São Paulo (Portuguese for Saint Paul) is the Capital of the state of São Paulo in southeastern Brazil. It is located at 23° 32′ 36″ S, 46° 37′ 59″ W, 400 km (250 miles) from Rio de Janeiro, and 1030 km (640 miles) from federal capital Brasília.
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The city has an area of 1,575 square kilometers (575 sq miles) and a population of approximately 10 million (according to CityMayors, 2005), which makes it the largest city in Brazil and South America and the second largest in the world.
About 18 million people live in the São Paulo metropolitan area - defined by Brazilian norms, which is currently ranked as the fourth-largest in the world and by far the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. If using international norms for Metropolitan area, and adjoining metropolitan regions Campinas and Baixada Santista are included, the population encompasses some 24 million, without even including major satellite cities like Sorocaba and São José dos Campos.
São Paulo is home to University of São Paulo, to two major art museums (MASP and Pinacoteca do Estado), a major symphonic orchestra (OSESP), and a Formula One Grand Prix race track (Interlagos).
There are two major airports in the São Paulo metropolitan area: Guarulhos (GRU, for domestic and international flights) and Congonhas (CGH, for domestic flights).
First named São Paulo de Piratininga, São Paulo became officially a city in 1711. It experienced a boom during the Coffee cycle, starting in the late 19th century - chiefly because of its privileged position next to the port of Santos, through which most of the country's exports were shipped.
After 1881, waves of immigrants from Italy, Japan and many other countries arrived in São Paulo, at first to work at the enormous coffee plantations established in the State. In the 20th century, with the increasing industrial development of the country, many of them moved to São Paulo, which also attracted new contingents of immigrants.
Another important historical landmark is the Universidade de São Paulo's Law School, also known as Largo São Francisco, claimed to be (though it is not true) the first academic institution in Brazil. First installed into a monastery, it was founded on 1 March 1828, right after the beginning of the Brazilian Empire, following the increasing need for lawyers and politicians. As rich Brazilians used to go to Lisbon to take undergraduate Law courses, the Brazilian Emperor, Dom Pedro I, decided it was high time to create a national Law School. It attracted students from all over the country, who gave São Paulo a bohemian lifestyle.
São Paulo's Stock exchange is the Bovespa, while its Futures exchange is BM&F. Its financial districts are located on the surroundings of Avenida Paulista and in the Centro Velho (Old Downtown). Other important business districts are located near Avenida Berrini, Itaim Bibi, Vila Olímpia and Chácara Santo Antônio neighbourhoods.
There are a number of highly specialized regions, like Bom Retiro and Brás (wholesale garment districts), Consolação (lighting equipment), Rua Santa Ifigênia (electrical and electronic parts), Rua Teodoro Sampaio (furniture and musical equipment), the posh Rua Oscar Freire (designer and label stores) and the crowded Rua Vinte e Cinco de Março. São Paulo is also home to a large number of advertising and broadcasting companies.
As in many other large cities in developing countries, about 18% of São Paulo's population lives below the poverty line. The city has several extensive shantytowns (favelas and cortiços).
São Paulo's current Mayor is José Serra of the Party of the Brazilian Social Democracy (PSDB). His mandate expires on December 31, 2008.
São Paulo's latest mayors were:
| Mayor | Entry in | Left Office in | Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| José Serra | 2005 | - | PSDB |
| Marta Suplicy | 2001 | 2004 | PT |
| Celso Pitta | 1997 | 2000 | PPB |
| Paulo Maluf | 1993 | 1996 | PPB |
| Luiza Erundina | 1989 | 1992 | PT |
| Jânio Quadros | 1986 | 1988 | PTB |
| Mário Covas | 1983 | 1985 | PMDB |
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Each borough is divided into several districts (in most cases, two or three). The borough with the greatest number of districts is the borough of Sé, in the historical downtown, with eight districts (Sé, República, Consolação, Santa Cecília, Bom Retiro, Bela Vista, Liberdade and Cambuci). In second place are the boroughs of Lapa, with six districts (Lapa, Perdizes, Barra Funda, Vila Leopoldina, Jaguara and Jaguaré) and Mooca, also with six districts (Mooca, Tatuapé, Belém, Pari, Brás and Água Rasa). The peripherical boroughs of Jabaquara and Ermelino Matarazzo have only one district.
