Culture
This tab will tell you about Sao Paulo's culture.
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Sao Paulo is a city in Brazil with a very rich culture. In the 19th century, it became an intellectual center and rich in culture. This is mainly owed to the fact that in 1827, the College of the Law opened, one of the first two in Brazil. Modernism was introduced to the arts during Sao Paulo’s Modern Art Week in 1922. The Sao Paulo Art Museum, which was founded in 1947 is can be considered one of the best museums in South America. It is also said that the Museum of Contemporary Art is outstanding as well. Many soloists, dance troupes, international orchestras, and other performing artists appear at Sao Paulo’s Municipal Theatre. The Museu de Arte de Sao Paulo is considered “the most important museum in the South Hemisphere”. It has an extensive collection of art by international and important national artists, including the “Inside Out, Outside In” exhibit. The Sao Paulo Museum of Art is home to over 8,000 paintings from the 19th and 20th centuries. To simplify this Sao Paulo is home to amazing art museums and theaters. Their art is a big part of their culture.
Paulistanos are known for their enthusiasm for sports. Soccer is one of the main sport attractions, in fact, it can be considered one of the most important aspects of their culture. Brazilians consider soccer to be a part of their heritage. Some people will even give their employees time off to watch the World Cup if Brazil is playing. For many young Brazilian boys, soccer is considered a way of life. This game is played by young boys, who hoped that they would someday become great soccer players like Pele', Zico, Ronaldo and many others. They have enormous stadiums such as the Morumbi and Pacaembu stadiums. They also have major stadiums for their roughly half dozen international calibre teams. Sao Paulo has one of the largest auto racing tracks at Interlagos, the city’s south side. Other popular sports in the city are swimming, tennis, volleyball, and basketball. Brazil’s national league brings other major themes from other states to come and compete at Sao Paulo. Bicycling is also another sport that has major events for it. On the last Friday of the month, bicyclists will meet just to tour the city; this is called “Bicicletada”. Because Sao Paulo is one of Brazil’s largest cities, many of Brazil’s major religions are practiced there. The major religions are Protestantism, Methodist, Episcopalism, Pentecostalism, Lutheranism, and Baptists. But the main religion is Roman Catholicism. The Catedral Metropolitana de Sao Paulo (Metropolitan Cathedral of Sao Paulo) has many cathedral activities. For example, there is a holy hour every Monday, every third Thursday of each month from the 17th hour (5:00 P.M.) to the 18th hour (6:00 P.M.), and every first Friday of each month. The Sao Paulo Cathedral has a “theological symbolism”. The walls represent a spiritual foundation, the arches are paths to God, and the pillars symbolize saints. This Cathedral was built between 1589 and 1612 and was designed by Maximilian Hehl. Sao Paulo has many other religious monuments that are a very important part of their lifestyle. The most spoken language in Sao Paulo, and most of Brazil as a matter a fact, is Portuguese. Over 240 million people speak Portuguese. This makes it the 6th most spoken language in the world. In fact, there is even a Museum of the Portuguese Language in Sao Paulo. It is almost like a language planetarium. Words and images are projected onto the ceiling, walls, and floors. Brazilian literature is read and is accompanied by music. People say that this almost animates the Language Plaza. Many foreigners have difficulty writing in Portuguese, despite being able to speak it fluently. For example, if a person who can speak in Portuguese read something in Portuguese, the different phrases would seem very awkward and even seem like they have been written wrong. Brazilian and European Portuguese are very different—from verb tenses, to the spelling, to the use of terms. In most situations, Brazilians find European Portuguese unacceptable, and vice-versa. The choice of words can be entirely different, sometimes it even sounds funny. This is especially true during texts that are very technical and the words are different based off of different dialects. Sao Paulo has many celebrations and festivities. For example, their carnival is overshadowed by Rio de Janeiro’s carnival but is just as festive. It takes place during a long weekend in February. Parades known as blocos are also a part of the carnival, they include dancers and many Brazilians in costumes. In May, Sao Paulo hosts the largest Gay Pride Parade (Parada do Orgulho GLBT de São Paulo) in the world! The largest electronic music festival is the Spirit of London. This club night is hosted by Brazilian and international DJs, the celebration goes on until early in the morning. Sao Paulo Fashion Week is considered the biggest fashion even in all of Latin America! These carnivals can be compared to the Mardi Gras that is celebrated in the U.S. These carnivals are very important because they are a way to share their culture with tourist and to celebrate traditions. Sao Paulo is a very festive city and there are MANY more celebrations that go on throughout the year. |