São Paulo – On the eves of holidays like Christmas and Children’s Day, the area around 25th of March Street (Rua 25 de Março) welcomes over 1 million people in one single day. Days like these might be an exception, but this area in Downtown São Paulo is never vacant. After all, that’s where you’ll find some of the cheapest fabrics, costume jewelry and toys, among a bevy of other items.
Since the late 19th century, Syrian and Lebanese immigrants settled in the area, many of whom were persecuted Orthodox Christians. The region became a stronghold for the Arab community, which now lends its names to several nearby streets, like Cavalheiro Basílio Jafet, Jorge Azem and the Ragueb Chofi Square.
A researcher on the area and the author of master’s thesis Pelos caminhos de São Paulo: a trajetória dos sírios e libaneses na cidade (Through the ways of São Paulo: the paths of Syrians and Lebanese in the city) Juliana Mouawad Khouri says immigrants were driven to Brazil by political and religious persecution, poverty and hunger.
“They settled here because rent was cheap, there was a train station close by, and a public market where they would stock up so they could peddle goods as travelling salesmen. The immigrants who arrived later would stay in the same condominiums as the earlier ones; they would get assisted in adapting and learning the language. There used to be entire buildings whose residents hailed from the same city in Syria or Lebanon,” says Khouri.
Trade hub
The owner of a perfume store and director of the 25th of March Storeowners Union (Univinco), Sérgio Zahr claims the old travelling salesmen would sell their goods out of large suitcases that mostly held textiles. Khouri says that as they thrived, those merchants would open stores in the lines of business they were already in, like textiles.
If on the one hand immigrants have christened some of the local streets, the name 25th of March, a reference to the date of Brazil’s first Constitution, enacted in 1824, was “adopted” by the immigrants as the Arab Community Day in São Paulo.
There are several explanations for the success of street retail in the area. Back in the early 20th century, the Tamanduateí River used to course through, and on the corner of 25th of March St. and Ladeira Porto Geral hill, there used to be a quay where goods would come in. Zahr claims retail became widespread because in one of the many floods that plagued the area, one of the merchants whose textiles were damaged had a discount sale to get rid of the product. The other storeowners decided to soak their own products to keep apace with the competition.
Currently, the street lures in customers and entrepreneurs from all over the country. Or from all over the world, after all, many of the shopkeepers are Chinese. Others are of Syrian and Lebanese descent. A smaller portion is comprised of Brazilians with no Arab background and Koreans. The stores’ profile also changed. In the past, most would sell wholesale and focus on fabric. “At this time, there are virtually no wholesalers at all. The vast majority are retailers,” says Zahr. Additionally, product variety is at a whole new level. Today, one can buy next to everything at 25th of March Street.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
