My first impression of São Paulo was that of an enormous, sprawling city of skyscraper buildings, teeming with cars and people. It was raining when first we arrived and although warm, the grey sky did nothing to enhance the towering landscape. São Paulo is the financial heart of Brazil and these skyscrapers are home to the banks and commercial operations that contribute to the economic growth of the country. The residents of São Paulo, or Paulistas as they are known, are an ethnically diverse population with origins from regions such as Europe, Japan, Africa and some Arab countries.
The city is divided by the main through road, the Ave. Paulista, with the poorer working class suburbs of the Centro region to the north and the more affluent leafier areas of the Jardin area to the South. The Ave Paulista and the roads off it are a paradise for shoppers, with a number of malls with designer outlets all calling you to spend money. During our free time over the week-end we took the opportunity to explore both sides of the city, to try to get a feel for the real São Paulo.
On Saturday, we took the Metro to the historical centre that is located in the Centro area of the City. This is where you find the Catedral de Se, Theatro Municipal and the Praca da Republica. On leaving the underground station, we immediately came upon a demonstration that was taking place in the main square. With our lack of Portuguese we were unable to ask what was happening, but by the number of women all wearing purple T shirts with same slogan, we guessed it was some sort of Women’s rights rally. Undeterred by the crowd, we carried on with our walking tour of the area. One of the buildings we were trying to locate was the Municipal Market, but we failed to find it on this visit. However, we did come across many familiar names from back home, such as McDonalds and Subway. We did note that the shopping area in this part of town had none of the designer outlets of the Ave Paulista, but it did have lots of street hawkers selling what looked to be dodgy goods.
On Sunday morning, the weather changed and the sun appeared so we all walked to the Park Do Ibirapuera situated in the Jardin suburb of town. What a contrast to the day previous, not only with the weather but the whole residential area and culture. The streets were wider, cleaner and leafier. The park was filled with joggers, cyclists and families enjoying a stroll around the lake in the sunshine. So different to what we had seen the day yesterday.
On Sunday afternoon, we went back to Centro and did eventually find the municipal market, a belle époque confection of stained glass and a series of vast domes is how it was described in our guide book. It did have those features, but it was located in a very poor neighbourhood and not a place that I would recommend anyone visit after dark, but on a sunny Sunday afternoon it was a great experience to mingle with the locals. On the way back to the hotel even the Ave Paulista looked more inviting in the sunshine.
I found São Paulo to be a city of contrasts, with its high rise modern skyscrapers and small havens of green parks. This was also true of the residents of the city, in that there appeared to be a great divide between those who have money and those that have little income. From our University visits it was apparent that this social divide has a real impact on access to higher education and hence the career prospects for the poorer people of the city, The public University, USP charges no student fees, but the entrance exam is out of the reach of students from the state Schools. Only those students who have access to private tuition can hope to attain the educational standard of the entrance exam. Likewise only students from wealthier families can afford the fees to attend the private University FGV. Widening participation to attract students from the lower social classes is yet to be widely adopted in Brazil.
Janice Stanton 16/03/2011
No comments:
Post a Comment