On the last leg of my trip to South America, our flight was booked to leave out of Sao Paulo.  The good news was that since it was an international flight, we didn’t travel until late in the evening.  The day was free to tour and sightsee!

The travel company was nice and arranged for us to have several buses for the day to tour the city.  Although we didn’t get to spend much time there, it still gave me a feeling of what the city was all about.  In case you weren’t familiar with Sao Paulo, it’s a large city that is the financial center of Brazil.  According to Wikipedia, Sao Paulo is the largest and wealthiest city in Brazil, and the population is 12.11 million.  Wow!  That’s bigger than New York City and Los Angeles put together!  I’m not sure that the majority of the residents were not out driving around the city on the day of our tour.  It was a very busy city, traffic jams as far as the eye could see!

One of the first things that you notice about the city is a dedication to public art.  Statues, sculptures, and wall murals are everywhere.  According to many sources, the South American graffiti movement was started in Sao Paulo.  The street art images include everything from pop culture to political statements.

There are many streets in Sao Paulo that are lined with graffiti as far as the eye can see.  It’s almost like an open-air art gallery! One of the neighborhoods that we visited on our tour was named Pinheiros.  There were restaurants, nightclubs and art galleries located throughout the area.  There were lots of people walking around.  People in Brazil, Argentina, and Chile really enjoy being outside doing things, of course the weather usually cooperates!  According to our guide, Pinheiros was one of the cool neighborhoods in Sao Paulo.

Every artist owns the wall that displays their art.  These walls aren’t just artists who wanted to spray paint their images on public walls and it isn’t the work of local neighborhood gangs.  The art in Sao Paulo is well thought out and most of it is welcomed in the community.  I did read recently that the new mayor was threatening to paint over some of the more graphic creations in the city.  South America definitely embraces art!

Pinheiros was a great place to travel around to sightsee.  You can shop, enjoy, art, or grab a cocktail!  Sao Paulo is a thriving city that has a lot to offer so I was so glad that I got to visit.  Until next week xoxo.