September 14 - Two lost people in the biggest city of South America

It felt like an overdue honeymoon. 

After 12 years of parenthood, Mike and I did our second only trip together, without the children. 

We chose a very familiar destination: São Paulo, in Brazil. We fly into this huge metropole every time on our way south of Brazil to visit my family, but we never spent time here. 

I always wanted to show Mike a bit of the biggest South America city.

Renaissance Hotel São Paulo
https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/saobr-renaissance-sao-paulo-hotel/overview/

We met at Guarulhos Airport - me coming from the south after visiting my family, and him coming from home. We both stayed for only four (fulfilling) days. 

It was raining a lot, but it didn't matter because our first stop was the MASP - São Paulo Arts Museum, on Paulista Avenue... so indoors.

FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/São_Paulo_Museum_of_Art

The São Paulo Museum of Art (Portuguese: Museu de Arte de São Paulo, or MASP) is an art museum located on Paulista Avenue in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. It is well known for its headquarters, a 1968 concrete and glass structure designed by Lina Bo Bardi, whose main body is supported by two lateral beams over a 74 metres (243 ft) freestanding space. It is considered a landmark of the city and a main symbol of modern Brazilian architecture.

The museum was founded in 1947 by Assis Chateaubriand and Pietro Maria Bardi, and is maintained as a non-profit institution. MASP distinguished itself by its involvement in several important initiatives concerning museology and art education in Brazil, as well as for its pioneering role as a cultural center. It was also the first Brazilian museum to display post-World War II art.

The museum is internationally recognized for its collection of European art, considered to be one of the finest in both Latin America and the Southern Hemisphere. It also houses an important collection of Brazilian art, prints and drawings, as well as smaller collections of Africanand Asian art, antiquities, decorative arts, and others, amounting to more than 8,000 pieces. MASP also contains one of the largest art libraries in the country. The entire collection was placed on the Brazilian National Heritage list by Brazil's Institute of History and Art.

This is one of the first pieces we saw, and one of most impactful for me. 

It's called Amnésia (Amnesia, 2015) by Flavio Cerqueira.

http://flaviocerqueira.com 

FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lina_Bo_Bardi

Lina Bo Bardi, born Achillina Bo (5 December 1914 – 20 March 1992), was an Italian-born Brazilian modernist architect. A prolific architect and designer, she devoted her working life, most of it spent in Brazil, to promoting the social and cultural potential of architecture and design. While she studied under radical Italian architects, she quickly became intrigued with Brazilian vernacular design and how it could influence a modern Brazilian architecture. During her lifetime it was difficult to be accepted among the local Brazilian architects, because she was both a "foreigner" and a woman.

She is recognizable for the unique style of the many architectural illustrations she created over her lifetime, along with her tendency to leave poignant notes to herself. She is also known for her furniture and jewelry designs. The popularity of her works has increased since 2008, when a 1993 catalog of her works was republished. A number of her product designs are being revived, and exhibitions such as her 1968 exhibition of glass and concrete easels have been recreated. 

 

FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/São_Paulo_Museum_of_Art#References

In the museographic area, Lina Bo Bardi also innovated by using tempered crystal sheets leaned on concrete blocks bases as display supports for the paintings. The intention is to imitate the position of the canvas on the painter's easel, but it also has roots in interwar Italian exhibition design. In the reverse of these supports, which are not used anymore, there were labels with information about the painter and the work. Paradoxically, the museum abandoned this model of exhibition at the end of the 1990s, when the method was beginning to be noticed and implemented by foreign institutions and artists.

Between 1996 and 2001, the current administration of the museum undertook a vast and controversial reform. Despite the indispensable restoration of the general structure, dramatic changes implemented by the architect and former director of the institution Julio Neves included the substitution of the original floor conceived by Lina Bo, the installation of a second elevator, the construction of a third underground floor, and the substitution of the water mirrors for gardens. Some architects allege that the reform caused a profound distortion of Lina's original project.

Here are some of the magnificent art. Although the Museum has some world renowned artists like Picasso and Matisse, our focus was on Brazilian and South America art. I was longing for it and Mike had never been exposed to most of Brazil's classics. We both enjoyed the experience very much. 

