San Paulo — old and new

Elenice, you were born in Sao Paulo
and lived here ever since.

Yes, that’s right. I am a Paulistana.

So, I am wondering…
How has the city changed over the years?
Let’s say if we compare the city now…
and forty years ago.

Good question.
Yes, the city was very different.
And it keeps changing.
But, first I wanna ask you…
How much do you know about
the history of Sao Paulo?

Avenida Paulista in Sao Paulo, 1902 Image: Wiki Commons, PD

Avenida Paulista these days. Image by portobaytrade at Flickr, CC-BY

Well… I do know a few things.
But, certainly, not a lot.
OK… Sao Paulo is more than 400 years old.
But I think it was not a big city…
until the 19th century…
when the European immigrants started to arrive.

Right. And then later…
people from other Brazilian states
started to come here too.
Plus the immigration from overseas continued.
So, now it’s the city with 20 million people.

Yes, it is the largest city in South America.
And one of the largest in the world.

That’s right. It is pretty huge.

So, the city does not have much of
its historical architecture now?

Well, we still have some historical buildings.
Like Pátio do Colégio.
It’s actually one of the oldest buildings in the city.
It was built in the 16th century.
And many others, of course.
But we used to have a lot more of these beautiful buildings
and today we have very few.
You know, the historical center in Sao Paulo was small.
The modern architecture seems to dominate now.

Pátio do Colégio, Image at Wiki Commons, PD

All right. I see.
Yes, it does look like it on pictures.

There were also many rivers
flowing through the city.
The most famous are Tietê and Pinheiros.
People used to walk along the river
and the water was clean.
Today the rivers are underground.
When it rains, the city is often flooded.
The city council is planning
to implement new measures to prevent floods.

Image by zebarretta stock at Flickr, CC-BY

What about the traffic?
I heard that some people spend 2 hours
every day to get to work.

Yes, the traffic is a problem.
São Paulo used to be a lot quieter decades ago…
with only a few cars and buses.
You didn’t see motorcycles on the streets either.
Today the traffic jam is something
our city, unfortunately, is famous for.
There are still heaps of things
to see and to do here in Sao Paulo.

Yes, I know… it is a great city.
Thanks, Elenice.

My pleasure.

Head image by grandexandi at Flickr, CC-BY