Southeastern Brazil. Geography The Serra do Mar runs parallel to the Atlantic Ocean coast from the state ...
mountain range, called "Serra Paranapiacaba” by the Indians. The college was named for a Christian saint and its founding on the feast day of the celebration of the conversion of the Apostle
Paul of Tarsus Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
. Father José de Anchieta wrote this account in a letter to the Society of Jesus: For the next two centuries, São Paulo developed as a poor and isolated village that survived largely through the cultivation of
subsistence crops Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no su ...
by the labor of natives. For a long time, São Paulo was the only village in Brazil's interior, as travel was too difficult for many to reach the area. Mem de Sá forbade colonists to use the Caminho do Piraiquê ''(Piraiquê Path)'' and today known as Piaçaguera, because of frequent Indian raids along it. On 22 March 1681, Luís Álvares de Castro, the Second Marquis de Cascais and donee of the Captaincy of São Vicente, moved the capital to the village of São Paulo ''(see
Timeline of São Paulo The following is a timeline of the history of the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Prior to 20th century * 1554 – Jesuit Pátio do Colégio founded in São Paulo dos Campos de Piratininga. * 1560 – Municipal Chamber of São Paulo founded. * 16 ...
)'', designating it the "Head of the captaincy". The new capital was established on 23 April 1683, with public celebrations.


The Bandeirantes

In the 17th century, São Paulo was one of the poorest regions of the Portuguese colony. It was also the center of interior colonial development. Because they were extremely poor, the Paulistas could not afford to buy
African slaves Slavery has historically been widespread in Africa. Systems of servitude and slavery were common in parts of Africa in ancient times, as they were in much of the rest of the ancient world. When the trans-Saharan slave trade, Indian Ocean sl ...
, as did other Portuguese colonists. The discovery of gold in the region of
Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...
, in the 1690s, brought attention and new settlers to São Paulo. The Captaincy of São Paulo and Minas de Ouro (see
Captaincies of Brazil The Captaincies of Brazil ( pt, Capitanias do Brasil) were captaincies of the Portuguese Empire, administrative divisions and hereditary fiefs of Portugal in the colony of ''Terra de Santa Cruz'', later called Brazil, on the Atlantic coast of ...
) was created on 3 November 1709, when the Portuguese crown purchased the Captaincies of São Paulo and Santo Amaro from the former grantees. Conveniently located in the country, up the steep ''
Serra do Mar The Serra do Mar (, Portuguese for ''Sea's Ridge'' or ''Sea Ridge'') is a 1,500 km long system of mountain ranges and escarpments in Southeastern Brazil. Geography The Serra do Mar runs parallel to the Atlantic Ocean coast from the state ...
'' escarpment/mountain range when traveling from Santos, while also not too far from the coastline, São Paulo became a safe place to stay for tired travelers. The town became a center for the ''
bandeirantes The ''Bandeirantes'' (), literally "flag-carriers", were slavers, explorers, adventurers, and fortune hunters in early Colonial Brazil. They are largely responsible for Brazil's great expansion westward, far beyond the Tordesillas Line of 1494 ...
'', intrepid invaders who marched into unknown lands in search for gold, diamonds, precious stones, and Indians to enslave. The ''bandeirantes'', which could be translated as "flag-bearers" or "flag-followers", organized excursions into the land with the primary purpose of profit and the expansion of territory for the Portuguese crown. Trade grew from the local markets and from providing food and accommodation for explorers. The ''bandeirantes'' eventually became politically powerful as a group, and forced the expulsion of the
Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
s from the city of São Paulo in 1640. The two groups had frequently come into conflict because of the Jesuits' opposition to the domestic
slave trade Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
in Indians. On 11 July 1711, the town of São Paulo was elevated to city status. Around the 1720s, gold was found by the pioneers in the regions near what are now
Cuiabá Cuiabá () is the capital city of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. It is located near the geographical centre of South America. Also, it forms the metropolitan area of Mato Grosso, along with the neighbouring town of Várzea Grande. The city' ...
and
Goiânia Goiânia (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Goiás. With a population of 1,536,097, it is the second-largest city in the Central-West Region and the 10th-largest in the country. Its metropolitan area has a population ...
. The Portuguese expanded their Brazilian territory beyond the
Tordesillas Line The Treaty of Tordesillas, ; pt, Tratado de Tordesilhas . signed in Tordesillas, Spain on 7 June 1494, and authenticated in Setúbal, Portugal, divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe between the Portuguese Empire and the Spanish Emp ...
to incorporate the gold regions. When the gold ran out in the late 18th century, São Paulo shifted to growing
sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks t ...
. Cultivation of this commodity crop spread through the interior of the Captaincy. The sugar was exported through the
Port of Santos The Port of Santos (in Portuguese: ''Porto de Santos'') is located in the city of Santos, state of São Paulo, Brazil. As of 2006, it is the busiest container port in Latin America. In 2016, it was considered the 39th largest port in the world f ...
. At that time, the first modern highway between São Paulo and the coast was constructed and named the Calçada do Lorena ''("Lorena’s
sett A sett or set is a badger, badger's den. It usually consists of a network of tunnels and numerous entrances. The largest setts are spacious enough to accommodate 15 or more animals with up to of tunnels and as many as 40 openings. Such elaborat ...
way")''. Nowadays, the estate that is home to the Governor of the State of São Paulo, in the city of São Paulo, is called the ''
Palácio dos Bandeirantes Palácio dos Bandeirantes is a palace in São Paulo, Brazil. It is the seat of the São Paulo state government and the governor's official residence. The palace, located at the Morumbi district, also houses some secretaries and a wide historical ...
'' (Bandeirantes Palace), in the neighborhood of Morumbi.


Imperial Period

After Brazil became independent from Portugal in 1822, as declared by
Emperor Pedro I Dom Pedro I (English: Peter I; 12 October 1798 – 24 September 1834), nicknamed "the Liberator", was the founder and first ruler of the Empire of Brazil. As King Dom Pedro IV, he reigned briefly over Portugal, where he also became ...
where the
Monument to the Independence of Brazil The Monument to the Independence of Brazil ( pt, Monumento à Independência do Brasil) is a granite and bronze sculpture located in the Independence Park in São Paulo, Brazil. It is also known as the Ipiranga Monument ( pt, Monumento do Ipirang ...
is located, he named São Paulo as an Imperial City. In 1827, a law school was founded at the Convent of São Francisco, today part of the
University of São Paulo The University of São Paulo ( pt, Universidade de São Paulo, USP) is a public university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is the largest Brazilian public university and the country's most prestigious educational institution, the best ...
. The influx of students and teachers gave a new impetus to the city's growth, thanks to which the city became the ''Imperial City and Borough of Students of St. Paul of Piratininga''. The expansion of coffee production was a major factor in the growth of São Paulo, as it became the region's chief export crop and yielded good revenue. It was cultivated initially in the
Paraíba Valley The Paraíba Valley ( pt, Vale do Paraíba) is a landform that encompasses the regions: Paraíba Valley Metropolitan Region and Northern Coast, in the state of São Paulo and Sul-Fluminense Region, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, which stands out ...
region in the East of the State of São Paulo, and later on in the regions of
Campinas Campinas (, ''Plains'' or ''Meadows'') is a Brazilian municipality in São Paulo State, part of the country's Southeast Region. According to the 2020 estimate, the city's population is 1,213,792, making it the fourteenth most populous Brazilian ...
,
Rio Claro Rio Claro (Portuguese and Spanish for "clear river" or "clean river") may refer to: Cities *Rio Claro, Trinidad and Tobago, the largest town in southeastern Trinidad and Tobago *Rio Claro, Rio de Janeiro, a Brazilian municipality in the state of R ...
,
São Carlos São Carlos (Saint Charles, in English, ; named after Saint Charles Borromeo) is a Brazilian municipality in the interior of the state of São Paulo, 254 kilometers from the city of São Paulo. With a population of 254,484 inhabitants, it is th ...
and
Ribeirão Preto Ribeirão Preto (Portuguese pronunciation: ibejˈɾɐ̃w ˈpɾetu is a municipality and a metropolitan area located in the northeastern region of São Paulo state, Brazil. Ribeirão Preto is the eighth-largest municipality in the State wi ...
. From 1869 onward, São Paulo was connected to the port of Santos by the
Estrada de Ferro Santos-Jundiaí Estrada de Ferro Santos-Jundiaí was a gauge railway line in São Paulo, Brazil. On 13 September 1946, the São Paulo Railway was nationalised by the federal government, and passed to be managed by the Brazilian Ministry of Transportation and P ...
(Santos-Jundiaí Railroad), nicknamed'' The Lady''. In the late 19th century, several other railroads connected the interior to the state capital. São Paulo became the point of convergence of all railroads from the interior of the state. Coffee was the economic engine for major economic and population growth in the State of São Paulo. In 1888, the "Golden Law" (''
Lei Áurea The (; from Portuguese: Golden Law), adopted on May 13, 1888, was the law that abolished slavery in Brazil. It was signed by Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil (1846–1921), an opponent of slavery, who acted as regent to Emperor Pedro ...
'') was sanctioned by
Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil , house = Braganza , father = Pedro II of Brazil , mother = Teresa Cristina of the Two Sicilies , birth_date = , birth_place = Palace of São Cristóvão, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil , death_date = , death_place = C ...
, abolishing the institution of slavery in Brazil. Slaves were the main source of labor in the coffee plantations until then. As a consequence of this law, and following governmental stimulus towards the increase of immigration, the province began to receive a large number of immigrants, largely Italians, Japanese and Portuguese peasants, many of whom settled in the capital. The region's first industries also began to emerge, providing jobs to the newcomers, especially those who had to learn Portuguese.


Old Republican Period

By the time Brazil became a republic on 15 November 1889, coffee exports were still an important part of São Paulo's economy. São Paulo grew strong in the national political scene, taking turns with the also rich state of Minas Gerais in electing Brazilian presidents, an alliance that became known as " coffee and milk", given that
Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...
was famous for its dairy production. During this period, São Paulo went from regional center to national metropolis, becoming industrialized and reaching its first million inhabitants in 1928. Its greatest growth in this period was relative in the 1890s when it doubled its population. The height of the coffee period is represented by the construction of the second
Luz Station The Luz Station ( pt, Estação da Luz, ) is a railway station in the Luz neighbourhood in São Paulo, Brazil. The station is part of the metropolitan rail system run by the CPTM. The station houses the Museum of the Portuguese Language, estab ...
(the present building) at the end of the 19th century and by the
Paulista Avenue Paulista Avenue (Avenida Paulista in Portuguese, ''Paulista'' being the demonym for those born in the state of São Paulo) is one of the most important avenues in São Paulo, Brazil. It stretches and runs northwest to southeast. Its northwest p ...
in 1900, where they built many mansions. Industrialization was the economic cycle that followed the coffee plantation model. By the hands of some industrious families, including many immigrants of Italian and Jewish origin, factories began to arise and São Paulo became known for its smoky, foggy air. The cultural scene followed
modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...
and naturalist tendencies in fashion at the beginning of the 20th century. Some examples of notable modernist artists are poets
Mário de Andrade Mário Raul de Morais Andrade (October 9, 1893 – February 25, 1945) was a Brazilian poet, novelist, musicologist, art historian and critic, and photographer. He wrote one of the first and most influential collections of modern Brazilian poetr ...
and
Oswald de Andrade José Oswald de Souza Andrade (January 11, 1890 – October 22, 1954) was a Brazilian poet, novelist and cultural critic. He was born, spent most of his life and died in São Paulo. Andrade was one of the founders of Brazilian modernism and a m ...
, artists
Anita Malfatti Anita Catarina Malfatti (December 2, 1889 – November 6, 1964) is heralded as the first Brazilian artist to introduce European and American forms of Modernism to Brazil. Her solo exhibition in Sao Paulo, from 1917–1918, was controversial ...
,
Tarsila do Amaral Tarsila de Aguiar do Amaral (; 1 September 1886 – 17 January 1973) was a Brazilian painter, draftswoman, and translator. She is considered one of the leading Latin American modernist artists, and is regarded as the painter who best achieved Bra ...
and
Lasar Segall Lasar Segall (July 21, 1889 – August 2, 1957) was a Lithuanian Jewish and Brazilian painter, engraver and sculptor. Segall's work is derived from impressionism, expressionism and modernism. His most significant themes were depictions of hum ...
, and sculptor
Victor Brecheret Victor Brecheret, born ''Vittorio Breheret'' (December 15, 1894 – December 17, 1955), was an Italian-Brazilian sculptor. He lived most of his life in São Paulo, except for his studies in Paris in his early twenties. Brecheret's work combin ...
. The
Modern Art Week The Modern Art Week ( pt, Semana de Arte Moderna) was an arts festival in São Paulo, Brazil, that ran from February 10 to February 17, 1922. Historically, the Week marked the start of Brazilian Modernism; though a number of individual Brazilian ...
of 1922 that took place at the
Theatro Municipal Teatro Municipal, Theatro Municipal, Théâtre Municipal or Teatro Municipale (= Municipal theatre) may refer to: * Théâtre municipal d'Albi * Teatro Municipal de Caracas * Teatro Municipal de Chacao * Théâtre municipal de Grenoble * Théâtre ...
was an event marked by
avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...
ideas and works of art. In 1929, São Paulo won its first skyscraper, the
Martinelli Building The Martinelli Building (in Portuguese: ''Edifício Martinelli''), with 28 floors, is the first skyscraper built in Brazil. Located in São Paulo, it is 105 meters tall. The building was planned in 1922 by the Italian-born entrepreneur, Giusepp ...
. The modifications made in the city by Antônio da Silva Prado, Baron of Duprat and
Washington Luís Washington Luís Pereira de Sousa (; 26 October 1869 – 4 August 1957) was a Brazilian politician who served as the 13th president of Brazil. Elected governor of São Paulo state in 1920 and president of Brazil in 1926, Washington Luís belonge ...
, who governed from 1899 to 1919, contributed to the climate development of the city; some scholars consider that the entire city was demolished and rebuilt at that time. São Paulo's main economic activities derive from the services industry – factories are since long gone, and in came financial services institutions, law firms, consulting firms. Old factory buildings and warehouses still dot the landscape in neighborhoods such as
Barra Funda Barra Funda is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. As of 2020, the estimated population was 2,551. References See also *List of municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul This is a list of the municipalities in the state of ...
and
Brás Brás is one of 96 districts in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Administratively part of the Southeast Zone of São Paulo, Brás is located immediately to the east of the historic downtown in the Subprefecture of Mooca. The district is an ar ...
. Some cities around São Paulo, such as Diadema,
São Bernardo do Campo São Bernardo do Campo () is a Brazilian Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the state of São Paulo. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. The population is 844,483 (2020 est.) in an area of . History The city was founded b ...
,
Santo André Santo ('saint' in various languages) may refer to: People * Santo (given name) * Santo (surname) * El Santo, Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta (1917–1984), Mexican wrestler and actor * Bob Santo or Santo, stage name of Ghanaian comedian John Evans Kwadwo ...
, and
Cubatão Cubatão is a city in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, 12 kilometers away from Santos seaport, the largest in Latin America. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Baixada Santista. The population is 131,626 (2020 est.) in an area of 142.88 ...
are still heavily industrialized to the present day, with factories producing from cosmetics to chemicals to automobiles.


