Home / Blog / Culture + History

Categories: Culture + History

A 3-step guide to São Paulo’s Metro system

São Paulo’s subway system, the “Metrô” (strong, closed accent on the O) is often subject to criticism. Truth be told, it should be way more extensive for a city this size. And it could be cheaper. And maybe the stations could be built faster. And it can get crowded. But let’s focus on the positives: […]

8 Things About São Paulo That Need Explaining

1. The traffic The explanation is quite simple: There are way too many cars around. Although public transport is not as bad as it used to be, people still see cars as an urgent need, a status symbol and a modern comfort. Except, it isn’t. It’s a problem. I recently sold my car and started […]

The Greatest Graffiti Artist in the World: Eduardo Kobra

Let me start by saying that I’m not qualified to talk about art. In fact, I can barely distinguish the differences between certain colors. But, that’s alright, I’m not going to try to figure out the different qualities that makes one artist’s work better than another’s. And let’s be honest, artists like Bansky, David Choe, […]

Summer of the Cans

What would you do if you were at the beach and found a coffee can stuffed with 1.5 kg of marijuana? Now, imagine looking up and seeing 15,000 more cans floating in the ocean. This really happened in Brazil! The first cans began showing up along the coast of São Paulo in September of 1987. […]

8 Reasons São Paulo is better than Rio de Janeiro

Below is series of reasonable sounding claims stating why São Paulo is better than Rio, each one supported by ridiculous logic, exaggerated facts, and outlandish lies! One of the Best Urban Parks in the World São Paulo’s Ibirapuera Park is consistently being rated as one of the best urban parks in the world. Designed by […]

Lady in White – A Brazilian Urban Legend

There are several version of the Lady in White. This is my favorite: Dean (not his real name) should have known better, but he did it any way. Perhaps it was his celebratory mood, or maybe it had to do with the excessive number of caipirinhas he had been drinking. Either way, Dean, a forty-eight […]

Cachaça – The Spirit of Brazil

If cachaça had never been discovered, then Brazil would not exist! That’s my theory. I’m probably wrong. Almost definitely. I mean obviously, there would still be a Brazil, but perhaps, just maybe, it would not resemble the Brazil that we know and love today. I came up with the theory while sitting in on a […]