That Paulistan feeling

I’ve been back from Brazil for over two months now and the memories of my 4-month-long trip really seem like a dream... It looks like London life has sucked me in and is determined to keep its clutch on me with the cold, wet and jobless reality. My BF still in São Paulo (according to the latest news, he should be coming back to London in three weeks’ time, yay!), I have to resort to browsing through my facebook photo albums to remind myself that it all really happened. And my saudade is not just about him, it is, strangely enough, about the city, too. Just the other night I had a dream that I was going to perform as a singer with a group right there, in São Paulo. I woke up disappointed it wasn’t true. But then again, who knows; maybe someday!

Is it indeed that strange that I should miss Sampa, as it’s colloquially called? A city with lines of cars longer than from here to the moon, more rain in a week than London had this April (and trust me, it was a lot) and thousands of skyscrapers in an apparent fight for the last bits of sunshine, like thirsty plants in this urban jungle. I remember when, on my first, four-day-long, visit to this city, I asked my host: “So what is the landmark? Where is that place that everybody instantly recognises as pertaining to São Paulo, where people meet, the heart?” He seemed puzzled. What, no Paulistan Big Ben? I silently wondered. No Eiffel Tower? Not to mention Cristo Redentor. Let’s not even go there (there is a fierce competition between SP and Rio de Janeiro that I will talk about a bit later). I just couldn’t believe there isn’t anything characteristic that would help me create a mental image of São Paulo by means of just one token. “Avenida Paulista is quite famous” my friend didn’t give up. Right, a big street that runs through the whole city like a pulsating vein, never stopping pumping more traffic in and out of its borders. That didn’t even come close to meeting my expectations of this specific something.

I discovered what it is during my second trip which was ten times longer. It’s just not where I was looking for it. You know, with such Rio it’s easy; the overwhelming statue welcomes you from the top of the hill with its arms wide open (and says goodbye in much the same candid manner), the extreme heat hits you in the face right after you get off the plane, and walking along the ridiculously and undeservingly famous Copabana beach is bound to leave you with sunburn you won’t quickly forget. With SP, things are rather intangible. Relatively far from the sea, much colder and flat as an ironing board, it doesn’t have much to offer. At the first glance. But it’s enough to start walking the streets to notice. Or to feel, I should say. And four days are not enough to discover what I’m talking about. You need to come, take a bus, visit the MASP, gorge a coxinha*, get lost, lose your flip-flop when running in the sudden downpour, have a cold Brahma in a corner bar or dig into a feijoada after a roda de choro on a Saturday afternoon, get stuck in a traffic jam with a full bladder, leave for a party at 1AM and be sure you’ll still get there before the show starts, have another beer, chat with a taxi driver, watch at least one episode of Ratinho**, have a shot of cachaça to recover from the shock, see your friends play a gig with more swing than all your dance and music teachers put together, visit Museu da Lingua Portuguesa, sink your teeth into an indecently ripe mango and let the juices run down your chin, have one more beer, find out what guioza, hashi and shoyu mean, see live samba somewhere in Vila Madalena, eat in a kilo bar, forget what time of the year it is... and then we’ll talk. For the time being, enjoy this HD video (not mine) with views of the city and please, please, ignore the extremely naive music.

*a kind of pastry filled with shredded chicken (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coxinha)

**Programa do Ratinho, a Jerry-Springer-type TV show for the dumb masses

Been there, done that

Since there is less time till the end of my trip than has passed since my arrival in São Paulo, or, to make it simple, I’m more than half-way through, it’s time for a summary. What have I actually done in those two months and what have I yet to do? I’m kind of thinking aloud, if you will. As you will have already figured out, I AM coming back to London after all. I miss it!

Let’s have a look at what I’ve done first. It seems that my main activities have been eating out  and going to music shows (I warned you, didn’t I). I’ve tried, repeatedly, wonderful Japanese food (sushi rodizio – eat as much as you want!), Brazilian feijoada (I owe you guys that one, pictures coming soon!), countless salgados (savoury pastries, such as pastel), invariably accompanied by cerveja gelada. See? Your Portuguese is getting better!* I have to reiterate – gastronomy in São Paulo is of top-notch quality, with even the crudest corner bars serving fresh food and following all hygiene requirements, let alone fancy restaurants. Most dishes I’ve tried were absolutely amazing. The only thing you have to watch is your wallet; first of all, because you don’t want it to disappear, secondly – not to get carried away. Some might want to watch their weight. I decided not to worry about that.

As for music, I have been to six or seven excellent shows at Teatro FECAP (Francis & Olívia Hime, Tom Jobim Festival that included the likes of Zimbo Trio and a few other bands I can’t remember) – they’ve got amazing sound there, seen a beautiful instrumental performance of Swami Junior at SESC Consolação, had fun watching friends play samba rock. I even got to sing. A song or two here and there. And I have to say that the pressure is high; after all, a gringa venturing to sing samba in a country where it was born, in a Portuguese that, unfortunately, still sounds a little foreign, is no common sight. Let’s say I got positive reviews and motivation to continue learning. I have tried paulistan nightlife too. The best area to go, and I may be repeating myself, is Vila Madalena. This is where you find the best music bars the entrance to which won’t ruin your pocket. I’ve been to  Ó do Borogodó, Pau Brasil, Traço de União, Bom Motivo and can easily recommend all of these. I left the best bit for the end. The already mentioned roda de choro** at the Contemporânea music shop is in itself an experience worth coming to Brazil for.

As every day brings new events, twists, turns and last-minute invitations, the what-I’ve-done list is getting longer and what-I’ve-yet-to-do is shrinking at an amazing pace and will hopefully come to a point where I can safely say “I can go back now”.

*my dear Brazilian friends will hopefully understand that my main focus (target audience?) were people who don’t speak the language

**for details, see an earlier post (Next station: Contemporânea)