Constitutionalist Revolution of 1932

This revolution is considered by some historians as the last armed conflict to take place in Brazil's history. On 9 July 1932, the population of São Paulo town rose against a
coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
by
Getúlio Vargas Getúlio Dornelles Vargas (; 19 April 1882 – 24 August 1954) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 14th and 17th president of Brazil, from 1930 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1954. Due to his long and controversial tenure as Brazi ...
to take the presidential office. The movement grew out of local resentment from the fact that Vargas ruled by decree, unbound by a constitution, in a provisional government. The 1930 coup also affected São Paulo by eroding the autonomy that states enjoyed during the term of the 1891 Constitution and preventing the inauguration of the governor of São Paulo
Júlio Prestes Júlio Prestes de Albuquerque (; 15 March 1882 – 9 February 1946) was a Brazilian poet, lawyer and politician. He was the last elected President of Brazil of the period known as the Old Republic, but never took office because the govern ...
in the Presidency of the Republic, while simultaneously overthrowing President
Washington Luís Washington Luís Pereira de Sousa (; 26 October 1869 – 4 August 1957) was a Brazilian politician who served as the 13th president of Brazil. Elected governor of São Paulo state in 1920 and president of Brazil in 1926, Washington Luís belonge ...
, who was governor of São Paulo from 1920 to 1924. These events marked the end of the Old Republic. The uprising commenced on 9 July 1932, after four protesting students were killed by federal government troops on 23 May 1932. On the wake of their deaths, a movement called
MMDC M.M.D.C. it is the initialism by which the names of the martyrs of Brazil's "Constitutionalist Movement" of 1932, which culminated in the uprising called the Constitutionalist Revolution, which broke out on July 9 of that year, were represented ...
(from the initials of the names of each of the four students killed, Martins, Miragaia, Dráusio and Camargo) started. A fifth victim, Alvarenga, was also shot that night, but died months later. In a few months, the state of São Paulo rebelled against the federal government. Counting on the solidarity of the political elites of two other powerful states, (
Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...
and
Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative_units_of_Brazil#List, fifth-most-populous state and the List of Brazilian st ...
), the politicians from São Paulo expected a quick war. However, that solidarity was never translated into actual support, and the São Paulo revolt was militarily crushed on 2 October 1932. In total, there were 87 days of fighting (9 July to 4 October 1932 – with the last two days after the surrender of São Paulo), with a balance of 934 official deaths, though non-official estimates report up to 2,200 dead, and many cities in the state of São Paulo suffered damage due to fighting. There is an
obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...
in front of
Ibirapuera Park Ibirapuera Park ( pt, Parque Ibirapuera) is an urban park in São Paulo. It comprises 158 hectares between Av. República do Líbano, Av. Pedro Alvares Cabral, and Av. IV Centenário, and is the most visited park in South America, with 14.4 million ...
that serves as a memorial to the young men that died for the MMDC. The University of São Paulo's Law School also pays homage to the students that died during this period with plaques hung on its arcades.


Geography

São Paulo is the capital of the most populous state in Brazil,
São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
, located at
latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...
23°33'01'' south and
longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east–west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek letter l ...
46°38'02'' west. The total area of the municipality is , according to the
Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics ( pt, Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística; IBGE) is the agency responsible for official collection of statistical, geographic, cartographic, geodetic and environmental information ...
(IBGE), being the ninth largest in the state in terms of territorial extension. Of the entire area of the municipality, are urban areas (2015), being the largest urban area in the country. The city is on a
plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...
placed beyond the
Serra do Mar The Serra do Mar (, Portuguese for ''Sea's Ridge'' or ''Sea Ridge'') is a 1,500 km long system of mountain ranges and escarpments in Southeastern Brazil. Geography The Serra do Mar runs parallel to the Atlantic Ocean coast from the state ...
(Portuguese for "Sea Range" or "Coastal Range"), itself a component of the vast region known as the
Brazilian Highlands The Brazilian Highlands or Brazilian Plateau ( pt, Planalto Brasileiro) are an extensive geographical region, covering most of the eastern, southern and central portions of Brazil, in all approximately half of the country's land area, or some 4,5 ...
, with an average elevation of around
above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...
, although being at a distance of only about from
the Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...
. The distance is covered by two highways, the Anchieta and the Imigrantes, (see "
Transportation Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, ...
" below) that roll down the range, leading to the port city of Santos and the beach resort of
Guarujá Guarujá (; ) is a municipality in the São Paulo state of Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Baixada Santista. The population is 322,750 (2020 est.) in an area of . This place name comes from the Tupi language, and means "narrow pat ...
. Rolling terrain prevails within the urbanized areas of São Paulo except in its northern area, where the
Serra da Cantareira The Serra da Cantareira is a Brazilian mountain range to the north of the city of São Paulo in the São Paulo state. The area has many walking trails, and is popular among locals."Serra da Cantareira." ''Brazil Footprint Handbook'' Footprint Trav ...
Range reaches a higher elevation and a sizable remnant of the Atlantic Rain Forest. The region is seismically stable and no significant activity has ever been recorded.


Hydrography

The
Tietê River The Tietê River (Portuguese, Rio Tietê, ) is a Brazilian river in the state of São Paulo. The name Tietê was registered for the first time on a map published in 1748 by d’Anville. The name signifies "The truthful river", or "truthful wa ...
and its
tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...
, the
Pinheiros River The Pinheiros River ( pt, Rio Pinheiros) is a most rectified inverted polluted water original sinuous course, today tributary of the Tietê River that runs through the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Until 1920, the river was together the river ''Jur ...
, were once important sources of
fresh water Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...
and leisure for São Paulo. However, heavy industrial
effluents Effluent is wastewater from sewers or industrial outfalls that flows directly into surface waters either untreated or after being treated at a facility. The term has slightly different meanings in certain contexts, and may contain various polluta ...
and
wastewater Wastewater is water generated after the use of freshwater, raw water, drinking water or saline water in a variety of deliberate applications or processes. Another definition of wastewater is "Used water from any combination of domestic, industr ...
discharges in the later 20th century caused the rivers to become heavily polluted. A substantial clean-up program for both rivers is underway.Depollution of the Pinheiros River can be delivered in the 1st half of 2022
/ref>Tietê River registers an increase in good water and a decrease in the pollution stain
/ref> Neither river is navigable in the stretch that flows through the city, although
water transportation Water transportation is the international movement of water over large distances. Methods of transportation fall into three categories: * Aqueducts, which include pipelines, canals, tunnels and bridges * Container shipment, which includes trans ...
becomes increasingly important on the Tietê river further downstream (near
river Paraná A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
), as the river is part of the River Plate basin. No large natural lakes exist in the region, but the
Billings Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings Metrop ...
and
Guarapiranga __NOTOC__ The Reservoir of Guarapiranga (Represa de Guarapiranga) is a reservoir in the southern area of the city of São Paulo, in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. Construction The Reservoir of Guarapiranga was constructed in 1906 by the São Pau ...
reservoirs in the city's southern outskirts are used for
power generation Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its delivery ( transmission, distribution, etc.) to end users or its stor ...
, water storage and leisure activities, such as sailing. The original
flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...
consisted mainly of broadleaf
evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...
s.
Non-native species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...
are common, as the mild climate and abundant rainfall permit a multitude of tropical, subtropical and temperate plants to be cultivated, especially the ubiquitous
eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euca ...
. The north of the municipality contains part of the
Cantareira State Park The Cantareira State Park ( pt, Parque Estadual da Cantareira) is a state park in the Serra da Cantareira mountain range, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It protects an area of Atlantic Forest to the north of the city of São Paulo. Location ...
, created in 1962, which protects a large part of the metropolitan São Paulo water supply. In 2015, São Paulo experienced a major drought, which led several cities in the state to start a rationing system.


Parks and biodiversity

São Paulo is located in an
ecotone An ecotone is a transition area between two biological communities, where two communities meet and integrate. It may be narrow or wide, and it may be local (the zone between a field and forest) or regional (the transition between forest and gras ...
area between 3
biome A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...
s: mixed ombrophilous forest, dense ombrophilous forest and
cerrado The ''Cerrado'' (, ) is a vast ecoregion of tropical savanna in eastern Brazil, particularly in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Minas Gerais, and the Federal District. The core areas of the Cerrado biome are t ...
; the latter had some plant species native to the
pampas The Pampas (from the qu, pampa, meaning "plain") are fertile South American low grasslands that cover more than and include the Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe, Entre Ríos, and Córdoba; all of Uruguay; and Brazil ...
in the city. There were several species typical of both biomes, among them we can mention:
araucaria ''Araucaria'' (; original pronunciation: .ɾawˈka. ɾja is a genus of evergreen Conifer, coniferous trees in the family Araucariaceae. There are 20 extant taxon, extant species in New Caledonia (where 14 species are endemism, ende ...
s, pitangueiras, cambucís, ipês, jabuticabeiras, queen palms, muricís-do-campo, etc. Currently, little remains of the city's original vegetation and most of what is planted in the streets, squares and parks is of exotic origin and also Brazilian but from other regions. Some of these species are even invasive and end up threatening and invading areas of preserved native vegetation. In 2010, São Paulo had 62 municipal and state parks, such as the
Cantareira State Park The Cantareira State Park ( pt, Parque Estadual da Cantareira) is a state park in the Serra da Cantareira mountain range, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It protects an area of Atlantic Forest to the north of the city of São Paulo. Location ...
, part of the São Paulo Green Belt Biosphere Reserve and home to one of the largest
urban forest An urban forest is a forest, or a collection of trees, that grow within a city, town or a suburb. In a wider sense, it may include any kind of woody plant vegetation growing in and around human settlements. As opposed to a forest park, whose eco ...
s on the planet with of extension, the
Fontes do Ipiranga State Park Fontes can refer to: Places France * Fontès, a commune in the Hérault department Portugal * Fontes (Abrantes), a civil parish in the municipality of Abrantes * Fontes (Santa Marta de Penaguião), a civil parish in the municipality of Santa ...
, the
Ibirapuera Park Ibirapuera Park ( pt, Parque Ibirapuera) is an urban park in São Paulo. It comprises 158 hectares between Av. República do Líbano, Av. Pedro Alvares Cabral, and Av. IV Centenário, and is the most visited park in South America, with 14.4 million ...
, the
Tietê Ecological Park Tietê may refer to: * Tietê, São Paulo, a city in the state of São Paulo, Brazil * Tietê River, a river in the state of São Paulo, Brazil * Tietê Bus Terminal The Tietê Bus Terminal ( pt, Terminal Rodoviário Tietê) is the largest bus t ...
, the Capivari-Monos Environmental Protection Area, the
Serra do Mar State Park The Serra do Mar State Park ( pt, Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar) is a state park in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It covers of the Serra do Mar mountain range, and is one of the largest remaining areas of continuous Atlantic Forest. The State ...
,
Villa-Lobos State Park Villa-Lobos State Park ( pt, Parque Estadual Villa-Lobos) is a park in São Paulo, Brazil. It is named after composer Heitor Villa-Lobos, and is located next to Pinheiros River. It was created in 1989 on a site that was previously used as a rubbish ...
, People's Park, and the Jaraguá State Park, listed as a
World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
by
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
in 1994. In 2009, São Paulo had of green area, less than 1.5% of the city's area and below the per inhabitant recommended by the
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
(WHO). About 21% of the municipality's area is covered by green areas, including ecological reserves (2010 data). In the municipality it is possible to observe forest birds that usually appear in the spring, due to the belt of native forest that still surrounds the metropolitan region. Species such as the
rufous-bellied thrush The rufous-bellied thrush (''Turdus rufiventris'') is a songbird of the thrush family (Turdidae). It occurs in most of east and southeast Brazil from Maranhão south to Rio Grande do Sul states, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and central regions of A ...
,
golden-chevroned tanager The golden-chevroned tanager (''Thraupis ornata'') is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae. It is endemic to Brazil. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical moist montane forest, and h ...
,
great kiskadee The great kiskadee (''Pitangus sulphuratus''), called ''bem-te-vi'' in Brazil and ''benteveo'' in Argentina, is a passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae. It is the only member of the genus ''Pitangus''. It breeds in open woodl ...
and hummingbird are the most common. Despite the intense pollution, the main rivers of the city, the Tietê and the Pinheiros, shelter several species of animals such as
capybara The capybaraAlso called capivara (in Brazil), capiguara (in Bolivia), chigüire, chigüiro, or fercho (in Colombia and Venezuela), carpincho (in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) and ronsoco (in Peru). or greater capybara (''Hydrochoerus hydro ...
s,
hawk Hawks are bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. Th ...
s, southern lapwings,
heron The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...
s and
nutria The nutria (''Myocastor coypus''), also known as the coypu, is a large, herbivorous, semiaquatic rodent. Classified for a long time as the only member of the family Myocastoridae, ''Myocastor'' is now included within Echimyidae, the family of t ...
s. Other species found in the municipality are the
gray brocket The gray brocket (''Mazama gouazoubira''), also known as the brown brocket, is a species of brocket deer from northern Argentina, Bolivia, southern Peru, eastern and southern Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. It formerly included the Amazonian br ...
,
howler monkey Howler monkeys (genus ''Alouatta'', monotypic in subfamily Alouattinae) are the most widespread primate genus in the Neotropics and are among the largest of the platyrrhines along with the muriquis (''Brachyteles''), the spider monkeys (''Ateles' ...
,
green-billed toucan The green-billed toucan (''Ramphastos dicolorus''), or red-breasted toucan, is a near-passerine bird in the family Ramphastidae, the toucans, toucanets, and aracaris. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. Taxonomy and systematics T ...
and the
Amazonian umbrellabird The Amazonian umbrellabird (''Cephalopterus ornatus'') is a species of bird in the family Cotingidae native to the Amazon basin with a separate population on the eastern slopes of the Andes. The male bird is entirely black, with a black crest a ...
.


