The biggest Gay Pride in the World
The Brazilian city of Sao Paulo, one of the
world’s largest cities, held its tenth annual gay pride parade on Saturday 17th
June 2006. It’s the largest annual gay pride in the world, with this year a
record attendance of 2.4 million people. Many dressed up (or down should I say)
in lavish carnival costumes, skimpy trunks and of course there were lots of
yellow, green and blue, the colours of the Brazilian flag. The theme of this
years parade ‘homophobia is a crime’ was to highlight proposed anti-discrimination
laws. But in typical Brazilian style, participants turned a sombre topic into a
huge street party, dancing, drinking and kissing along the parade route. The
route is about 4 kilometres long with go-go boys and drag queens dancing on the
roofs of massive slow moving sound trucks. These trucks are purpose built and
blast music out as they slowing roll down the skyscraper-lined Avenida
Paulista, turning the whole area into a jam packed party amongst the financial
heart of Brazil's biggest city.
Founded
in 1554 by Jesuit priests, São Paulo
was born destined to be the economic and cultural heart of the country. From
the arrival of the first immigrants who settled here for the work in the
coffee-growing sector, at the end of the 19th century, the city has seen a
trajectory of constant growth. The world's fourth largest city and Latin
America's biggest, São Paulo is Brazil's main
gateway for foreign visitors, arriving by air, totaling 1,623,543 arrivals in
2001. Business tourism has made the countrycity a strategic point within
Mercosul, linked directly to the main world capitals.
However therefore, it is not without reason that today, in Brazil, things happen first in São Paulo, a city that houses 6% of the
Brazilian population, represents around 9% of the national GNP and commands the
country's third largest budget.
GLAMOUR
Luxury,
sophistication and refinement: São
Paulo has them all. This cosmopolitan city - the
country’s wealthiest – exudes glamour. There are glamorous and sophisticated
restaurants run by renowned chefs, private clubs, high standard hotels as well
as exclusive products and services developed for discerning and special
customers. The great Broadway shows, performances of national and international
artists and musicians, along with concerts in refined halls such as Sala São
Paulo, provide unique experiences for those who want to enjoy all the
sophistication São Paulo
has to offer. The true extent of São
Paulo’s glamour can be seen in a single visit to the stores
and streets that are home to the most famous brand names in clothes, jewelry,
cars and beverages.
WELL BEING
Although
São Paulo is
known for its frenetic pace, it also offers options for those seeking
well-being and quality of life. There are numerous venues for practicing all
types of sport, both outdoors and in covered gyms and exercise areas. The 21
parks and squares are open spaces for relaxing, reading, practicing yoga, tai
chi and other sports, walking or, simply, contemplation. Moreover, São Paulo offers
specialized venues for diverse types of alternative and beauty treatments,
sports centers, aesthetic centers, restaurants and natural products shops. The
city is also home to top of the line medical centers where one can take care of
body and mind. This is São Paulo:
hospitable, beautiful and concerned about its visitors’ and inhabitants’ health
and well-being.
ART
It
is difficult not to fall in love with a city that supports and promotes so many
cultural happenings simultaneously. São Paulo
has the richest art collection in the country, and is considered the cultural
capital of Latin America for simultaneously
hosting exhibits, festivals, plays and concerts to suit a wide range of tastes
and styles. The city strengthens its identity as a “city of all peoples”
through its galleries, cultural centers, museums, monuments, as well as its
popular art, in fairs and ateliers. But, São
Paulo is also art in the architecture of its gracious
buildings, religious temples and modern skyscrapers of colored glass, steel and
concrete. This is São Paulo:
hospitable, cosmopolitan and cultural.
