Bela Vista

Bela Vista
Location in the city of São Paulo
MASP, São Paulo Museum of Art
Country	Brazil
State	São Paulo
City	São Paulo
Government
• Type	Subprefecture
• Subprefect	Amauri Luiz Pastorello
Area
• Total	2.6 km² (1.0 sq mi)
Population (2000)
• Total	63,190
• Density	24,304/km² (62,950/sq mi)
HDI	0.940 –high
Website	Subprefecture of Sé

Bela Vista (also known as Bexiga or Bixiga) is one of the most traditional Italian neighborhoods in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. It belongs to the borough of Sé, and it has been a mixed neighborhood since its beginning, where free African-Brazilians and/or a mixture of Native-Brazilians, Blacks and Portuguese descendants lived. Later, more European immigrants arrived, such as Spaniards, Germans, English, French, Belgians, and Italians. The Italian community became more numerous than all the others during the first decades of the twentieth century. (source: São Paulo sections site: Bairros de São Paulo)

Bela Vista hosts a large number of Italian cantinas or eateries, restaurant and/or delicatessens.Renowned theaters, such as the state-funded Teatro Sergio Cardoso and few smaller ones on Rua dos Ingleses/Morro dos Ingleses and Avenida 9 de Julho area, such as the teatros Bibi Ferreira and Maria Della Costa. Most theatres nowadays tend to concentrate on Avenida Brigadeiro Luis Antonio with Teatro Abril being the most important venue of musical presentations such as Miss Saigon, Beauty and the Beast, and The Phantom of the Opera. Towards the end of the twentieth century, parts of Bexiga became more decayed and dilapidated because its more affluent middle-class moved to newer areas in the suburbs. Although most of the clubs and bars moved from Bela Vista to Itaim Bibi and Vila Madalena in the late 1980s and mid 1990s, Bexiga still has a somewhat vibrant nightlife and is the home of many descendants of Italians and young professionals and students that enjoy the urban atmosphere and the Avenida Paulista area nearby. Bela Vista is also the home of the Vai-Vai Samba School, the oldest one in São Paulo.

Our Lady Achiropita Roman Catholic church on Rua 13 de Maio is an important charity and cultural center in the neighborhood. Famous for the Achiropita procession and the street Italian food fair all weekends in August, the community caters to the needs of poor children and their families in the section and promotes integration of diversity into worship, by adding an African-Brazilian flavor to its masses and baptismal ceremonies (source: Nossa Senhora Achiropita site).

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Wikipedia