Environmental problems

Air pollution Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different types ...
in the city is intense, mainly due to the huge number of cars that circulate daily on its streets, avenues and highways. The
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
(WHO) sets a limit of 20 micrograms of particulate matter per cubic meter of air as a safe annual average. In an assessment carried out by the WHO among over a thousand cities around the world in 2011, the city of São Paulo was ranked 268th among the most polluted, with an average rate of 38 micrograms per cubic meter, a rate well above the limit imposed by the organization, but lower than in other Brazilian cities, such as
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
(64 micrograms per cubic meter). A 2013 study found that air pollution in the city causes more deaths than traffic accidents. In addition to
atmospheric pollution Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different types ...
, the municipality has serious problems due to
water pollution Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human activities, so that it negatively affects its uses. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. Water ...
, mainly concentrated in its two main rivers, the
Tietê River The Tietê River (Portuguese, Rio Tietê, ) is a Brazilian river in the state of São Paulo. The name Tietê was registered for the first time on a map published in 1748 by d’Anville. The name signifies "The truthful river", or "truthful wa ...
and the
Pinheiros River The Pinheiros River ( pt, Rio Pinheiros) is a most rectified inverted polluted water original sinuous course, today tributary of the Tietê River that runs through the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Until 1920, the river was together the river ''Jur ...
, which are highly degraded and are some of the most polluted rivers in the country. However, both go through the process of depollution, with the Tietê Project having been created in 1992 and having already cost 2.7 billion dollars. In 2019, the Novo Rio Pinheiros Project was created, under the administration of
João Doria João Agripino da Costa Doria Júnior (; born 16 December 1957) is a Brazilian politician, businessman and journalist who served as Governor of São Paulo, from January 2019 to March 2022. He previously served as the 52nd Mayor of São Paulo fr ...
, whose aim is to reduce sewage discharged into tributaries, improve water quality and revitalize the banks by 2022. The problem of balanced water supply for the city - and for the metropolis, in general - is also a worrying issue: São Paulo has few sources of water in its own perimeter, having to seek it in distant hydrographic basins. The problem of water pollution is also aggravated by the irregular occupation of watershed areas, caused by urban expansion, driven by the difficulty of access to land and housing in central areas by the low-income population and associated with real estate speculation and precariousness in new subdivisions. With this, there is also an overvaluation of individual transport over public transport – leading to the current rate of more than one vehicle for every two inhabitants and aggravating the problem of environmental pollution.


Climate

According to the
Köppen classification Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author an ...
, the city has a
humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
(''Cwa''). In summer (January through March), the mean low temperature is about and the mean high temperatures is near . In winter, temperatures tend to range between . The record high temperature was on 17 October 2014 and the lowest on 25 June 1918. The
Tropic of Capricorn The Tropic of Capricorn (or the Southern Tropic) is the circle of latitude that contains the subsolar point at the December (or southern) solstice. It is thus the southernmost latitude where the Sun can be seen directly overhead. It also reac ...
, at about 23°27' S, passes through north of São Paulo and roughly marks the boundary between the tropical and
temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...
areas of South America. Because of its elevation, however, São Paulo experiences a more temperate climate. The city experiences four seasons. The summer is warm and rainy. Autumn and spring are transitional seasons. Winter is the coldest season, with cloudiness around town and frequently polar air masses.
Frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor in an above-freezing atmosphere coming in contact with a solid surface whose temperature is below freezing, and resulting in a phase change from water vapor (a gas) ...
s occur sporadically in regions further away from the center, in some winters throughout the city. Rainfall is abundant, annually averaging . It is especially common in the warmer months averaging and decreases in winter, averaging . Neither São Paulo nor the nearby coast has ever been hit by a
tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
and tornadic activity is uncommon. During late winter, especially August, the city experiences the phenomenon known as ''"veranico"'' or ''"verãozinho"'' ("little summer"), which consists of hot and dry weather, sometimes reaching temperatures well above . On the other hand, relatively cool days during summer are fairly common when persistent winds blow from the ocean. On such occasions daily high temperatures may not surpass , accompanied by lows often below , however, summer can be extremely hot when a heat wave hits the city followed by temperatures around , but in places with greater skyscraper density and less tree cover, the temperature can feel like , as on
Paulista Avenue Paulista Avenue (Avenida Paulista in Portuguese, ''Paulista'' being the demonym for those born in the state of São Paulo) is one of the most important avenues in São Paulo, Brazil. It stretches and runs northwest to southeast. Its northwest p ...
for example. In the summer of 2014, São Paulo was affected by a heat wave that lasted for almost 4 weeks with highs above , peaking on . Secondary to
deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...
,
groundwater pollution Groundwater pollution (also called groundwater contamination) occurs when pollutants are released to the ground and make their way into groundwater. This type of water pollution can also occur naturally due to the presence of a minor and unwanted ...
, and
climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
, São Paulo is increasingly susceptible to
drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D.  Jiang, A.  Khan, W.  Pokam Mba, D.  Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...
and
water shortage Water scarcity (closely related to water stress or water crisis) is the lack of fresh water resources to meet the standard water demand. There are two types of water scarcity: physical or economic water scarcity. Physical water scarcity is where ...
s.


Demographics

São Paulo's population has grown rapidly. By 1960 it had surpassed that of
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
, making it Brazil's most populous city. By this time, the urbanized area of São Paulo had extended beyond the boundaries of the municipality proper into neighboring municipalities, making it a metropolitan area with a population of 4.6 million. Population growth has continued since 1960, although the rate of growth has slowed. In 2013, São Paulo was the most populous city in Brazil and in South America. According to the 2010 IBGE Census, there were 11,244,369 people residing in the city of São Paulo. Portuguese remains the most widely spoken language and São Paulo is the largest city in the
Portuguese speaking world The following is a list of the nine sovereign states and one territory where Portuguese is an official language. Nations with Portuguese as an official language Sovereign states * * (see Brazilian Portuguese) * * ( co-official with Tetum ...
. In 2010, the city had 2,146,077 opposite-sex couples and 7,532
same-sex couple A same-sex relationship is a romantic or sexual relationship between people of the same sex. ''Same-sex marriage'' refers to the institutionalized recognition of such relationships in the form of a marriage; civil unions may exist in countries w ...
s. The population of São Paulo was 52.6% female and 47.4% male. The census found 6,824,668
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
people (60.6%), 3,433,218
Pardo ''Pardos'' (feminine ''pardas'') is a term used in the former Portuguese and Spanish colonies in the Americas to refer to the triracial descendants of Southern Europeans, Amerindians and West Africans. In some places they were defined as ne ...
(
multiracial Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-ethn ...
) people (30.5%), 736,083
Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
people (6.5%), 246,244
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
people (2.2%) and 21,318
Amerindian The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the Am ...
people (0.2%).


Immigration and migration

São Paulo is considered the most
multicultural The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for "Pluralism (political theory), ethnic pluralism", with the tw ...
city in Brazil. From 1870 to 2010, approximately 2.3 million
immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
arrived in the state, from all parts of the world. The Italian community is one of the strongest, with a presence throughout the city. Of the 9 million inhabitants of São Paulo, 50% (4.5 million people) have full or partial Italian ancestry. São Paulo has more descendants of Italians than any Italian city (the largest city of
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
is
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
, with 2.8 million inhabitants). The main groups, considering all the metropolitan area, are: 6 million people of Italian descent, 3 million people of Portuguese descent, 1.7 million people of
African descent Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in s ...
, 1 million people of Arab descent, 665,000 people of Japanese descent, 400,000 people of
German descent , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...
, 250,000 people of French descent, 150,000 people of Greek descent, 120,000 people of
Chinese descent Overseas Chinese () refers to people of Chinese birth or ethnicity who reside outside Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. Terminology () or ''Hoan-kheh'' () in Hokkien, refe ...
, 120,000–300,000 Bolivian immigrants, 50,000 people of Korean descent, and 80,000
Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
. Even today, Italians are grouped in neighborhoods like
Bixiga Bixiga is a neighbourhood in the center of the city of São Paulo, Brazil. It is located within the district of Bela Vista. Bixiga is known for having been a hub for Italian immigrants.
,
Brás Brás is one of 96 districts in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Administratively part of the Southeast Zone of São Paulo, Brás is located immediately to the east of the historic downtown in the Subprefecture of Mooca. The district is an ar ...
, and Mooca to promote celebrations and festivals. In the early twentieth century, Italian and its dialects were spoken almost as much as
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
in the city, which influenced the formation of the São Paulo dialect of today. Six thousand pizzerias are producing about a million pizzas a day. Brazil has the largest Italian population outside
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, with São Paulo being the most populous city with Italian ancestry in the world. The Portuguese community is also large; it is estimated that three million paulistanos have some origin in
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. The
Jewish colony Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
is more than 80,000 people in São Paulo and is concentrated mainly in Higienópolis and Bom Retiro. From the nineteenth century through the first half of the twentieth century, São Paulo also received German immigrants (in the current neighborhood of Santo Amaro),
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
and
Lithuanian Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...
(in the neighborhood
Vila Zelina Vila Zelina is a neighborhood located in São Paulo, Brazil, best known for the great number of Eastern European immigrants and their descendants who derive from 14 countries that have settled there in the early twentieth century, alongside being o ...
). Until 1920, 1,078,437
Italians , flag = , flag_caption = The national flag of Italy , population = , regions = Italy 55,551,000 , region1 = Brazil , pop1 = 25–33 million , ref1 = , region2 ...
entered in the
State of São Paulo State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...
. Of the immigrants who arrived there between 1887 and 1902, 63.5% came from Italy. Between 1888 and 1919, 44.7% of the immigrants were Italians, 19.2% were
Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance peoples, Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of National and regional identity in Spain, national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex Hist ...
and 15.4% were
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
. In 1920, nearly 80% of São Paulo city's population was composed of immigrants and their descendants and Italians made up over half of its male population. At that time, the Governor of São Paulo said that ''"if the owner of each house in São Paulo display the flag of the country of origin on the roof, from above São Paulo would look like an Italian city".'' In 1900, a columnist who was absent from São Paulo for 20 years wrote ''"then São Paulo used to be a genuine Paulista city, today it is an Italian city."'' São Paulo also is home of the largest Japanese community outside
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. In 1958 the census counted 120,000 Japanese in the city and by 1987, there were 326,000 with another 170,000 in the surrounding areas within São Paulo state. As of 2007, the Paulistano Japanese population outnumbered their fellow diaspora in the entirety of Peru, and in all individual American cities.Lesser, ''A Discontented Diaspora: Japanese Brazilians and the Meanings of Ethnic Militancy, 1960–1980'', p
3
Research conducted by the
University of São Paulo The University of São Paulo ( pt, Universidade de São Paulo, USP) is a public university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is the largest Brazilian public university and the country's most prestigious educational institution, the best ...
(USP) shows the city's high ethnic diversity: when asked if they are "descendants of foreign immigrants", 81% of the students reported "yes". The main reported ancestries were: Italian (30.5%), Portuguese (23%), Spanish (14%), Japanese (8%), German (6%), ''Brazilian'' (4%), African (3%), Arab (2%) and Jewish (1%). The city once attracted numerous immigrants from all over Brazil and even from foreign countries, due to a strong economy and for being the hub of most Brazilian companies. São Paulo is also receiving waves of immigration from
Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
and from many countries of
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
and the
Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
. Those immigrants are mainly concentrated in
Praça da Sé Praça da Sé (English: ''See Square'') is a public space in São Paulo, Brazil. Considered as the city's central point, it is the point from where the distance of all roads passing through São Paulo are counted. The square was the location of man ...
,
Glicério Glicério is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population is 4,829 (2020 est.) in an area of 273 km2. The elevation is 400 m. The city is known for being the birthplace of former president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro. The cit ...
and
Vale do Anhangabaú Vale do Anhangabaú (Anhangabaú Valley) is a region in the city center of São Paulo, located between the viaducts do Chá and Santa Ifigênia.
in the
Central Zone of São Paulo The Central Zone (Portuguese: Zona Central de São Paulo) is an administrative zone of the city of São Paulo, Brazil. One of the largest commercial and business districts in South America, the region is administered by the subprefecture of Sé. ...
. Since the 19th century people began migrating from
northeastern Brazil The Northeast Region of Brazil ( pt, Região Nordeste do Brasil; ) is one of the five official and political regions of Brazil, regions of the country according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. Of Brazil's twenty-six state ...
into São Paulo. This migration grew enormously in the 1930s and remained huge in the next decades. The concentration of land, modernization in rural areas, changes in work relationships and cycles of droughts stimulated migration. Northeastern migrants live mainly in hazardous and unhealthy areas of the city, in
cortiço Cortiço (, , ), or gueto (Portuguese language for "beehive" and "ghetto" respectively; tenements), is a common Portuguese term used in Brazil and Portugal for an area of concentrated, high density urban housing where people live with poor sanitat ...
s ''("guettos")'', in
favela Favela () is an umbrella name for several types of working-class neighborhoods in Brazil. The term was first used in the Providência neighborhood in the center of Rio de Janeiro in the late 19th century, which was built by soldiers who had ...
s ''("slums")'' of the metropolis, because they offer cheaper housing. The largest concentration of northeastern migrants was found in the area of Sé/Brás (districts of
Brás Brás is one of 96 districts in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Administratively part of the Southeast Zone of São Paulo, Brás is located immediately to the east of the historic downtown in the Subprefecture of Mooca. The district is an ar ...
, Bom Retiro,
Cambuci Cambuci (, ''Cambuci Berry'') is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. Its population was 15,514 (2020) and its area is 562 km². The calculated population for 2009 was 18,256. It is a popular destination for touri ...
, Pari and ). In this area they composed 41% of the population.


