Bixiga is the nickname of my neighbourhood (also known as Bela Vista). It is home to a special slice of São Paulo culture.
Bixiga´s cultural mix has been blended over the past 140 years. Originally it was a place far from the center of the small village of São Paulo. Communities of people who fled from slavery, flourished in what was its most protected part, in the woods, near the rivers. They built their houses there and thrived as groups that still offer a lot to the city including rehearsals of the Escola de Samba do Vai-Vai (Vai-vai Samba School).
In the 1900s posh people established themselves in the heights of Paulista Avenue - coffee barons, colonial descendants, Italian industrialists, middle-eastern traders, foreign architects. They colonized the plateau once occupied by several churches and their surrounding hospitals, schools and convents.
Halfway between the two areas runs Rua 13 de Maio (May 13th marks the date that Princess Isabel declared the legal end of slavery in 1888) and Rui Barbosa (a notable politician of that era).
This area is filled with restaurants serving typical food from many different parts of Brazil and beyond), theatres and a flea market on Sundays. So, I hope you got the idea.
And if you feel like learning Portuguese, sharpen your ears because there is a very special accent that can be heard in the streets and in the songs of our beloved Adoniran Barbosa.