São Paulo – Searching for new routes in your next trip to São Paulo? Different programmes, outside the beaten track? Save a day, afternoon or evening to visit Vila Mariana. In the south zone of the city of São Paulo, the largest in Brazil, the district covers an area of 60 square kilometres, where 112,000 people live. But, beyond numbers, this region enchants visitors due to the peace and to its several attractions like Lasar Segall Museum, the Modernist House and the Brazilian Cinema Library. That is not to mention Ibirapuera Park, the largest and most famous in São Paulo, which is right there.
To start with, arriving in Vila Mariana is easy for any tourists. Close to Paulista Avenue and to the Centre of São Paulo, the neighbourhood has three underground stations: Ana Rosa, Vila Mariana and Santa Cruz. Therefore, access to the main attractions in the area is simple and fast. One of the best known is Lasar Segall Museum, between Vila Mariana and Santa Cruz stations.
Established in 1967, the museum brings together 3,008 works by the eponymous Lithuanian artist who had his career in Brazil. It is also the house in which Lasar Segall lived with his wife, Jenny Klabin Segall. The highlight is the pictures and sculptures that show delicate figures from curious and marking angles. Other main points include the cinema hall, small and charming, which normally shows films that are about to leave the more commercial circuit. Before leaving, it is also a good idea to have a cappuccino at the charming café installed at the entrance.
A short walk away, another attraction is the Modernist House. Built in 1928, on Santa Cruz Street, designed by Russian architect Gregori Warchavchik, it is considered the first modern architecture construction in Brazil. Built for Warchavchik to live in, the construction generated ripples throughout the city, as the fashion at the time was to reproduce the French style of architecture. Houses in the city refer more to the belle époque of Paris than to the straight lines of the modernists.
Made out of constructions in the shape of white prisms, the work was also pioneering due to its garden, designed by Mina Klabin, Warchavchik wife, in which there are tropical plants. The site, made into a space for public visitation, makes any tourist ask himself how a building with such banal architecture for the 21st century could have caused so much talk less than 100 years ago.
At the slaughterhouse
Regarding references from other times, the Brazilian Cinema Library, the next stop in Vila Mariana, also reminds visitors of a time that is no more. Starting with the building where it is established, an ancient Municipal Slaughterhouse. With cinema rooms in broad spaces, warehouses with apparent bricks, the building is listed by the Historical, Archaeological, Artistic, and Tourist Asset Council (Condephaat).
What can you do there, apart from marvelling at the construction? You may watch a movie, participate in a talk, take a course, and participate in a cinema festival… All information in this respect is updated monthly at the Library’s site (below). The Library’s aim is to preserve Brazilian audiovisual production. There are around 200,000 reels of film, long and short. That is not to mention the documentaries, books, magazines, scripts, pictures and posters that document national cinema production. It cannot be missed.
Many menus
As man cannot live just off culture, after your visit to the Library, good options for lunch or dinner may be found on Joaquim Távora and Áurea streets, nearby. These are the main bar and restaurant hubs in the neighbourhood. And they offer menus for all tastes, including Brazilian, Japanese, Mexican, Italian and Arab food! Walk slowly and decide where to eat. Among the highlights is Gamela, with dishes inspired on typical Brazilian food, and Jaber (Arab), both on Joaquim Távora. On Rua Áurea, you may go to Sobaria, with gastronomy from the midwestern Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul.
A Vila Mariana resident for two years, restorer Tatiana Russo assiduously goes to these places. And she also recommends a cultural site on Joaquim Távora itself: Graphias Casa de Gravura. "It is a great space, a gallery where it is possible to learn about different techniques: drawings, prints and paintings," she says, clearly stating her love for the neighbourhood. "I love the peace of Vila Mariana, where I can find all I need," she finishes off.
Other advantages to living in the neighbourhood include the closeness to Ibirapuera Park, the largest and most visited in the city. Photograph Bandeiras Monument, the famous sculpture by Vitor Brecheret, installed there. Sit on a bench (or on the grass, if you prefer that), read a little and let time go by. Recall your day’s outing, forget life and see how lucky the residents of Vila Mariana are.
Further information
Museu Lasar Segall
www.museusegall.org.br
Casa Modernista (Portuguese)
www.museudacidade.sp.gov.br/casamodernista.php
Cinemateca Brasileira (Portuguese)
www.cinemateca.com.br
Jaber (Portuguese)
www.jaber.com.br
Sobaria (Portuguese)
www.sobaria.com.br
Graphias Casa da Gravura
http://www.graphias.com.br/index.asp
Parque do Ibirapuera (Portugeuse)
www.prefeitura.sp.gov.br/cidade/secretarias/meio_ambiente/parques/regiao_sul/index.php?p=14062]
*Translated by Mark Ament