Metropolitan area

The nonspecific term "Grande São Paulo" ("''
Greater São Paulo Greater São Paulo ( pt, Grande São Paulo) is a nonspecific term for one of the multiple definitions of the large metropolitan area located in the São Paulo state in Brazil. Definitions Metropolitan Area A legally defined specific term, ''Reg ...
''") covers multiple definitions. The legally defined ''Região Metropolitana de São Paulo'' consists of 39 municipalities in total and a population of 21.1 millionConstituent municipalities as listed by Population figures from the sum of the municipalities' population
IBGE
/ref> inhabitants (). The Metropolitan Region of São Paulo is known as the financial, economic, and cultural center of Brazil. Among the largest municipalities,
Guarulhos Guarulhos () is a Brazilian municipality. It is the second most populous city in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, the 13th most populous city in Brazil, and is also the most populous city in the country that is not a state capital. In the last ...
, with a population of more than 1 million people is the biggest one. Several others count more than 100,000 inhabitants, such as
São Bernardo do Campo São Bernardo do Campo () is a Brazilian Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the state of São Paulo. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. The population is 844,483 (2020 est.) in an area of . History The city was founded b ...
(811,000 inh.) and
Santo André Santo ('saint' in various languages) may refer to: People * Santo (given name) * Santo (surname) * El Santo, Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta (1917–1984), Mexican wrestler and actor * Bob Santo or Santo, stage name of Ghanaian comedian John Evans Kwadwo ...
(707,000 inh.) in the ABC Region. The ABC Region, comprising Santo André, São Bernardo do Campo and
São Caetano do Sul São Caetano do Sul (or São Caetano) ('' Saint Cajetan of the South''. ) is a city in São Paulo state in Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. The population is 161,957 (2020 est.) in an area of 15.33 km2. It is the ci ...
in the south of Grande São Paulo, is an important location for industrial corporations, such as
Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...
and
Ford Motors Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobile ...
. Because São Paulo has
urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...
, it uses a different definition for its metropolitan area alternately called the Expanded Metropolitan Complex of São Paulo and the
São Paulo Macrometropolis The São Paulo Macrometropolis ( pt, Macrometrópole Paulista), also known as Expanded Metropolitan Complex is a Brazilian Megalopolis (city type), megalopolis that emerged through the existing process of conurbation between the São Paulo (state ...
. Analogous to the BosWash definition, it is one of the largest urban agglomerations in the world, with 32 million inhabitants, behind
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
, which includes 4 contiguous legally defined metropolitan regions and 3 micro-regions.


Religion

Like the cultural variety verifiable in São Paulo, there are several religious manifestations present in the city. Although it has developed on an eminently
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
social matrix, both due to colonization and immigration – and even today most of the people of São Paulo declare themselves Roman Catholic – it is possible to find in the city dozens of different Protestant denominations, as well as the practice of
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
,
Spiritism Spiritism (French: ''spiritisme''; Portuguese: ''espiritismo'') is a spiritualist, religious, and philosophical doctrine established in France in the 1850s by the French teacher, educational writer, and translator Hippolyte Léon Denizard Riva ...
, among others.
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
and Eastern religions also have relevance among the beliefs most practiced by Paulistanos. It is estimated that there are more than one hundred thousand
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
followers and Hindu. Also considerable are
Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...
,
Mormonism Mormonism is the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to various aspects of t ...
and
Afro-Brazilian religions African diaspora religions are a number of related Pagan beliefs that developed in the Americas in various nations of the Caribbean, Latin America and the Southern United States. They derive from Pagan traditional African religions with some influ ...
. According to data from the
Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics ( pt, Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística; IBGE) is the agency responsible for official collection of statistical, geographic, cartographic, geodetic and environmental information ...
(IBGE), in 2010 the population of São Paulo was 6,549,775
Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
(58.2%), 2,887,810
Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
(22.1%), 531,822
Spiritists Spiritism (French: ''spiritisme''; Portuguese: ''espiritismo'') is a spiritualist, religious, and philosophical doctrine established in France in the 1850s by the French teacher, educational writer, and translator Hippolyte Léon Denizard Riv ...
(4.7 percent), 101,493
Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...
(0.9 percent), 75,075
Buddhists Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
(0.7 percent), 50,794 Umbandists (0.5 percent), 43,610
Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
(0.4 percent), 28,673 Catholic Apostolic Brazilians (0.3%), 25,583 eastern religious (0.2%), 18,058 Candomblecists (0.2%), 17,321
Mormons Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...
(0.2%), 14,894 Eastern Orthodox (0.1%), 9,119
spiritualists Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (when not lowercase) b ...
(0.1%), 8,277
Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
(0.1%), 7,139
esoteric Western esotericism, also known as esotericism, esoterism, and sometimes the Western mystery tradition, is a term scholars use to categorise a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas a ...
(0.1%), 1,829 practiced Indian traditions (<0.1%) and 1,008 were
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
(<0.1%). Others 1,056 008 had no religion (9.4%), 149,628 followed other Christian religiosities (1.3%), 55,978 had an undetermined religion or multiple belonging (0.5%), 14,127 did not know (0.1%) And 1,896 reported following other religiosities (<0.1%). The Catholic Church divides the territory of the municipality of São Paulo into four ecclesiastical circumscriptions: the
Archdiocese of São Paulo In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
, and the adjacent Diocese of Santo Amaro, the Diocese of São Miguel Paulista and the Diocese of Campo Limpo, the last three suffragans of the first. The archive of the archdiocese, called the Metropolitan Archival Dom Duarte Leopoldo e Silva, in the Ipiranga neighborhood, holds one of the most important documentary heritage in Brazil. The archiepiscopal is the Metropolitan Cathedral of São Paulo (known as Sé Cathedral), in
Praça da Sé Praça da Sé (English: ''See Square'') is a public space in São Paulo, Brazil. Considered as the city's central point, it is the point from where the distance of all roads passing through São Paulo are counted. The square was the location of man ...
, considered one of the five largest
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
temples in the world. The Catholic Church recognizes as patron saints of the city
Saint Paul of Tarsus Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
and Our Lady of Penha of France. The city has the most diverse Protestant or Reformed creeds, such as the Evangelical Community of Our Land, Maranatha Christian Church,
Lutheran Church Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
,
Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
,
Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...
,
Anglican Episcopal Church The Anglican Episcopal Church (AEC) was a Continuing Anglican church consisting of parishes in Arizona, Alaska, and Florida served by a presiding bishop and several other clergy. The AEC was founded at St. George's Anglican Church in Ventura, Cali ...
,
Baptist church Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...
es, Assembly Church of God, The
Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and ...
, the World Church of God's Power, the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, the Christian Congregation in Brazil, among others, as well as Christians of various denominations. ''Source:
IBGE The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics ( pt, Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística; IBGE) is the agency responsible for official collection of statistical, geographic, cartographic, geodetic and environmental information ...
2010. ''


Public security

According to the 2011 Global Homicide Survey released by the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
, in the period between 2004 and 2009 the homicide rate dropped from 20.8 to 10.8 murders per 100,000 inhabitants. The UN pointed to São Paulo as an example of how big cities can reduce crime.
Crime rates Crime statistics refer to systematic, quantitative results about crime, as opposed to crime news or anecdotes. Notably, crime statistics can be the result of two rather different processes: * scientific research, such as criminological studies, vi ...
, such as
homicide Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...
, have been steadily declining for 8 years. The number of murders in 2007 was 63% lower than in 1999. Carandiru's 9th DP is considered one of the five best police stations in the world and the best in
Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
. In 2008, the city of São Paulo ranked 493rd in the list of the most violent cities in Brazil. Among the capitals, it was the fourth least violent, registering, in 2006, homicide rates higher than those of Boa Vista, Palmas and
Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ...
. In a survey on the Adolescent Homicide Index (IHA), released in 2009, São Paulo ranked 151st among 267 cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants. In November 2009, the Ministry of Justice and the Brazilian Forum of Public Security published a survey that pointed to São Paulo as the safest Brazilian capital for young people. Between 2000 and 2010, the city of São Paulo reduced its homicide rate by 78%. According to data from the Map of Violence 2011, published by the Sangari Institute and the Ministry of Justice, the city of São Paulo has the lowest homicide rate per 100,000 inhabitants among all Brazilian capitals.


Social challenges

Since the beginning of the 20th century, São Paulo has been a major economic center in Latin America. During two
World Wars A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...
and the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, coffee exports (from other regions of the state) were critically affected. This led wealthy coffee farmers to invest in industrial activities that turned São Paulo into Brazil's largest industrial hub. *
Crime rates Crime statistics refer to systematic, quantitative results about crime, as opposed to crime news or anecdotes. Notably, crime statistics can be the result of two rather different processes: * scientific research, such as criminological studies, vi ...
consistently decreased in the 21st century. The citywide homicide rate was 6.56 in 2019, less than a fourth of the 27.38 national rate. * Air quality has steadily increased during the modern era. * The two major rivers crossing the city, Tietê and
Pinheiros Pinheiros (, “pine trees”) is a district in the subprefecture of the same name in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Prior to development, the land which this borough occupies was dominated by the dense forest which contained a Brazilian subt ...
, are highly polluted. A major project to clean up these rivers is underway. * The Clean City Law or anti
billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
, approved in 2007, focused on two main targets: anti-publicity and anti-commerce. Advertisers estimate that they removed 15,000 billboards and that more than 1,600 signs and 1,300 towering metal panels were dismantled by authorities. * São Paulo metropolitan region, adopted vehicle restrictions from 1996 to 1998 to reduce air pollution during wintertime. Since 1997, a similar project was implemented throughout the year in the central area of São Paulo to improve traffic. * There were more than 30,000 homeless people in 2021 according to official data. It increased by 31% in two years, and doubled in 20 years.


Languages

The primary language is
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
. The general language from São Paulo General, or
Tupi Austral Tupi may refer to: * Tupi people of Brazil * Tupi or Tupian languages, spoken in South America ** Tupi language, an extinct Tupian language spoken by the Tupi people * Tupi oil field off the coast of Brazil * Tupi Paulista, a Brazilian municipality ...
(Southern Tupi), was the Tupi-based trade language of what is now São Vicente, São Paulo, and the upper Tietê River. In the 17th century it was widely spoken in São Paulo and spread to neighboring regions while in Brazil. From 1750 on, following orders from
Marquess of Pombal Count of Oeiras () was a Portuguese title of nobility created by a royal decree, dated July 15, 1759, by King Joseph I of Portugal, and granted to Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, head of the Portuguese government. Later, through another roya ...
, Portuguese language was introduced through immigration and consequently taught to children in schools. The original
Tupi Austral Tupi may refer to: * Tupi people of Brazil * Tupi or Tupian languages, spoken in South America ** Tupi language, an extinct Tupian language spoken by the Tupi people * Tupi oil field off the coast of Brazil * Tupi Paulista, a Brazilian municipality ...
language subsequently lost ground to
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
, and eventually became extinct. Due to the large influx of
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
,
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
,
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
,
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
and
Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
immigrants etc., the Portuguese idiom spoken in the metropolitan area of São Paulo reflects influences from those languages. The Italian influence in São Paulo accents is evident in the Italian neighborhoods such as Bela Vista, Mooca,
Brás Brás is one of 96 districts in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Administratively part of the Southeast Zone of São Paulo, Brás is located immediately to the east of the historic downtown in the Subprefecture of Mooca. The district is an ar ...
and Lapa. Italian mingled with Portuguese and as an old influence, was assimilated or disappeared into spoken language. The local accent with Italian influences became notorious through the songs of
Adoniran Barbosa Adoniran Barbosa, artistic name of João Rubinato (6 August 1910 – 23 November 1982), was a noted Brazilian São Paulo style samba singer and composer. Biography Early years João Rubinato was the seventh child of Francesco (Fernando) Rubina ...
, a Brazilian
samba Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havin ...
singer born to Italian parents who used to sing using the local accent. Other languages spoken in the city are mainly among the Asian community: São Paulo is home to the largest Japanese population outside Japan. Although today most Japanese-Brazilians speak only Portuguese, some of them are still fluent in Japanese. Some people of Chinese and Korean descent are still able to speak their ancestral languages. In some areas it is still possible to find descendants of immigrants who speak German (especially in the area of Brooklin paulista) and Russian or East European languages (especially in the area of Vila Zelina). In the west zone of São Paulo, specially at Vila Anastácio and Lapa region, there is a Hungarian colony, with three churches (Calvinist, Baptist and Catholic), so on Sundays it is possible to see Hungarians talking to each other on sidewalks.