GREEN
São Paulo at first
sight may look like a huge wall formed by buildings and skyscrapers. However,
the grandeur of this metropolis can also be felt in the green areas that it
boasts. The mountains of the Cantareira
Range, one of the biggest
urban forests in the world, and the Tree Nursery form a broad greenbelt to the
north of the city. More to the south, this greenbelt is filled out by the
native species of the Botanical Garden, as well as the Capivari Monos
Environmental Protection Area, with its native Atlantic rainforest vegetation
that houses two Indian villages and is an excellent option for eco-tourism. The
parks in the urban areas of the metropolis, such as Ibirapuera, Villa Lobos,
Aclimação and the Burle Max are the lungs of the metropolis, breathing life and
beauty into the city.
ITS
MANY FACES
It
is very difficult to know how many nationalities make up cosmopolitan São Paulo. There are about
70 different peoples that coexist harmoniously with the city’s inhabitants,
known as ‘Paulistanos,’ forming an incomparable cultural melting-pot fueled by
a rich diversity of traditions, religions and customs of the immigrants who
have made São Paulo their home. It is from this mix that São Paulo diversifies and keeps putting on
new faces, becoming evermore interesting and unique. It is possible to get to
know the world without leaving the city. One has just to take a stroll through
traditional neighborhoods like Liberdade, Mooca and Bom Retiro, or go shopping,
to appreciate the traditional dishes or take part in an open-air festival like
Achiropita. The faces that make up the city are so numerous that São Paulo keeps changing
every day. And this constant change brings color and joy to a city that
embraces all who seek it.
THE PAULISTANO CITY
Everybody
has already heard of São Paulo
as the capital for work. But, the city that never sleeps is much more. It's the
capital of culture, entertainment and gastronomic pleasure. And Paulistanos
know how to enjoy all this like nobody else. There’s nothing better than a
happy hour in the evening at one of the famous São Paulo bars, with a cold beer on tap and
hors d’oeuvres, only to continue on for a quiet movie or a lively night out at
a club. On the weekends, after a little exercise in one of the city parks, go
to the open-air market to sample a delicious savory pastry, before meeting
friends for a traditional feijoada bean stew. For those who are less sporty,
there is always the option of looking for a bookstore where reading a good book
and sipping fresh expresso coffee go hand in hand. Later, the stroll can
continue with a visit to one of the handicraft or antique fairs dotting the
squares of the city’s many neighborhoods. The night also has options in store
for all tastes. Ranging from the pricey and sophisticated to the affordable,
the activities are endless, 7 days a week.
GAY SCENE IN SAO PAOLO
There are 2 main gay area’s in the city that
have countless bars, clubs, shops, restaurants and saunas.
1) Jardins (Paulista-Consolacao) is
the more upper class area;
2)
Republica Park (Praca Da Republica) is a more old town and sexual gay
area.
The big gay club of the
moment is The Week,
which is located at 324 Rua Guaicurus. This amazing venue is complete with an
outdoor pool & put on some of the best pride club nights.
Then there’s Ultra Lounge at Rua
da Consolacao, sumptuous sofas and velvet curtains under an enormous crystal
chandelier.
WHERE TO STAY
Eldorado Boulevard:
www.hoteleldorado.com.br
Ibis Sao Paulo Paulista:
www.ibishotel.com/ibis/fichehotel/gb/ibi/3735/fiche_hotel.shtml
Maksoud Plaza: www.maksoud.com
Fasano: www.fasano.com.br/hotel/hotel_ingles.html
Hotel Unique (very posh): www.HotelUnique.com.br
SUMMERY:
Sao
Paulo
definatelly is one of the world's greatest cities, but its sheering size,
combined with its workaholic way of living can seem way more overwelming
than any other place on Earth! You'll be shocked by it! Sao
Paulo is not the kind of city that you will fall in love
with at first sight. It will take you a while to assimilate the impact
that the city will have on you! Sao Paulo is the kind of
Metropolis that grows in you as you get to know it better, and learn how to
admire it's grandiousness! Sao
Paulo has a spell that no one knows how to explain, a
spell so strong that until this day attracts immigrants, people from all over
the world that settle here and seem to never get enough of this wonderful city!
If there is one time in the year to visit Sao
Paulo, I’d recommend during the cities Gay Pride
weekend.
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