São Paulo – São Paulo, the Brazilian financial capital, also houses some of the main cultural treasures of Brazil. Visiting some museums in the city, tourists may learn about important elements of Brazilian culture, like history, language, religion, art and also the formation of its people, as well as the national passion, football. Learn about the six museums of São Paulo that house national culture.
Ipiranga Museum – The São Paulo State Museum, of the University of São Paulo (USP), better known as Ipiranga Museum, was inaugurated in 1895 and has 150,000 items, among them objects and documents that preserve the history of Brazil from the 18th Century, when the country was still a Portuguese colony, to 1950. Built to celebrate the Proclamation of the Independence of Brazil, it was erected at the site where independence was supposedly proclaimed by Emperor Peter I, in 1822. One of the main attractions of the museum is the picture painted by Pedro Américo, depicting the scene that supposedly took place on the banks of Ipiranga river, where the museum was erected. The painting is permanently exhibited in the honorary salon at the site.
Museum of Portuguese Language – The world’s only museum dedicated to a language, it covers three floors and includes a permanent exhibition and a space dedicated to temporary exhibits. Visitors may learn about the origin and meaning of several words in the language, may learn about the contributions of Indians, Africans and Europeans to the construction of Portuguese, as well as the influence of the language of the immigrants who came to Brazil, including the Arabs. Words like kibbeh, safiha and mascate (travelling or door-to-door salesman) are shown on an interactive screen, and visitors may touch them to learn more about the words. The history of Syrian and Lebanese immigrants in Brazil is also part of the collection on the contribution of foreigners, as are Arab dishes and a reproduction of part of newspaper Al Assmahy. The "Tree of Words", a 16-metre-tall sculpture, is signed by Brazilian architect Rafic Farah, who is of Arab origin.
Sacred Art Museum – The largest catholic country in the world, Brazil preserves images of saints, reliquaries, garments, paintings and other items connected to Christianity in a mud building, dating back to the 18th Century, whose walls may be as much as one metre thick. With a collection of over 20,000 items dating from the 16th to the 20th centuries, most prominent are the 500 gold and silver objects that came from churches that have already been demolished all over the country, among them a gold and platinum monstrance with over 1,000 diamonds. There are items produced by Brazilians and also artefacts coming from Portugal, Peru, France and Germany. From Italy, there is the "São Paulo Nativity Scene", with items coming from Naples and the scenery assembled in Brazil. The 18th Century nativity scene, set up by 25 artists, covers an area of almost 40 square meters. The building also houses the image of Our Mother of Light, the saint after whom Luz (Light) neighbourhood, where the museum is located, was named. There are also several replicas of images by Aleijadinho, one of the main Brazilian baroque artists.
Football Museum – A national passion, football has a museum dedicated exclusively to its stars. In an area of 6,900 square metres, divided into 15 theme rooms, within Pacaembu stadium, visitors learn about the history of the sport in the country, interact with screens that tell the main facts connected to football in Brazil and even allow for the attempted scoring of a penalty kick. World Cups have a special place, with special highlight to the main happenings and characters of the event, and also to the years in which Brazil won its five world cups. There are also many pictures, balls and old shirts, showing how the sport evolved in the country. A shop, close to the exit of the museum, sells articles by Brazilian and foreign clubs, a good opportunity to take home a memento of your visit.
Pavilion of Brazilian Cultures – Established to be an exhibition hall for all Brazilian popular art, the Pavilion was opened in April last year, showing articles from the ancient Folklore Museum, and the Folklore Research Mission, a trip by Mário de Andrade, in 1938, to the Northeast of the country, where he collected objects, films, instruments, garments and took notes about local culture. Among books, ceramic objects, canvases and sculptures, the site houses over 13,000 items. New acquisitions are still being made from artists and galleries and the items are shown in temporary exhibits. The site houses a variety of huge items, from paper masks to musical instruments, from sculptures to everyday objects made into art with the creativity of artists from all over the country. Among the temporary exhibitions that have already been promoted, one of them brought items by stylist Ronaldo Fraga, showing his relationship with the São Francisco River.
Afro-Brazil Museum – Dedicated to the influence of Africans on Brazil, the museum has a collection of over 5,000 items, brought together by Emanuel Araújo, as well as housing several temporary exhibits. There are clothes, paintings, sculptures, pictures, videos and other items, from Brazil and Africa, mainly showing how Africans contributed to the formation of the people, the history and the culture of Brazil. Among the exhibits that may be seen this month is one dedicated to the gods of Africa, one about the Hereros, an ancient African nomadic people, that currently in Angola, and also about black women in the Boa Morte da Cachoeira (Good Death of the Waterfall) Sisterhood, in Bahia, which includes photographs by Pierre Verger and Adenor Gondim.
Service:
Ipiranga Museum
Parque da Independência, s/n.º – Ipiranga
From Tuesday to Sunday, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Admittance: R$ 6 (US$ 3.80)
www.mp.usp.br
Museum of Portuguese Language
Praça da Luz, s/nº – Centro
Tuesday to Sunday, from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Admittance: R$ 6 (US$ 3.80)
www.museulinguaportuguesa.org.br
Sacred Art Museum
Avenida Tiradentes, 676 – Bairro da Luz
Tuesday to Sunday, from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
Admittance: R$ 6 (US$ 3.80)
www.museuartesacra.org.br
Football Museum
Praça Charles Miller, S/N – Estádio do Pacaembu
Tuesday to Sunday, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Admittance: R$ 6 (US$ 3.80)
www.museudofutebol.org.br
Pavilion of Brazilian Cultures
Parque Ibirapuera – Rua Pedro Álvares Cabral, s/nº
Tuesday to Sunday, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Admittance is free
www.culturasbrasileiras.sp.gov.br
Afro-Brazil Museum
Parque Ibirapuera – Av. Pedro Alvares Cabral, s/n
Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Admittance is free
www.museuafrobrasil.org.br
*Translated by Mark Ament