Sexual diversity

The
Greater São Paulo Greater São Paulo ( pt, Grande São Paulo) is a nonspecific term for one of the multiple definitions of the large metropolitan area located in the São Paulo state in Brazil. Definitions Metropolitan Area A legally defined specific term, ''Reg ...
is home to a prominent self-identifying
gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
,
bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...
and
transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...
community, with 9.6% of the male population and 7% of the female population declaring themselves to be non-heterosexual. Same-sex
civil union A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...
s have been legal in the whole country since 5 May 2011, while same-sex marriage in São Paulo was legalized on 18 December 2012. Since 1997, the city has hosted the annual
São Paulo Gay Pride Parade São Paulo LGBTQ Pride Parade ( pt, Parada do Orgulho LGBTQ de São Paulo) is an annual gay pride parade that has taken place in Avenida Paulista, in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, since 1997. It is South America’s largest Pride parade, and is ...
, considered the biggest
pride parade A pride parade (also known as pride march, pride event, or pride festival) is an outdoor event celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer culture, queer (LGBTQ) social and self-acceptance, achievements, LGBT rights by country o ...
in the world by the
Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
with over 5 million participants, and typically rivalling the
New York City Pride March The NYC Pride March is an annual event celebrating the LGBTQ community in New York City. Among the largest Pride events in the world, the NYC Pride March attracts tens of thousands of participants and millions of sidewalk spectators each Ju ...
for the record. Strongly supported by the State and the City of São Paulo government authorities, in 2010, the city hall of São Paulo invested R$1 million reais in the parade and provided a solid security plan, with approximately 2,000 policemen, two mobile police stations for immediate reporting of occurrences, 30 equipped ambulances, 55 nurses, 46 medical physicians, three hospital camps with 80 beds. The parade, considered the city's second largest event after the
Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
, begins at the
São Paulo Museum of Art The São Paulo Museum of Art ( pt, Museu de Arte de São Paulo, or ') is an art museum located on Paulista Avenue in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. It is well known for its headquarters, a 1968 concrete and glass structure designed by Lina Bo B ...
, crosses
Paulista Avenue Paulista Avenue (Avenida Paulista in Portuguese, ''Paulista'' being the demonym for those born in the state of São Paulo) is one of the most important avenues in São Paulo, Brazil. It stretches and runs northwest to southeast. Its northwest p ...
, and follows Consolação Street to
Praça Roosevelt Praça Roosevelt is a public square in São Paulo, Brazil. Construction of the square began in 1968 and was completed in 1970. After decades of decline, the square was renovated in 2011–12. A second renovation to expand the skate park on Praç ...
in
Downtown São Paulo ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ...
. According to the LGBT app
Grindr Grindr () is a location-based social networking and online dating application targeted towards members of the gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community. It was one of the first geosocial apps for gay men when it launched in March 2009 an ...
, the gay parade of the city was elected the best in the world.


Education

São Paulo has public and private primary and secondary schools and vocational-
technical school In the United States, a technical school is a type of two-year college that covers specialized fields such as business, finance, hospitality, tourism, construction, engineering, visual arts, information technology and community work. Associa ...
s. More than nine-tenths of the population are literate and roughly the same proportion of those age 7 to 14 are enrolled in school. There are 578 universities in the state of São Paulo. The city of São Paulo is also home to research and development facilities and attracts companies due to the presence of regionally renowned universities. Science, technology and innovation is leveraged by the allocation of funds from the
state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...
, mainly carried out by means of the Foundation to Research Support in the State of São Paulo (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo – FAPESP), one of the main agencies promoting scientific and technological research.


Health care

São Paulo is one of the largest health care hubs in Latin America. Among its hospitals are the Albert Einstein Israelites Hospital, ranked the best hospital in all Latin America and the Hospital das Clínicas, the largest in the region, with a total area of 600,000 square meters and offers 2,400 beds, distributed among its eight specialized institutes and two assisting hospitals. The main hospitals in the city of São Paulo concentrate in the upper-income areas, the majority of the population of the city has a private health insurance. This can includes hospitals, private practices and pharmacies. The city of São Paulo has the largest number of foreigners comparing with any other Brazilian city and an intense
health tourism Medical tourism refers to people traveling abroad to obtain medical treatment. In the past, this usually referred to those who traveled from less-developed countries to major medical centers in highly developed countries for treatment unavailable a ...
. In Brazil, the city of São Paulo has the largest number of doctors who can speak more than one language, which in this case is
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
, with the secondary languages predominantly are
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
and
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
. The private health care sector is very large and most of Brazil's best hospitals are in the city. As of September 2009, the city of São Paulo had: 32,553
ambulatory The ambulatory ( la, ambulatorium, ‘walking place’) is the covered passage around a cloister or the processional way around the east end of a cathedral or large church and behind the high altar. The first ambulatory was in France in the 11th ...
clinics, centers and professional offices (physicians, dentists and others); 217 hospitals, with 32,554 beds; 137,745 health care professionals, including 28,316 physicians. The municipal government operates public
health facilities A health facility is, in general, any location where healthcare is provided. Health facilities range from small clinics and doctor's offices to urgent care centers and large hospitals with elaborate emergency rooms and trauma centers. The numbe ...
across the city's territory, with 770 primary health care units (UBS), ambulatory and emergency clinics and 17 hospitals. The Municipal Secretary of Health has 59,000 employees, including 8,000 physicians and 12,000 nurses. 6,000,000 citizens uses the facilities, which provide drugs at no cost and manage an extensive family health program (PSF – Programa de Saúde da Família). The Sistema Integrado de Gestão de Assistência à Saúde de São Paulo – SIGA Saúde (''Integrated Health Care Management System in São Paulo'') has been operating in the city of São Paulo since 2004. Today there are more than 22 million registered users, including the people of the
Greater São Paulo Greater São Paulo ( pt, Grande São Paulo) is a nonspecific term for one of the multiple definitions of the large metropolitan area located in the São Paulo state in Brazil. Definitions Metropolitan Area A legally defined specific term, ''Reg ...
, with a monthly average of 1.3 million appointments.SIGA Saúde
/ref>


Government

As the capital of the
state of São Paulo State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...
, the city is home to the Bandeirantes Palace (state government) and the Legislative Assembly. The Executive Branch of the municipality of São Paulo is represented by the
mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
and his cabinet of secretaries, following the model proposed by the Federal Constitution. The organic law of the municipality and the Master Plan of the city, however, determine that the public administration must guarantee to the population effective tools of manifestation of participatory democracy, which causes that the city is divided in regional prefectures, each one led by a Regional Mayor appointed by the Mayor. The legislative power is represented by the Municipal Chamber, composed of 55 aldermen elected to four-year posts (in compliance with the provisions of Article 29 of the Constitution, which dictates a minimum number of 42 and a maximum of 55 for municipalities with more than five million inhabitants). It is up to the house to draft and vote fundamental laws for the administration and the Executive, especially the municipal budget (known as the Law of Budgetary Guidelines). In addition to the legislative process and the work of the secretariats, there are also a number of municipal councils, each dealing with different topics, composed of representatives of the various sectors of organized civil society. The actual performance and representativeness of such councils, however, are sometimes questioned. The following municipal councils are active: Municipal Council for Children and Adolescents (CMDCA); of Informatics (WCC); of the Physically Disabled (CMDP); of Education (CME); of Housing (CMH); of Environment (CADES); of Health (CMS); of Tourism (COMTUR); of Human Rights (CMDH); of Culture (CMC); and of Social Assistance (COMAS) and Drugs and Alcohol (COMUDA). The Prefecture also owns (or is the majority partner in their social capital) a series of companies responsible for various aspects of public services and the economy of São Paulo: * ''São Paulo Turismo S/A'' (SPTuris): company responsible for organizing large events and promoting the city's tourism. * ''Companhia de Engenharia de Tráfego'' (CET): subordinated to the Municipal Transportation Department, is responsible for traffic supervision, fines (in cooperation with DETRAN) and maintenance of the city's road system. * ''Companhia Metropolitana de Habitação de São Paulo'' (COHAB): subordinate to the Department of Housing, is responsible for the implementation of public housing policies, especially the construction of housing developments. * ''Empresa Municipal de Urbanização de São Paulo'' (EMURB): subordinate to the Planning Department, is responsible for urban works and for the maintenance of public spaces and urban furniture. * ''Companhia de Processamento de Dados de São Paulo'' (PRODAM): responsible for the electronic infrastructure and information technology of the city hall. * ''São Paulo Transportes Sociedade Anônima'' (SPTrans): responsible for the operation of the public transport systems managed by the city hall, such as the municipal bus lines.


Subdivisions

São Paulo is divided into 32
subprefecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Counties of Albania, Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several Districts of Albania, district ...
s, each with an administration ("subprefeitura") divided into several districts ("distritos"). The city also has a radial division into nine zones for purpose of traffic control and bus lines, which don't fit into the administrative divisions. These zones are identified by colors in the street signs. The historical core of São Paulo, which includes the inner city and the area of
Paulista Avenue Paulista Avenue (Avenida Paulista in Portuguese, ''Paulista'' being the demonym for those born in the state of São Paulo) is one of the most important avenues in São Paulo, Brazil. It stretches and runs northwest to southeast. Its northwest p ...
, is in the
Subprefecture of Sé The Subprefecture of Sé is one of 32 subprefectures of the city of São Paulo, Brazil. It comprises eight districts: Bela Vista, Bom Retiro, Cambuci, Consolação, Liberdade, República, Sé, Santa Cecília. This subprefecture forms the in ...
. Most other economic and tourist facilities of the city are inside an area officially called ''Centro Expandido'' (Portuguese for "Broad Center", or "Broad Downtown"), which includes Sé and several other subprefectures, and areas immediately around it.


International relations

São Paulo is twinned with: *
Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, ...
, Ivory Coast *
Asunción Asunción (, , , Guarani: Paraguay) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of ...
, Paraguay *
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, Spain * Belmonte, Portugal *
Cluj-Napoca ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = Counties of Romania, County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Subdivisions of Romania, Status , subdivision_name2 ...
, Romania *
Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.
, Cuba *
İzmir İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban agglo ...
, Turkey *
Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...
, Peru *
Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
, China * Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County, United States * Milan, Italy * Osaka, Japan * La Paz, Bolivia * San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain * Santiago, Chile * Santiago de Compostela, Spain * Seoul, South Korea * Shanghai, China * Yerevan, Armenia


Economy

São Paulo is considered the "financial capital of Brazil", as it is the location for the headquarters of major corporations and of banks and financial institutions. São Paulo is Economy of Brazil, Brazil's highest GDP city and the List of cities by GDP, 10th largest in the world, using Purchasing power parity. According to data from the
IBGE The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics ( pt, Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística; IBGE) is the agency responsible for official collection of statistical, geographic, cartographic, geodetic and environmental information ...
, its gross domestic product (GDP) in 2010 was R$450 billion, approximately billion, 12.26% of Brazilian GDP and 36% of all production of goods and services of the State of São Paulo. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers average annual economic growth of the city is 4.2%. São Paulo also has a large "informal" economy. In 2005, the city of São Paulo collected R$90 billion in taxes and the city budget was R$15 billion. The city has 1,500 bank branches and 70 shopping malls. , São Paulo is the third largest exporting municipality in Brazil after Parauapebas, Parauapebas, PA and Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ. In that year São Paulo's exported goods totaled $7.32B (USD) or 3.02% of Brazil's total exports. The top five commodities exported by São Paulo are soybean (21%), Sugar, raw sugar (19%), coffee (6.5%), Pulp (paper), sulfate chemical wood pulp (5.6%), and Maize, corn (4.4%). The
São Paulo Stock Exchange B3 S.A. - Brasil, Bolsa, Balcão (in English, ''B3 - Brazil Stock Exchange and Over-the-Counter Market''), formerly BM&FBOVESPA, is a stock exchange located in São Paulo, Brazil, and the second oldest of the country. Its current form can be tra ...
(BM&F Bovespa) is Brazil's official stock and bond exchange. It is the largest stock exchange in Latin America, trading about R$6 billion (US$3.5 billion) every day. São Paulo's economy is going through a deep transformation. Once a city with a strong Secondary sector of the economy, industrial character, São Paulo's economy has followed the global trend of shifting to the tertiary sector of the economy, focusing on services. The city is unique among Brazilian cities for its large number of foreign corporations. 63% of all the company, international companies with business in Brazil have their head offices in São Paulo. São Paulo has one of the largest concentrations of German businesses worldwide and is the largest Swedish industrial hub alongside Gothenburg. São Paulo ranked second after New York in FDi magazine's bi-annual ranking of Cities of the Future 2013–14 in the Americas, and was named the Latin American City of the Future 2013–14, overtaking Santiago de Chile, the first city in the previous ranking. Santiago now ranks second, followed by
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
. The per capita income for the city was R$32,493 in 2008. According to Mercer (consulting firm), Mercer's 2011 List of most expensive cities for expatriate employees#Mercer surveys, city rankings of cost of living for expatriate employees, São Paulo is now among the ten most expensive cities in the world, ranking 10th in 2011, up from 21st in 2010 and ahead of London, Paris, Milan and
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Luxury brands tend to concentrate their business in São Paulo. Because of the lack of department stores and multi-brand boutiques, shopping malls as well as the Jardins district attract most of the world's luxurious brands. Most of the international luxury brands can be found in the Iguatemi Empresa de Shopping Centers, Iguatemi, Cidade Jardim or JK shopping malls or on the streets of Rua Oscar Freire, Oscar Freire, Lorena or Haddock Lobo in the Jardins district. They are home of brands such as Cartier (jeweler), Cartier, Chanel, Dior, Giorgio Armani, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, Tiffany & Co. Cidade Jardim was opened in São Paulo in 2008, it is a mall, landscaped with trees and greenery scenario, with a focus on Brazilian brands but also home to international luxury brands such as Hermès, Jimmy Choo, Emilio Pucci, Pucci and Carolina Herrera (fashion designer), Carolina Herrera. Opened in 2012, JK shopping mall has brought to Brazil brands that were not present in the country before such as Goyard, Tory Burch, Llc., Prada, and Miu Miu. The Iguatemi São Paulo, Iguatemi Faria Lima, in Avenida Brigadeiro Faria Lima, Faria Lima Avenue, is Brazil's oldest mall, opened in 1966. The Jardins neighborhood is regarded among the most sophisticated places in town, with upscale restaurants and hotels. The New York Times once compared Oscar Freire Street to Rodeo Drive. In Jardins there are luxury car dealers. One of the world's best restaurants as elected by The World's 50 Best Restaurants Award, D.O.M., is there.


