Traces of My Travels: São Paulo Series

It is a pity that I do not have much time to explore São Paulo. In any case, I am concerned for personal safety and this alone restricts my movement.

At the weekend, the Avenida Paulista was packed with tourists, and with them came the street traders who sold mostly from the pavement. There were dozens of these traders selling bracelets, beads, earrings, dream catchers, wool hats, scarves; they were all much the same to me; individuality sorely missing from the merchandise.

Street vendors along Av. Paulista

Underneath the Museum of Art (MASP) along Av. Paulista, every Sunday there is an "antiques" market. I put antiques in parenthesis because a lot of goods sold at these stalls are more flea market items than antiques. I noticed that some merchants have on line credit card machines, which indicate their transaction value. On the day I noticed a merchant selling a collection of ivory carvings of Chinese origin. The carvings have yellowed with age, but of course if it is imitation ivory, then the yellowing could be due to tea stains. Well aware of the controversy surrounding ivory, I gave the beautifully carved ivory pieces a wide berth. There were many stallholders selling jewelry, most of them dainty little items, nothing spectacular.

The Antiques Market at MASP, Av. Paulista

There was a hive of activity along Av. Paulista. Tourists mingled with the locals, little dogs snarling or wagging their tails at other little dogs. Lots of people were out there to make a living. In the midst of these, spare a thought for those who live rough along this famous avenue lined with modern offices and banks.

Not sure the purpose of the demonstration

A musician at work

Elsewhere, in the residential area of Rua Haddock Lobo where apartments are behind two tiers of security gates, and not too far from the premier shopping Rua Oscar Freire, I saw this upmarket boutique advertising swim wear as "Winter Sale". The irony was lost on me because the seasons seem to be jumbled up in the southern hemisphere.

And now, to something closer to my heart: architecture and street art. The mundane mixed with the less ordinary, the humorous mixed with the charming, and through these the people of São Paulo reveal a part of their soul.