Infiltration

Moe14 \|	Mais Amor Para Sao Paulo < on 2/13/2010 5:13 AM >

	Again, I'm not really a photographer, just trying to spread a little South America love here. Abandoned coffee baron's mansion in downtown Sao Paulo. More here - http://travel.allc...1/abandonment.html and here - http://travel.allc...01/hidden-art.html As far as abandonment goes it was pretty standard. The most interesting thing were the murals, some of which commemorated the expulsion of the residents of the abandoned building. They reminded me of the murals in the Amtrak Tunnel on the west side of Manhattan commemorating the exodus of the homeless residents there. I don't know why some of the writing is in English, which is kind of interesting. "Saudades" somewhat translates as "longing melancholy nostalgia," but far from perfectly. In the second picture, above the heart, is an example of "pixacao," a graffiti writing style native to Sao Paulo. The former residents now live in a shanytown out back. The most interesting thing I learn from them is that this is not actually a residence of last resort. Apparently the city has offered them housing virtually for free - the problem being that it’s about three hours away. The residents opted to stay instead - many people had jobs and connections downtown that they had to be near. This demonstrates the enduring problem of the South American (as well as other less-than-first-world) megopolis. Lack of affordable housing, lack of transport (Sao Paulo has three subway lines for 20 million people), bad urban planning all to ridiculously heavy traffic. Many times the physical structure of the city (most notably in Rio) will also conspire to lead to a horrible commute - especially for those reliant on public transportation. It’s not even an option - who can take 6 hours a day in traffic? A lot of people would rather stay in a shantytown than endure it. Back inside the mansion there were also some of the distinctive blue designs by the artist Zezao, who's most famous for painting throughout the sewers, and generally only paints in similarly out-of-the-way places. Some more murals Another mural - and a little friend www.allcitynewyork.com