Tourism

Large hotel chains whose target audience is the corporate traveler are in the city. São Paulo is home to 75% of the country's leading business fairs. The city also promotes one of the most important fashion weeks in the world,
São Paulo Fashion Week The São Paulo Fashion Week is an clothing trade show held semi-annually in São Paulo. It is notable as "Latin America's pre-eminent fashion event" and it is of the emerging fashion weeks, outside the ''Big Four'' of New York, London, Paris and ...
, established in 1996 under the name Morumbi Fashion Brasil, is the largest and most important fashion event in Latin America. Besides, the
São Paulo Gay Pride Parade São Paulo LGBTQ Pride Parade ( pt, Parada do Orgulho LGBTQ de São Paulo) is an annual gay pride parade that has taken place in Avenida Paulista, in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, since 1997. It is South America’s largest Pride parade, and is ...
, held since 1997 on
Paulista Avenue Paulista Avenue (Avenida Paulista in Portuguese, ''Paulista'' being the demonym for those born in the state of São Paulo) is one of the most important avenues in São Paulo, Brazil. It stretches and runs northwest to southeast. Its northwest p ...
is the event that attracts more tourists to the city. The annual March For Jesus is a large gathering of Christians from Protestant churches throughout Brazil, with São Paulo police reporting participation in the range of 350,000 in 2015. In addition, São Paulo hosts the annual São Paulo Pancake Cook-Off in which chefs from across Brazil and the world participate in competitions based on the cooking of pancakes. Cultural tourism also has relevance to the city, especially when considering the international events in the metropolis, such as the
São Paulo Art Biennial The São Paulo Art Biennial (Portuguese: ''Bienal de São Paulo'') was founded in 1951 and has been held every two years since. It is the second oldest art biennial in the world after the Venice Biennale (in existence since 1895), which serves as ...
, that attracted almost 1 million people in 2004. The city has a nightlife that is considered one of the best in the country, and is an international hub of highly active and diverse nightlife with Bar (establishment), bars, dance bars and nightclubs staying open well past midnight. There are cinemas, theaters, museums, and cultural centers. The Rua Oscar Freire was named one of the eight most luxurious streets in the world, according to the Mystery Shopping International, and São Paulo the 25th "most expensive city" of the planet. According to the International Congress & Convention Association, São Paulo ranks first among the cities that host international events in Americas and the 12th in the world, after Vienna, Paris,
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, Singapore, Berlin, Budapest, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Seoul, Lisbon, and Copenhagen. According to a study by MasterCard in 130 cities around the world, São Paulo was the third most visited destination in Latin America (behind Mexico City and Buenos Aires) with 2.4 million foreign travelers, who spent US$2.9 billion in 2013 (the highest among the cities in the region). In 2014, CNN ranked nightlife São Paulo as the fourth best in the world, behind
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, Berlin and Ibiza, in Spain. The cuisine of the region is a tourist attraction. The city has 62 cuisines across 12,000 restaurants. During the 10th International Congress of Gastronomy, Hospitality and Tourism (Cihat) conducted in 1997, the city received the title of "World Gastronomy Capital" from a commission formed by 43 nations' representatives.


Urban infrastructure

Since the beginning of the 20th century, São Paulo has been one of the main economic centers of
Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
. With the WWI, First and WWII, Second World Wars and the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, coffee exports to the United States and Europe were heavily affected, forcing the rich coffee growers to invest in the industrial activities that would make São Paulo the largest industrial center in Brazil. The new job vacancies contributed to attract a significant number of immigrants (mainly from Italy) and migrants, especially from the Northeastern states. From a population of only 32.000 people in 1880, São Paulo now has 8.5 million inhabitants in 1980. The rapid population growth has brought many problems for the city. São Paulo is practically all served by the water supply network. The city consumes an average of 221 liters of water/inhabitant/day while the UN recommends the consumption of 110 liters/day. The water loss is 30.8%. However, between 11 and 12.8% of households do not have a sewage system, depositing waste in pits and ditches. Sixty percent of the sewage collected is treated. According to data from IBGE and Eletropaulo, the electricity grid serves almost 100% of households. The fixed telephony network is still precarious, with coverage of 67.2%. Household garbage collection covers all regions of the municipality but is still insufficient, reaching around 94% of the demand in districts such as Parelheiros (district of São Paulo), Parelheiros and Perus. About 80% of the garbage produced daily by Paulistas is exported to other cities, such as Caieiras and
Guarulhos Guarulhos () is a Brazilian municipality. It is the second most populous city in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, the 13th most populous city in Brazil, and is also the most populous city in the country that is not a state capital. In the last ...
. Recycling accounts for about 1% of the 15,000 metric tons of waste produced daily.


Urban planning

São Paulo has a myriad of urban fabrics. The original nuclei of the city are vertical, characterized by the presence of commercial buildings and services; And the peripheries are generally developed with two to four-story buildings – although such generalization certainly meets with exceptions in the fabric of the metropolis. Compared to other global cities (such as the island cities of
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and Hong Kong), however, São Paulo is considered a "low-rise building" city. Its tallest buildings rarely reach forty stories, and the average residential building is twenty. Nevertheless, it is the fourth city in the world in quantity of buildings, according to the page specialized in research of data on buildings ''Emporis Buildings'', besides possessing what was considered until 2014 the tallest skyscraper of the country, the
Mirante do Vale Mirante do Vale Building (Portuguese: ''Condomínio Mirante do Vale'', loosely translated as ''Overlook of the Valley Condominium''), commonly called Mirante do Vale, is a 170-metre (558 ft) office skyscraper located in São Paulo, Brazil, in ...
, also known as ''Palácio Zarzur Kogan'', with 170 meters of height and 51 floors. Such tissue heterogeneity, however, is not as predictable as the generic model can make us imagine. Some central regions of the city began to concentrate indigents, drug trafficking, street vending and prostitution, which encouraged the creation of new socio-economic centralities. The characterization of each region of the city also underwent several changes throughout the 20th century. With the relocation of industries to other cities or states, several areas that once housed factory sheds have become commercial or even residential areas. São Paulo has a history of actions, projects and plans related to urban planning that can be traced to the governments of Antonio da Silva Prado, Baron Duprat, Washington and Luis Francisco Prestes Maia. However, in general, the city was formed during the 20th century, growing from village to metropolis through a series of informal processes and irregular urban sprawl. Urban growth in São Paulo has followed three patterns since the beginning of the 20th century, according to urban historians: since the late 19th Century and until the 1940s, São Paulo was a condensed city in which different social groups lived in a small urban zone separated by type of housing; from the 1940s to the 1980s, São Paulo followed a model of center-periphery social segregation, in which the upper and middle-classes occupied central and modern areas while the poor moved towards precarious, self-built housing in the periphery; and from the 1980s onward, new transformations have brought the social classes closer together in spatial terms, but separated by walls and security technologies that seek to isolate the richer classes in the name of security.[Caldeira, Teresa P.R. "City of Walls: Crime, Segregation, and Citizenship in São Paulo," University of California Press, 2000. Berkeley. (p. 215)] Thus, São Paulo differs considerably from other Brazilian cities such as Belo Horizonte and
Goiânia Goiânia (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Goiás. With a population of 1,536,097, it is the second-largest city in the Central-West Region and the 10th-largest in the country. Its metropolitan area has a population ...
, whose initial expansion followed determinations by a plan, or a city like Brasília, whose master plan had been fully developed prior to construction. The effectiveness of these plans has been seen by some planners and historians as questionable. Some of these scholars argue that such plans were produced exclusively for the benefit of the wealthier strata of the population while the working classes would be relegated to the traditional informal processes. In São Paulo until the mid-1950s, the plans were based on the idea of "demolish and rebuild", including former Mayor Francisco Prestes Maia, Francisco Prestes Maia's road plan for São Paulo (known as the Avenues Plan) or Saturnino de Brito, Saturnino de Brito's plan for the Tietê River. The Plan of the Avenues was implemented during the 1920s and sought to build large avenues connecting the city center with the outskirts. This plan included renewing the commercial city center, leading to real estate speculation and gentrification of several downtown neighborhoods. The plan also led to the expansion of bus services, which would soon replace the trolley as the preliminary transportation system. This contributed to the outwards expansion of São Paulo and the peripherization of poorer residents. Peripheral neighborhoods were usually unregulated and consisted mainly of self-built single-family houses. In 1968 the Urban Development Plan proposed the Basic Plan for Integrated Development of São Paulo, under the administration of Figueiredo Ferraz. The main result was zoning laws. It lasted until 2004 when the Basic Plan was replaced by the current Master Plan. That zoning, adopted in 1972, designated "Z1" areas (residential areas designed for elites) and "Z3" (a "mixed zone" lacking clear definitions about their characteristics). Zoning encouraged the growth of suburbs with minimal control and major speculation. After the 1970s peripheral lot regulation increased and infrastructure in the periphery improved, driving land prices up. The poorest and the newcomers now could not purchase their lot and build their house, and were forced to look for a housing alternative. As a result,
favela Favela () is an umbrella name for several types of working-class neighborhoods in Brazil. The term was first used in the Providência neighborhood in the center of Rio de Janeiro in the late 19th century, which was built by soldiers who had ...
s and precarious tenements (cortiços) appeared. These housing types were often closer to the city's center: favelas could sprawl in any unused terrain (often dangerous or unsanitary) and decaying or abandoned buildings for tenements were abundant inside the city. Favelas went back into the urban perimeter, occupying the small lots not yet occupied by urbanization – alongside polluted rivers, railways, or between bridges. By 1993, 19.8% of São Paulo's population lived in favelas, compared to 5.2% in 1980. Today, it is estimated that 2.1 million Paulistas live in favelas, which represents about 11% of the metropolitan area's population.


Transport


Roads

Automobiles are the main means to get into the city. In March 2011, more than 7 million vehicles were registered. Heavy traffic is common on the city's main avenues and traffic congestion, traffic jams are relatively common on its highways. The city is crossed by 10 major motorways: Rodovia Presidente Dutra, President Dutra Highwa/BR-116 (connects São Paulo to the east and Ordinal direction, north-east of the country); Régis Bittencourt Highway/BR-116 (connects São Paulo to the south of the country); Rodovia Fernão Dias, Fernão Dias Highway/BR-381 (connects São Paulo to the north of the country); Rodovia Anchieta, Anchieta Highwa/SP-150 (connects São Paulo to the ocean coast); Rodovia dos Imigrantes, Immigrants Highway/SP-150 (connects São Paulo to the ocean coast); Rodovia Castelo Branco, President Castelo Branco Highway/SP-280 (connects São Paulo to the west and north-west of the country); Rodovia Raposo Tavares, Raposo Tavares Highway/SP-270 (connects São Paulo to the west of the country); Rodovia Anhanguera, Anhanguera Highway/SP-330 (connects São Paulo to the north-west of the country, including its capital city); Rodovia dos Bandeirantes, Bandeirantes Highway/SP-348 (connects São Paulo to the north-west of the country); Rodovia Ayrton Senna, Ayrton Senna Highway/SP-70 (named after Brazilian legendary
Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
driver Ayrton Senna, the motorway connects São Paulo to east locations of the state, as well as the north coast of the state). The Rodoanel Mário Covas (official designation SP-021) is the beltway of the
Greater São Paulo Greater São Paulo ( pt, Grande São Paulo) is a nonspecific term for one of the multiple definitions of the large metropolitan area located in the São Paulo state in Brazil. Definitions Metropolitan Area A legally defined specific term, ''Reg ...
. Upon its completion, it will have a length of , with a radius of approximately from the geographical center of the city. It was named after Mário Covas, who was mayor of the city of São Paulo (1983–1985) and a state governor (1994-1998/1998-2001) until his death from cancer. It is a controlled access highway with a speed limit of under normal weather and traffic circumstances. The west, south and east parts are completed, and the north part, which will close the beltway, is due in 2022 and is being built by DERSA.


Airports

São Paulo has two main airports, São Paulo–Guarulhos International Airport for international flights and national hub, and Congonhas-São Paulo Airport for domestic and regional flights. Another airport, the Campo de Marte Airport, serves private jets and light aircraft. The three airports together moved more than 58.000.000 passengers in 2015, making São Paulo one of the top 15 busiest in the world, by number of air passenger movements. The region of Greater São Paulo is also served by Viracopos-Campinas International Airport, São José dos Campos Airport and Jundiaí Airport. Congonhas Airport operates flights mainly to Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, Belo Horizonte and Brasília. Built in the 1930s, it was designed to handle the increasing demand for flights, in the fastest growing city in the world. Located in Campo Belo District, Congonhas Airport is close to the three main city's financial districts:
Paulista Avenue Paulista Avenue (Avenida Paulista in Portuguese, ''Paulista'' being the demonym for those born in the state of São Paulo) is one of the most important avenues in São Paulo, Brazil. It stretches and runs northwest to southeast. Its northwest p ...
, Brigadeiro Faria Lima Avenue and Engenheiro Luís Carlos Berrini Avenue. The São Paulo–Guarulhos International, also known as "Cumbica", is north-east of the city center, in the neighboring city of
Guarulhos Guarulhos () is a Brazilian municipality. It is the second most populous city in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, the 13th most populous city in Brazil, and is also the most populous city in the country that is not a state capital. In the last ...
. Every day nearly 110.000 people pass through the airport, which connects Brazil to 36 countries around the world. 370 companies operate there, generating more than 53.000 jobs. The international airport is connected to the metropolitan rail system, with Line 13 (CPTM). Campo de Marte is in Santana (São Paulo), Santana district, the northern zoning, zone of São Paulo. The airport handles private flights and air shuttles, including air taxi firms. Opened in 1935, Campo de Marte is the base for the largest helicopter fleet in Brazil and the world's, ahead of New York and Tokyo. This airport is the home base of the State Civil Police Air Tactical Unit, the State Military Police Radio Patrol Unit and the São Paulo Flying Club. From this airport, passengers can take advantage of some 350 remote helipads and heliports to bypass heavy road traffic.


