Can´t believe how fast the congress has gone. already more than a week here in the concrete jungle of Sao Paulo. it~s been an amazing time. we~ve been spoilt having our meetings and performances at amazing places like museums, parks, community spaces and theatres. that~s not counting the mini carnavale they put together for us. i feel that i~ve seen so much in such a short time.
we stayed in the swankiest part of the city - Jardims. where designer shops abut fantastic restaurants. the most interesting is the A Figuera Rubaiyat which is under a huge 100 year old fig tree. it made things even more surreal when we went for the closing dinner at the magnificent Sala Sao Paulo ' their concert hall convereted from the old train station, and were told that it was a bad neighbourhood outside, so be careful getting back. i guess everyone naturally accepts that the ultra poor will live next to the ultra rich. i noticed that even the main cathedral locked up their doors at dusk and had a menacing fence around the church. what happened to it being a sanctuary for all?
the parada gay de sao paulo was indeed a sight to see. 3 million out in force to show their support against homophobia. there were special floats sponsored by different clubs / communities, with ppl in costume /not on top of each. amongst those on the streets, some were in costume (lotsa superheroes and cop costumes), others just sported feather boas, spangly bits and rainbow flags for fun. i only caught the back-end (ahem) of the parade for half an hour, but it was great to see the strong support given by the paulistas (that´s what sao paulo citizens are called) and their city. of course there was no shortage of making out by the rainbow pp - some just for show, but some were a matter of course.
i suppose Sao Paulo really sums up the diversity of Brazil. there´s certainly lots more to be discovered.
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