Vila Carrão, São Paulo

Vila Carrão (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈvila kaˈʁɐ̃w̃]) is the historical name of a small residential neighborhood in São Paulo, with 75,000 residents as of 2005. It belongs to the Carrão district and to the Aricanduva sub-prefecture.

Vila Carrão is located about 13 km east of the city's center, on the west side of the Aricanduva River. It was officially established in 1917, and is named after Councillor Carrão, a prominent public figure who owned the area at the end of the 19th century.

The earliest records about the place, from 1570, locate it along a trail used by hinterland explorers (bandeirantes). One of the first permanent residents was in fact the explorer Francisco Velho, who settled along the Aricanduva, on land belonging to Brás Cubas. In 1642, his grandson Capt. Francisco Velho Moraes acquired the land's rights.

Data over the next 200 years is lacking, but in 1851 there is a record of Bento Fernandes de Souza selling the property, then called Sítio Tucuri, to Englishman George Harley, who renamed it Bom Retiro ("Nice Retreat") and built a house near the Tucuri Brook, later renamed Córrego Rapadura. In 1865 the area was bought by João José da Silva Carrão, former gorvernor of the provinces of São Paulo and Pará, senator, and minister of the Empire.

The new owner made the land into large chácara (farm), Chácara Carrão. At its height, the farm had more than 15,000 grape vines, as well as fig, pear, and peach trees, and produced a renowned wine — which merited a visit by Emperor Pedro II in 1876.

At the Councillor's death in 1888, the property was sold to Carlos Teixeira de Carvalho, Francisco de Almeida Nobre, and Liberto A. de Macedo and Cristalino Luiz da Silva (1890). In 1907 the part belonging to Francisco de Almeida was bought by Ranulpho de Campos Salles, who donated it to his sisters Doralisa and Evangelina Dantre Salles.

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