Urban rail

São Paulo has a urban rail transit system (São Paulo Metro and Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos, CPTM) that serves 184 stations and has of track, forming the largest Transport in São Paulo#Rail transport, metropolitan rail transport network of
Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
. The underground and urban railway lines together carry some 7 million people on an average weekday. The São Paulo Metro operates of rapid transit system, with six lines in operation, serving 91 stations. In 2015, the metro reached the mark of 11.5 million passengers per mile of line, 15% higher than in 2008, when 10 million users were taken per mile. It is the largest concentration of people in a single transport system in the world, according to the company. The company ViaQuatro, a Concession (contract), private concessionaire, operates the Line 4 (São Paulo Metro), Line 4 of the system. In 2014, the São Paulo Metro was elected the best metro system in the Americas. The Line 15 (São Paulo Metro), Line 15 (Silver) of the São Paulo Metro is the first mass-transit monorail of the South America and the first system in the world to use the Bombardier Innovia Monorail 300. When fully completed will be the largest and highest capacity monorail system in the Americas and second worldwide, only behind to the Chongqing Rail Transit, Chongqing Monorail. The Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos (CPTM, or "Paulista Company of Metropolitan Trains") railway add of commuter rail, with seven lines and 94 stations. The system carries about 2.8 million passengers a day. On 8 June 2018, CPTM set a weekday ridership record with 3,096,035 trips. The Line 13 (CPTM), Line 13 (Jade) of the CPTM connects São Paulo to the São Paulo–Guarulhos International Airport, in the municipality of
Guarulhos Guarulhos () is a Brazilian municipality. It is the second most populous city in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, the 13th most populous city in Brazil, and is also the most populous city in the country that is not a state capital. In the last ...
, the first major international airport in South America to be directly served by train. CCR S.A., CCR Group (through the ViaQuatro and ViaMobilidade concessionaires) operates subway lines Line 4 (São Paulo Metro), 4–Yellow and Line 5 (São Paulo Metro), 5–Lilac, in addition to managing (through the ViaMobilidade concessionaire) lines Line 8 (CPTM), 8-Diamond and Line 9 (CPTM), 9-Emerald of the metropolitan train system. Metro and metropolitan train networks transport an average of nearly 7 million people a day, while another 2 million passengers are transported by EMTU buses daily. The two major São Paulo railway stations are Luz and Júlio Prestes in the Luz/Campos Eliseos region. Estação Júlio Prestes, Julio Prestes Station connected Southwest São Paulo State and Northern Paraná (state), Paraná State to São Paulo City. Agricultural products were transferred to Luz Station from which they headed to the Atlantic Ocean and overseas. Júlio Prestes stopped transporting passengers through the Sorocabana or FEPASA lines and now only has metro service. Due to its acoustics and interior beauty, surrounded by Greek revival columns, part of the rebuilt station was transformed into the São Paulo Hall.
Luz Station The Luz Station ( pt, Estação da Luz, ) is a railway station in the Luz neighbourhood in São Paulo, Brazil. The station is part of the metropolitan rail system run by the CPTM. The station houses the Museum of the Portuguese Language, estab ...
was built in Britain and assembled in Brazil. It has an underground station and is still active with metro lines that link São Paulo to the Greater São Paulo region to the East and the Campinas Metropolitan region in
Jundiaí Jundiaí is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, in the Southeast Region of Brazil, located north of São Paulo. The population of the city is 423,006 (2020 est.), with an area of 431.21 km². The elevation is 761 m. The GDP of the ...
in the western part of the State. Luz Station is surrounded by important culture, cultural institutions such as the Pinacoteca do Estado, The Museu de Arte Sacra on Tiradentes Avenue and Jardim da Luz, among others. It is the seat of the Estrada de Ferro Santos-Jundiaí, Santos-Jundiaí line which historically transported Immigration to Brazil, international immigrants from the
Port of Santos The Port of Santos (in Portuguese: ''Porto de Santos'') is located in the city of Santos, state of São Paulo, Brazil. As of 2006, it is the busiest container port in Latin America. In 2016, it was considered the 39th largest port in the world f ...
to São Paulo and the coffee plantation lands in the Western region of
Campinas Campinas (, ''Plains'' or ''Meadows'') is a Brazilian municipality in São Paulo State, part of the country's Southeast Region. According to the 2020 estimate, the city's population is 1,213,792, making it the fourteenth most populous Brazilian ...
. São Paulo has no tram lines, although trams were common in the first half of the 20th century.


Buses

Bus transport (government and private) is composed of 17,000 buses (including about 290 trolleybus, trolley buses).Webb, Mary (Ed.) (2009). Jane's Urban Transport Systems 2009–2010, pp. 42/6. Coulsdon (UK): Jane's Information Group. . The traditional system of informal transport (dab vans) was later reorganized and legalized. The trolleybus systems provide a portion of the public transport service in
Greater São Paulo Greater São Paulo ( pt, Grande São Paulo) is a nonspecific term for one of the multiple definitions of the large metropolitan area located in the São Paulo state in Brazil. Definitions Metropolitan Area A legally defined specific term, ''Reg ...
with two independent netwoeks.Moraes, Jorge (March–April 1999). "São Paulo in 1998". ''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 224, pp. 32–35. National Trolleybus Association (UK). .Webb, Mary (ed.) (2011). ''Jane's Urban Transport Systems 2011–2012'', pp. "[23]" and "[24]" (in foreword). Coulsdon, Surrey (UK): Jane's Information Group. . The SPTrans (São Paulo Transportes) system opened in 1949 and serves the city of São Paulo, while the Empresa Metropolitana de Transportes Urbanos de São Paulo (EMTU) system opened in 1988 and serves suburban areas to the southeast of the city proper. Worldwide, São Paulo is one of only two metropolitan areas possessing two independent trolleybus systems, the other being Trolleybuses in Naples, Naples, Italy. São Paulo Tietê Bus Terminal the second largest Bus station, bus terminal in the world, after Port Authority Bus Terminal, PABT in New York City, New York It serves localities across the nation, with the exception of the states of Amazonas (Brazilian state), Amazonas, Roraima and Amapá. Routes to 1,010 cities in five countries (Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay) are available. It connects to all regional airports and a Carpool, ride sharing automobile service to Santos. The Palmeiras-Barra Funda Intermodal Terminal is much smaller and is connected to the Palmeiras-Barra Funda metro and Palmeiras-Barra Funda CPTM stations. It serves the southwestern cities of Sorocaba, Itapetininga, Itu, Botucatu, Bauru, Marília, Jaú, Avaré, São Paulo, Avaré, Piraju, Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo, Ipaussu, Chavantes and Ourinhos (on the border with Paraná (state), Paraná State). It also serves São José do Rio Preto, Araçatuba and other small towns on the northwest of São Paulo State.


Culture


Music

Adoniran Barbosa Adoniran Barbosa, artistic name of João Rubinato (6 August 1910 – 23 November 1982), was a noted Brazilian São Paulo style samba singer and composer. Biography Early years João Rubinato was the seventh child of Francesco (Fernando) Rubina ...
was a
samba Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havin ...
singer and composer who became successful during São Paulo's early radio era. Born in 1912 in the town of Valinhos, Barbosa was known as the "composer to the masses", particularly Italian immigrants living in the quarters of Bela Vista, also known as "Bexiga" and Brás, as well as those who lived in the city's many 'cortiços' or tenements. His songs drew from the life of urban workers, the unemployed and those who lived on the edge. His first big hit was "Saudosa Maloca" ("Shanty of Fond Memories" – 1951), wherein three homeless friends recall with nostalgia their improvised shanty home, which was torn down by the landowner to make room for a building. His 1964 Trem das Onze ("The 11 pm Train"), became one of the five best samba songs ever, the protagonist explains to his lover that he cannot stay any longer because he has to catch the last train to the Jaçanã (district of São Paulo), Jaçanã suburb, for his mother will not sleep before he arrives home. Another important musician with a similar style is Paulo Vanzolini. Vanzolini is a PhD in biology and a part-time professional musician. He composed a song depicting a love murder scene in São Paulo called "Ronda". In the late 1960s, a psychedelic rock band called Os Mutantes became popular. Their success is related to that of other tropicalismo, tropicalia musicians. The group was known as very ''paulistanos'' in its behavior and clothing. Os Mutantes released five albums before lead singer Rita Lee departed in 1972 to join another group called Tutti Frutti (Brazilian band), Tutti Frutti. Although initially known only in Brazil, Os Mutantes became successful abroad after the 1990s. In 2000, ''Tecnicolor'', an album recorded in the early 1970s in English by the band, was released with artwork designed by Sean Lennon. In the early 1980s, a band called ''Ultraje a Rigor'' (Elegant Outrage) emerged. They played a simple and irreverent style of rock. The lyrics depicted the changes in society and culture that Brazilian society was experiencing. A late punk and garage scene became strong in the 1980s, perhaps associated with the gloomy scenario of unemployment during an extended recession. Bands originating from this movement include Ira!, Titãs, Ratos de Porão and Inocentes. In the 1990s, drum and bass arose as another musical movement in São Paulo, with artists such as DJ Marky, DJ Patife, Xerxes de Oliveira, XRS, Drumagick and Fernanda Porto. Many heavy metal music, heavy metal bands also originated in São Paulo, such as Angra (band), Angra, Project46, Torture Squad, Korzus and Dr. Sin. Famous electro-pop band CSS (band), Cansei de Ser Sexy, or CSS (Portuguese for "tired of being sexy") also has its origins in the city. Many of the most important classical Brazilian living composers, such as José Carlos Amaral Vieira, Amaral Vieira, Osvaldo Lacerda and Edson Zampronha, were born and live in São Paulo. Local baritone Paulo Szot has won international acclaim performing for six consecutive seasons at The Metropolitan Opera, La Scala and Opera de Paris, among others; and The Tony Award for best actor in a musical for his performance in a 2008 revival of ''South Pacific (musical), South Pacific''. The Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, São Paulo State Symphony is one of the world's outstanding orchestras; their artistic director beginning in 2012 is the noted American conductor Marin Alsop. In 1952, Heitor Villa-Lobos wrote his Symphony Number 10 ('Ameríndia') for the 400th anniversary of São Paulo: an allegorical, historical and religious account of the city told through the eyes of its founder
José de Anchieta José de Anchieta y Díaz de Clavijo (Joseph of Anchieta) (19 March 1534 – 9 June 1597) was a Spanish Jesuit missionary to the Portuguese colony of Brazil in the second half of the 16th century. A highly influential figure in Brazil's hi ...
. São Paulo's opera houses are: Theatro Municipal (São Paulo), São Paulo Municipal Theater, Theatro São Pedro and Alfa Theater, for the symphonic concerts there is the Sala São Paulo, the latter being the headquarters of OSESP, an orchestra. The city hosts several music halls. The main ones are: Citibank Hall, HSBC Music Hall, Olympia, Via Funchal, Villa Country, Arena Anhembi and Espaco das Américas. The Anhembi Sambadrome hosts musical presentations as well, in addition to the Carnival of São Paulo. Other facilities include the new Praça das Artes, with the Municipal Conservatory of Music Chamber Hall and others venues, like, Cultura Artistica, Teatro Sérgio Cardoso with a venue for only dance performances and Herzog & DeMeron's Centro Cultural Luz, for Ballet, Opera, theater and concerts, with three huge halls. The auditorium of the Latin-American Cultural Center, The Mozarteum, holds concerts through the year. Festivals as the Virada Cultural (Cultural Overnight) happen once a year and holds hundreds of attractions spread throughout the city.


Literature

São Paulo was home to the first
Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
missionaries in Brazil, in the early 16th century. They wrote reports to the Portuguese crown about the newly found land, the Indigenous peoples, native peoples and composed poetry and music for the catechism, creating the first written works from the area. The literary priests included
Manuel da Nóbrega Manuel da Nóbrega (old spelling ''Manoel da Nóbrega'') (18 October 1517 – 18 October 1570) was a Portuguese Jesuit priest and first Provincial of the Society of Jesus in colonial Brazil. Together with José de Anchieta, he was very influent ...
and
José de Anchieta José de Anchieta y Díaz de Clavijo (Joseph of Anchieta) (19 March 1534 – 9 June 1597) was a Spanish Jesuit missionary to the Portuguese colony of Brazil in the second half of the 16th century. A highly influential figure in Brazil's hi ...
, living in or near the colony then called ''Piratininga''. They also helped to register the Old Tupi language, lexicon and its grammar. In 1922, the Brazilian Modernist Movement, launched in São Paulo, began to achieve cultural independence. Brazil had gone through the same stages of development as the rest of Latin America, but its political and cultural independence came more gradually. Brazilian elite culture was originally strongly tied to Culture of Portugal, Portugal. Gradually writers developed a multi-ethnic body of work that was distinctively Brazilian. The presence of large numbers of former slaves added a distinctive Ethnic groups of Africa, African character to the Culture of Brazil, culture. Subsequent infusions of immigrants of non-Portuguese origin broadened the range of influences.
Mário de Andrade Mário Raul de Morais Andrade (October 9, 1893 – February 25, 1945) was a Brazilian poet, novelist, musicologist, art historian and critic, and photographer. He wrote one of the first and most influential collections of modern Brazilian poetr ...
and
Oswald de Andrade José Oswald de Souza Andrade (January 11, 1890 – October 22, 1954) was a Brazilian poet, novelist and cultural critic. He was born, spent most of his life and died in São Paulo. Andrade was one of the founders of Brazilian modernism and a m ...
were the prototypical modernists. With the urban poems of "Paulicéia Desvairada" and "Carefree Paulistan land" (1922), Mário de Andrade established the Cultural movement, movement in Brazil. His rhapsodic novel ''Macunaíma'' (1928), with its abundance of Brazilian folklore, represents the apex of modernism's nationalist prose through its creation of an offbeat native hero, national hero. Oswald de Andrade's experimental poetry,
avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...
prose, particularly the novel Serafim Ponte Grande (1933) and provocative manifestos exemplify the movement's break with tradition. Modernist artists and writers chose the Municipal Theatre of São Paulo to launch their Modernist manifesto. The site happened to be a bastion of European culture with opera and classical music presentations from Germany, France, Austria and Italy. They defied the high society that frequented the venue and who insisted on speaking only foreign languages such as French, behaving as if Brazilian culture did not matter.


Theaters

Many historians believe that the first theatrical performance in Brazil was held in São Paulo. The Portuguese
Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
missionary
José de Anchieta José de Anchieta y Díaz de Clavijo (Joseph of Anchieta) (19 March 1534 – 9 June 1597) was a Spanish Jesuit missionary to the Portuguese colony of Brazil in the second half of the 16th century. A highly influential figure in Brazil's hi ...
(1534–1597) wrote short plays that were performed and watched by the Tupi–Guarani natives. In the second half of the 19th century a cultural, musical and theatrical life emerged. Ethnic groups in Europe, European ethnic groups began holding performances in some of the state's rural cities. The most important period for the art in São Paulo was the 1940s. São Paulo had had a professional company, Teatro Brasileiro de Comédia, (Brazilian Theater of Comedy), along with others. During the 1960s, major theater productions in São Paulo and Brazil were presented by two groups. Teatro de Arena began with a group of students from Escola de Arte Dramática (Drama Art school, Art School), founded by Alfredo Mesquita, in 1948. In 1958, the group excelled with the play "Eles não usam black tie" by Gianfrancesco Guarnieri which was the first in the history of the Brazilian drama to feature Wage labour, labor Laborer, workers as protagonists. After the military coup of 1964, plays started focusing on History of Brazil, Brazilian history (Zumbi, Tiradentes). Teatro de Arena and Teatro Oficina supported the democratic resistance during the military dictatorship period, marked by its censorship. The Tropicalist movement began there. A number of plays represented history, historic moments, notably "O Rei da Vela", "Galileu Galilei" (1968), "Na Sela das Cidades" (1969) and "Gracias Señor" (1972). The district of Bixiga concentrates the greatest number of theaters, around 40 including the theaters that are closed for refurbishing or for other reasons, and small alternatives companies venues. Some of the most important are Renault, Brigadeiro, Zaccaro, Bibi Ferreira, Maria della Costa, Ruth Escobar, Opera, TBC, Imprensa, Oficina, Àgora, Cacilda Becker, Sérgio Cardoso, do Bixiga, and Bandeirantes.