Every two years, the Festival brings groundbreaking work by cream-of-the-crop artists from all over the world to São Paulo. In keeping with the constant transformations in media and support, the curatorship has added installations, performances, VJs, CD-ROM art, and internet art to the programme.
The Festival includes a competitive exhibition of so-called southern circuit and an extensive parallel programme. Art shows, debates, and meetings introduce new ideas and art work, setting new guidelines for contemporary art in Brazil.
Exhibitions featuring work by prominent electronic artists are also part of the Festival. Brazilian pioneers such as Rafael França and Olhar Eletrônico, and international guests such as Nam June Paik, Bill Viola and Gary Hill, have featured in the event’s past editions. Each edition has a theme of its own.
Its theme was chosen to enable a wide range of artistic positions to feel comfortable. The concept of "Free Territory" involved various dimensions: it had a physical-geographical, a socio-political as well as an aesthetic dimension – the latter, of course, being of greatest interest in the context of this exhibition.
In order to emphasize the thematic unity of the overall exhibition, the invited artists and those representing the countries are mixed together on the 25,000 square meters of the spacious Oscar Niemeyer Pavilion. Despite the complexity of individual voices, the end result was intended to be a unity.
In addition to an intensification of the North-South dialog inside Brazil, the Bienal's aims include the promoting of links between non-European cultures along a South-South orientation.
Nowadays, São Paulo Fashion Week is one of the most relevant fashion events in Brazil. It takes place twice a year, at the building of Bienal de São Paulo.
São Paulo has three airports. Congonhas Domestic Airport operates domestic and regional flights mainly to Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and Brasília. Campo de Marte handles some private and small airplanes. Guarulhos International Airport, located 25 km northeast from downtown in the neighbouring city of Guarulhos, operates domestic and international flights to the city.
The city has approximately 60 km of subway system (the São Paulo Metro, locally known as the Metrô), complemented by another 270 km of CPTM (Companhia de Trens Metropolitanos, or "Company of Metropolitan Trains") railways. Both CPTM and the subway lines carry some 3.5 million people on an average weekday, and a few new underground lines to be constructed are expected to add another million people to the system within the next five years.
The bulk of the public transportation (public and private companies) is composed by more than 10,000 buses. Also, there is a strong presence of informal transportation (dab vans).
São Paulo grew quickly from the 1940s to the 1980s and many roads and buildings were constructed without major planning. As a result, heavy traffic is common in the main avenues of the city, and traffic jams are relatively common in its larger highways (mainly during floods). The main mean of commuting into the city is by car and by bus.
[image] São Paulo has the highest per capita Helicopter ownership in the world Citation needed. The owners are an elite wealthy class who use helicopters for basic transportation, to avoid heavy traffic and the city's prison compounds, and for convenience.
Some purchase their own helicopters; others buy shares in them, to use in common with neighbors.
Most of these individuals live in elevated areas and work in high rise towers in the city's central district, making helicopter use all the easier.
Other considerable groups are:
| Capitals of Brazilian States | [image] |
|---|---|
| Aracaju | Belo Horizonte | Belém | Boa Vista | Brasília | Campo Grande | Cuiabá | Curitiba | Florianópolis | Fortaleza | Goiânia | João Pessoa | Macapá | Maceió | Manaus | Natal | Palmas | Porto Alegre | Porto Velho | Recife | Rio Branco | Rio de Janeiro | Salvador | São Paulo | São Luís | Teresina | Vitória | |