Man Made Lake

Sao Paulo Leftovers

    A year ago today Kayt and I were in Sao Paulo.  We spent 3 weeks in South America and took so many photos that this is the 44th, and probably the last, post about our travels there.  Sao Paulo in particular struck us as photogenic with it's exceptionally ugly streetscapes and fabulous graffiti.

    The upper left photo is of Sao Paulo's famous vertical favela, a 22-story building overrun with squatters.   

    In other news, Sao Paulo recently banned logos and billboards from public spaces.  This is a pretty amazing feat, especially in a third world city overrun with offensive advertising.  Meanwhile in New York, new standardized newsstands offer a 6'x10' advertising panel facing the street.

Sao Paulo Street Art 3

1 from republica,
2-3 bela vista
4 pinhieros

Sao Paulo Street Art 2

Dois.

1-2 from Bela Vista
3, Vila Madalena
4-5, Liberdade
6, Avenida Paulista
7-8, Bela Vista

Sao Paulo Street Art 1

It felt as though Paulistanos actually welcomed street art. Some pieces had been there so long they were starting to fade. Perhaps it's because Sao Paulo's buildings are so ugly. Maybe owners don't mind the spruced up streetscape. Maybe they just don't have any pride for their buildings. Regardless, we sensed a certain respect for good street art. As in Rio de Janeiro, taggers never wrote over any of the really nice pieces. In the US, that would be the first place they'd tag.

I'm still working on a translation for the poem in the first picture (from downtown). 2, 3 and 4 are from Liberdade (see this post for more from Liberdade). 2 and 3 are by Os Gemeos, one of my favorites. 4 is a sticker job in Vila Madalena. 5, another Os Gemeos, is at a sunken freeway in Liberdade. It looks like it must have been commissioned, although I can't imagine the U.S. Federal Highway Administration condoning such an act. Enjoy.

Sao Paulo 9

        Technically Republica is a neighborhood within downtown (which we already covered). But we spent so much time there that it's become noteworthy in our minds. We slept at Sao Paulo Hostel just off of Rua Sao Jao. On the street below our window recent immigrants from Africa spilled onto the sidewalk from three adjacent bars. Across the street a small roundabout was flanked with gay discos full of screaming queens and fat old men. The majority of our time in Republica was spent hanging out with our friend Eric at his Cybercafe Paris or walking to the metro stop in the main square. On our last day in Sao Paulo we ate $2 lunch buffets. It looked different than the rest of Sao Paulo. Ugly, mind you, but not Sao Paulo ugly. Maybe Berlin ugly with a touch of art deco.