Museums

São Paulo has many neighborhoods and buildings of historical value. The city has a large number of museums and art galleries. Among the museums in the city are
São Paulo Museum of Art The São Paulo Museum of Art ( pt, Museu de Arte de São Paulo, or ') is an art museum located on Paulista Avenue in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. It is well known for its headquarters, a 1968 concrete and glass structure designed by Lina Bo B ...
(MASP), the Museu Paulista, Ipiranga Museum, the Museum of Sacred Art, the
Museum of the Portuguese Language The Museum of the Portuguese Language ( pt, Museu da Língua Portuguesa, , ) is an interactive Portuguese language—and Linguistics/Language Development in general—museum in São Paulo, Brazil. It is housed in the Estação da Luz railway stati ...
, the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, among other renowned institutions. It also houses one of the top five zoos in the world, the São Paulo Zoo. The Ipiranga Museum is the first monument built to preserve the memory of the Brazilian Declaration of Independence, Independence of Brazil, opened on 7 September 1895, with the name of Natural Science Museum]. In 1919, it became a history museum. Reflecting the architectural influence of the Versailles Palace in France, the Ipiranga's collection, with approximately 100,000 pieces, comprises works of art, furniture, clothing and appliances that belonged to those who took part in History of Brazil, Brazilian history, such as explorers, rulers and freedom fighters. Its facilities house a library with 100,000 books and the "Centro de Documentação Histórica", Historic Documentation Center, with 40,000 manuscripts. The Ema Gordon Klabin Cultural Foundation opened to the public in March 2007. Its headquarters is a 1920s mansion. It houses 1545 works, including paintings by Marc Chagall, Pompeo Batoni, Pierre Gobert and Frans Post, Brazilian modernists
Tarsila do Amaral Tarsila de Aguiar do Amaral (; 1 September 1886 – 17 January 1973) was a Brazilian painter, draftswoman, and translator. She is considered one of the leading Latin American modernist artists, and is regarded as the painter who best achieved Bra ...
, Di Cavalcanti and Candido Portinari, Portinari, period furniture, decorative and archeological pieces. Stretching over , Memorial da América Latina (''Latin America's Memorial'') was conceived to showcase Latin America, Latin American countries and their roots and cultures. It is home to the headquarters of Parlamento Latino-Americano – Parlatino (Latin American Parliament). Designed by Oscar Niemeyer, Memorial has an exhibition pavilion with permanent exhibition of the continent's craftwork production; a library with books, newspapers, magazines, videos, films and records about the history of Latin America; and a 1,679-seat auditorium. Hospedaria do Imigrante (''Immigrant's Hostel'') was built in 1886 and opened in 1887. Immigrant's Hostel was built in Brás to welcome the immigrants who arrived in Brazil through the
Port of Santos The Port of Santos (in Portuguese: ''Porto de Santos'') is located in the city of Santos, state of São Paulo, Brazil. As of 2006, it is the busiest container port in Latin America. In 2016, it was considered the 39th largest port in the world f ...
, quarantining those who were sick and helping new arrivals to find work in coffee plantations in Western, Northern and Southwestern São Paulo State and Northern Paraná State. From 1882 to 1978, 2.5 million immigrants of more than 60 nationalities and ethnicities were guests there, all of them duly registered in the museum's books and lists. The hostel hosted approximately 3,000 people on average, but occasionally reached 8,000. The hostel received the last immigrants in 1978. In 1998 the hostel became a museum, where it preserves the immigrants' documentation, memory and objects. Located in one of the few remaining centenarian buildings, the museum occupies part of the former hostel. The museum also restores wooden train wagons from the former São Paulo Railway. Two restored wagons inhabit the museum. One dates from 1914, while a second class passenger car dates from 1931. The museum records the names of all immigrants who were hosted there from 1888 to 1978. São Paulo Museum of Art, MASP has one of world's most important collections of Western art history, European art. The most important collections cover Italian and French painting schools. The museum was founded by Assis Chateaubriand and is directed by Pietro Maria Bardi. Its headquarters, opened in 1968, were designed by Lina Bo Bardi. MASP organizes temporary exhibitions in special areas. Brazilian and international exhibitions of contemporary arts, photography, design and architecture take turn during the whole year. Located next to the Luz metro station, the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo was projected by architect Ramos de Azevedo in 1895. It was constructed to house an Arts Lyceum. In 1911, it became a museum, where it hosts a number of art exhibitions, such as bronze statues of French sculptor Auguste Rodin took place in 2001. There is also a permanent exhibition on the "Resistance" movement that took place during military dictatorship in the Republican period, including a reconstructed prison cell where political prisoners were kept. The Oca do Ibirapuera, Oca (''oca'' means thatched house in Native Brazilian Tupi-Guarani languages, Tupi-Guarani) is a white, spaceship-like building sitting in the greens of
Ibirapuera Park Ibirapuera Park ( pt, Parque Ibirapuera) is an urban park in São Paulo. It comprises 158 hectares between Av. República do Líbano, Av. Pedro Alvares Cabral, and Av. IV Centenário, and is the most visited park in South America, with 14.4 million ...
. An exhibition place with more than . Modern art, Native Brazilian art, and photographie are some of the topics of past thematic exhibitions. São Paulo Museum of Image and Sound, Museu da Imagem e do Som (''Image and Sound Museum'') preserves music, cinema, photography and graphic design, graphical arts. MIS has a collection of more than 200,000 images. It has more than 1,600 fiction videotapes, documentaries and music and 12,750 titles recorded in Super 8 film, Super 8 and 16 mm film. MIS organizes concerts, cinema and video festivals and photography and graphical arts exhibitions. The Museum of Art of the Parliament of São Paulo is a contemporary art museum housed in the Palácio 9 de Julho, the Legislative Assembly of São Paulo house. The museum is run by the Department of Artistic Heritage of the Legislative Assembly and has paintings, sculpture, prints, ceramics and photographs, exploring the Brazilian contemporary art. The Football Museum, Museu do Futebol (''Football Museum'') is at the famous soccer stadium Paulo Machado de Carvalho, which was built in 1940 during Getúlio Vargas presidency. The museum shows the history of soccer with a special attention to the memories, emotions and cultural values promoted by the sport during the 20th and 21st centuries in Brazil. The visit also includes fun and interactive activities, 16 rooms from the permanent collection, plus a temporary exposition.


Media

São Paulo is home to the two most important daily newspapers in Brazil, ''Folha de S.Paulo'' and ''O Estado de S. Paulo''. Also, the top three weekly news magazines of the country are based in the city, ''Veja (magazine), Veja'', ''Época (Brazilian magazine), Época'' and ''ISTOÉ''. Two of the five major television networks are based in the city, Rede Bandeirantes, Band and RecordTV, while Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão, SBT and RedeTV! are based in Osasco, a city in the Greater São Paulo, São Paulo metropolitan area, while Rede Globo, Globo, the country's most watched TV channel, has a major news bureau and entertainment production center in the city. In addition, TV Gazeta, Gazeta is at
Paulista Avenue Paulista Avenue (Avenida Paulista in Portuguese, ''Paulista'' being the demonym for those born in the state of São Paulo) is one of the most important avenues in São Paulo, Brazil. It stretches and runs northwest to southeast. Its northwest p ...
and the city is used for its station idents since 2014. Many of the major AM and FM radio networks of Brazil are headquartered in São Paulo, such as Jovem Pan, Rádio Mix, Transamérica Pop, Transamérica, BandNews FM, Central Brasileira de Notícias, CBN, 89 A Radio Rock, Kiss FM and Grupo Bandeirantes de Comunicação, Band FM. The telephone area code for the city of São Paulo is 11.


Sports

The city hosts sporting events of national and international importance, such as the São Paulo Grand Prix, held at the Interlagos Circuit. Among the main events that São Paulo hosted are the 1950 FIFA World Cup, the 1963 Pan American Games, the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship, the
2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...
2014 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony, Opening Ceremony (and five more matches from the same tournament) and The city also has a Jockey Club, where the first race took place on October 29, 1876. As in the rest of Brazil, Association football, football is the most popular sport. The city's major teams are Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, Corinthians, Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras, Palmeiras and São Paulo FC, São Paulo. Associação Portuguesa de Desportos, Portuguesa is a medium club and Clube Atlético Juventus, Juventus, Nacional Atlético Clube (SP), Nacional and Barcelona Esportivo Capela, Barcelona EC are three small clubs.
Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
is also one of the most popular sports in Brazil. One of Brazil's most famous sportsmen is three-time Formula One world champion and São Paulo native Ayrton Senna. The Formula One São Paulo Grand Prix (formally known as the
Brazilian Grand Prix The Brazilian Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prêmio do Brasil), currently held under the name São Paulo Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prêmio de São Paulo), is a Formula One championship race which is currently held at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace ...
) is held at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in Interlagos, Socorro (district of São Paulo), Socorro. The Grand Prix has been held at the Interlagos circuit from 1973 Brazilian Grand Prix, 1973 to 1977, in 1979 and 1980, and from 1990 Brazilian Grand Prix, 1990 to the present. Four Brazilian drivers have won the Brazilian Grand Prix, all of whom were born in São Paulo: Emerson Fittipaldi (1973 Brazilian Grand Prix, 1973 and 1974 Brazilian Grand Prix, 1974), Carlos Pace, José Carlos Pace (1975 Brazilian Grand Prix, 1975), Ayrton Senna (1991 Brazilian Grand Prix, 1991 and 1993 Brazilian Grand Prix, 1993) and Felipe Massa (2006 Brazilian Grand Prix, 2006 and 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, 2008). In 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix, 2007, a new local railway station ''Autódromo'' of the Line C (Line 9) of Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos, CPTM, was constructed near the circuit to improve access. Volleyball, basketball, skateboard and tennis are other major sports. There are several traditional sports clubs in São Paulo that are home for teams in many championships. The most important are Esporte Clube Pinheiros (waterpolo, Esporte Clube Pinheiros (women's volleyball), women's volleyball, swimming, Esporte Clube Pinheiros (basketball), men's basketball and Team handball, handball), Clube Athletico Paulistano (basketball), Esporte Clube Banespa (volleyball, handball and futsal), Esporte Clube Sírio (basketball), Associação Atlética Hebraica (basketball), Clube Atlético Monte Líbano (basketball), Clube de Campo Associação Atlética Guapira (amateur football) and Clube Atlético Ipiranga (multi-sports and former professional football). The Saint Silvester Road Race, São Silvestre Race takes place every New Year's Eve. It was first held in 1925, when the competitors ran about . Since then, the distance raced varied, but is now set at . The
São Paulo Indy 300 The Itaipava São Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestlé was an event in the IRL IndyCar Series, contested in the 2010 through 2013 IndyCar Series seasons. The event was originally announced on November 25, 2009, as the first championship event f ...
was an IndyCar Series race in Santana (district of São Paulo), Santana that ran annually from 2010 to 2013. The event was removed from the 2014 IndyCar Series season, 2014 season calendar. São Paulo hosted the official 1984 Tournament of the Americas (basketball) where the Brazil men's national basketball team, Brazilian national team won its first out of four gold medals. In Bom Retiro district, there is a public baseball stadium, Estádio Mie Nishi, while Santo Amaro district is the seat of the Núcleo de Alto Rendimento (NAR) is a high performance sports center focused on Olympic athletes. São Paulo is also rugby union's stronghold in Brazil, with the main rugby field in the city being at the São Paulo Athletic Club, São Paulo's oldest club, founded by the British community. The city has five major stadiums: Morumbi Stadium, owned by São Paulo FC; Pacaembu Stadium, owned by the municipal administration; the Allianz Parque arena by S.E. Palmeiras; Canindé Stadium, owned by Portuguesa de Desportos and Neoquimica Arena, owned by Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, located in Itaquera (district of São Paulo), Itaquera. It also has several volleyball and basketball gyms, tennis courts, and many other sports arenas, such as the Ginásio do Ibirapuera, intended mainly for athletics.Ginásio do Ibirapuera


Notable people


See also

* ABCD Region * Japanese cuisine in São Paulo * Large Cities Climate Leadership Group * Largest cities in the Americas * List of municipalities in the state of São Paulo by population * OPENCities * Caminhada Noturna (night walk) *
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...


References


Bibliography

*


Notes


External links

;Official websites
São Paulo City Hall website

São Paulo Tourism Office website

São Paulo Metro (subway) website

BM&F Bovespa – São Paulo Stock Exchange website
;Other websites

s
UK House of Commons Trade and Industry Committee report on Brazil
* *
Maplink – São Paulo Street Guide and Maps

OPENCities Monitor participant

Discovering São Paulo

Travel Guide to Brazil

AboutBrasil/São Paulo – Powerhouse of South America
;News stories * ''Adbusters, AdBusters''
"São Paulo: A City Without Ads"
* ''The Times''
"Cutting-edge style in São Paulo"
by Alex Bello. * ''The Times''
"Where cafezinho is the key to commerce"
Retrieved 6 December 2007. * ''Guardian.co.uk, Guardian Unlimited''
"Blog by blog guide to ... São Paulo"
* ''The New York Times''
"36 Hours in São Paulo"


{{DEFAULTSORT:Sao Paulo São Paulo, Populated places established in 1554 1554 establishments in the Portuguese Empire