Liberdade (district of São Paulo)

Liberdade
Location in the city of São Paulo
Country	Brazil
State	São Paulo
City	São Paulo
Subprefecture	Sé
Government
• Type	Subprefecture
Area
• Total	3.7 km2 (1.4 sq mi)
Population (2000)
• Total	61,875
• Density	16,723/km2 (43,310/sq mi)
HDI	0.936 –high
Website	Subprefecture of Sé

Liberdade (Portuguese: [libeɾˈdadʒi], liberty; Japanese: リベルダージ, translit. Riberudāji) is the name of a district in the subprefecture of Sé, in São Paulo, Brazil. It is home to the largest Japanese community outside Japan in the world.

Liberdade was known as Campo da Forca (Field of the Gallows) until the late 19th century, and was an area reserved for the execution of slaves and convicts. Death was considered the only path to liberty (liberdade) for slaves. The condemned were led to the Igreja Nossa Senhora da Boa Morte (Church of Our Lady of Good Death) to perform a final prayer for a rapid and painless death. The church remains on Rua do Carmo at the corner of Rua Tabatinguera. Slaves and other convicts were executed in the Largo da Forca (Square of the Gallows), the public square now known as Praça da Liberdade. Cemitério dos Aflitos (Cemetery of the Afflicted) was created in 1774 to bury executed slaves, those who had committed suicide, and others who could not be interred elsewhere. The cemetery was replaced by housing development in the 20th century, and the simple Capela dos Aflitos on Rua dos Estudantes is a remnant of the era. Igreja da Santa Cruz das Almas dos Enforcados (Church of Santa Cruz of the Souls of the Hanged), prominently located to the south of the public square, commemorates the dead of Campo da Forca. Executions were carried out in Campo da Forca until 1891, and the square was renamed Liberdade.

Significant populations of Chinese and Koreans also live in the district of Liberdade.

The entrance to Liberdade is marked by a nine-meter tall red torii (a Japanese arch that marks the entrance to Shinto temples) since 1974. This towering structure, situated on Rua Galvão Bueno, is a distinctive representation of the neighborhood. Liberdade was successfully connected to the São Paulo subway network in the 1970s, opening up this area to commerce like never before. Today, thousands of paulistanos (citizens of São Paulo) flock to the public square in Liberdade every Sunday to purchase craft goods at the weekly fair. In January 2008, in order to celebrate 100 years of Japanese immigration to Brazil, a project to revitalize the quarter was approved by the mayor Gilberto Kassab. 40% of the restoration were for the visit of the prince Naruhito to São Paulo in June 2008.

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Wikipedia