Portinari's incredible pieces: Retirantes (Migrants) and Criança Morta (Dead Child), both 1944-1945

WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candido_Portinari

Candido Portinari (December 29, 1903 – February 6, 1962) was a Brazilian painter. He is considered one of the most important Brazilian painters as well as a prominent and influential practitioner of the neo-realism style in painting.

Portinari painted more than five thousand canvases, from small sketches to monumental works such as the Guerra e Paz panels, which were donated to the United Nations Headquarters in 1956. Portinari developed a social preoccupation throughout his oeuvre and maintained an active life in the Brazilian cultural and political worlds.

Tarsila do Amaral - Trabalhadores (Workers), 1938.

FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarsila_do_Amaral

Tarsila de Aguiar do Amaral (Portuguese pronunciation: [taʁˈsilɐ du ɐmaˈɾaw]; 1 September 1886 – 17 January 1973) was a Brazilian painter, draftswoman, and translator. She is considered one of the leading Latin American modernist artists, and is regarded as the painter who best achieved Brazilian aspirations for nationalistic expression in a modern style. As a member of the Grupo dos Cinco, Tarsila is also considered a major influence in the modern art movement in Brazil, alongside Anita Malfatti, Menotti Del Picchia, Mário de Andrade, and Oswald de Andrade. She was instrumental in the formation of the aesthetic movement, Antropofagia (1928–1929); in fact, Tarsila was the one with her celebrated painting, Abaporu, who inspired Oswald de Andrade's famous Manifesto Antropófago.

FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulista_Avenue

Paulista Avenue (Avenida Paulista in Portuguese, Paulista being the demonym for those born in the state of São Paulo) is one of the most important avenues in São Paulo, Brazil. It stretches 2.8 kilometres (1.7 mi) and runs northwest to southeast.

The headquarters of many financial and cultural institutions are located on Paulista Avenue. As a symbol of the center of economic and political power of São Paulo, it has been the focal point of numerous political protests beginning in 1929 and continuing into the 21st century. It is also home to an extensive shopping area and to South America's most comprehensive fine-art museum, the São Paulo Museum of Art. Being one of the highest points in São Paulo, it is clustered with radio and television masts, most notably that of TV Gazeta. Paulista Avenue is a major hub of the subway and bus lines of the city.

This made Mike and I laugh a lot. 

Méqui is how Brazilians pronounce affectionally and phonetically Mc, from Mc Donald's. 

This store, the 1000th Mc Donald's store opened in Brazil, decided to brand the Brazilian way to say it... and why not, write it. :)

A walk in the Jardins (Gardens), one of São Paulo's most prestigious neighbourhoods.

The recently inaugurated 5 star Hotel Rosewood.

The building appears to have been taken over by a gigantic forest.

https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/the-new-rosewood-hotel-in-sao-paulo-revitalizes-a-historic-structure 

Just around the corner this pleasant surprise: the Casarão Braúna. This almost 100 year old colonial house is now a delicious cafe named mug.sp.

I had here the best chicken pie I have ever had!

It's made with cream cheese and roasted almonds on top. 

To die for!

We had a pleasure to meet up with my nephew Vitor and his lovely girlfriend Adriana, who were both doing a work course in São Paulo for a couple of days. They joined us to a lovely dinner at a traditional Brazilian cuisine restaurant named Tordesilhas. 

The food was fantastic, but the drinks made with tropical fruits like guava, mango and cashews, were even better!

FROM MICHELIN GUIDE: https://guide.michelin.com/en/sao-paulo-region/sao-paulo/restaurant/tordesilhas

This established restaurant has a good reputation and has just celebrated its 25th anniversary. It's famous as a trailblazer for tasting menus of Brazilian cuisine, which are served Tuesday to Saturday evenings. There are lots of petiscos for sharing, as well as more creative dishes such as the three Amazonian sorbets served on jambu pearls, and the traditional feijoada, which is only available Saturday lunchtimes. Look out for the impressive collection of artisanal peppers!