São Paulo & South America Brazil’s Global Significance
ward to the 21st century, and São Paulo is considered an alpha global city, with its greater metropolitan area housing over 30 million inhabitants. It has the largest and most important stock exchange in all of the region, with close to USD 3.5 billion being traded every day. The New York Times describes this city as “a city for city people, where street art, street noise and street food cede, but only occasionally, to high design, high rollers and high-end restaurants… Bra- zil’s biggest city has long attracted mi- grants and dreamers, making it a great place to explore the country’s kaleido- scopic variety of regional cuisines and musical genres.” Its cultural institutions are thriving. The Afro-Brazilian Muse- um is noted for its unique approach to documenting colonization and assimila- tion, and the Museum of Art of Sao Pau- lo, a bright red, brutalist building, stands on top of Sao Paulo´s highest point on the famous Avenida Paulista. São Paulo also offers experiences to satisfy even the most demanding of sports fans: it’s home to one of the most exciting Formula 1 race tracks, as well as 3 major soccer teams. Beyond entertainment, it is also where you find world-respected universities such as USP—University of Sao Paulo and FGV—Getulio Vargas Foundation. As a regional Latin-American hub, São Paulo is well positioned to put Baret Scholars in contact with leading speakers, authors, practitioners, thinkers, artists and performance groups from Brazil and neighboring countries. The city’s manifold activities are central to medicine, scientific research, engineering & innovation, finan- cial services, arts, music and many other possible interests that can be nurtured and explored. Adding to that, the cohort visits at the end of spring, when temperatures rarely drop under 21 °C (70 °F), and almost never go over 30 °C (86 °F). You couldn’t pick a better time of the year.
BRAZIL’S UNIQUE position as South Ameri- ca’s economic giant, with a nominal GDP of $2 trillion, makes it the ninth-largest economy in the world. It is also the larg- est and most populous country in Latin America, with a population of 203 million that has grown over tenfold since 1900. With a territory “blessed by nature,” Brazil’s energy sources are 85% renew- able, making the country one of the clean- est energy producers in the world. Consid- ered a country of the future, Brazil is at the very centre of a global transition into a green economy and may well be the lead- er of the pack. This vast country is clev- erly and firmly placing itself in the global green energy matrix. Beyond its economic significance, Brazil’s most notable contributions to the world are in sports, arts, music, and literature. Tangible excitement ripples far beyond Brazilian shores when the canary-yellow football jersey makes its debut in a World Cup, just as Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil’s genius in song- writing raises hairs on the back of necks worldwide. MoMA in New York now fea- tures works by Tarsi-la do Amaral, who famously wrote in 1923, “I want to be the painter of my country.” Brazilian archi- tecture also continues its long tradition of excellence, inspired by the great works of Oscar Niemeyer and Lina Bo Bardi. A hub of innovation and home to many migrants, this multicultural society unites every imaginable skin tone, creating a rich and complex country living together in the land of carnival and samba. Why São Paulo? SÃO PAULO is a city of humble beginnings. In 1554, Jesuit missionaries made their way from the Brazilian coast and started a settlement to evangelize to the local in- digenous population. For two centuries after its founding, São Paulo remained a poor, isolated and underdeveloped region on the Portuguese colonial map. Fast-for-
“Brazil is not a country. It’s a continent.” ALBERTO SANTOS-DUMONT
Avenida Paulista, São Paulo
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BARET SCHOLARS
REGIONS & FELLOWSHIPS
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