C.A.T.S
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Mercado Municipal
Hello again!
Today was a busy day with several interesting attractions! One of our stops was the Mercado Municipal de São Paulo (Municipal Market of São Paulo), a must go place for tourists. According to Bruno, Kirsten’s friend, the Mercado Municipal is one of the most traditional gourmet points of the city. In Mercadão, as it is affectionately known by the visitors, you can find a wide variety of foods – from fresh vegetables and fruits to meat, poultry and seafood of all kinds, pasta, sweets and top of the line spices from different parts of the world. Not to mention its Gourmet Lounge, which offers the opportunity to try tasty dishes there, while enjoying the architectural beauty of Mercadão. Taking full advantage of the many delicious dishes, we stopped here for lunch.
Designed by architect Francisco Ramos de Azevedo’s office in 1926, Mercadão opened on January 25, 1933. The stained glass windows were created by the Russian artist Sorgenicht Conrad Filho, famous for his works at the Sé Cathedral in São Paulo and other 300 Brazilian churches. In all, 32 panels are subdivided into 72 beautiful stained glass windows. The building – which occupies 3 acres, on Tamanduateí River’s bank - employs more than 1,500 people, which together handle about 450 tons of food per day in its more than 290 boxes.
All in all it was a very interesting place to visit, and I would enjoy finding something similar in the United States! I believe we all had a great time!
Jennifer
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I am going to reveal the murals Bella, Ali, and I made in Casa de Chicone as my last blog entry on our C.A.T.S website! I would like to apologize for not having any pictures of the other students progress on their projects except for the living room mural that I worked on with the help of multiple people, Bella’s gorgeous metal tree mural, and Ali’s beautiful entry room mural! The mural team also worked with designing/painting the magnetic chalkboard on the wall while we were on the farm.
We went to Brazil, and the project house, with sketched out mural ideas, and a color palette that we all chose in an unofficial pre-departure meeting. Upon arrival we decided we should take inspiration from what we were learning about around us and from sustainable ideas we were encountering. The culture on this farm, and even the adjacent farms, was so vibrant and very rooted to tradition, the concept of sustainable farming, and nature itself. We used sustainable, vibrant paint colors, coffee beans, coffee cups, coffee trees, passion fruit flowers, and organic patterns balanced by geometric shapes to create a harmonious design throughout the project house.
Designing this project house meant so much to the farm community and to the Chicone family, who actually moved down the road (so what if it was just a few houses) in order to make this dream possible. Being a part of something so important and having the ability to make a difference in the lives of people who encounter the space makes me forever grateful for the opportunity. I loved every minute of designing with the host, Silvia, and local farm workers, learning more about teamwork and how to think abstractly/critically than I have in any class before!
Thank you Silvia, Rebekah, and Kirstin for providing such a wonderful learning experience! And thank you to everyone else who made my study abroad possible and obviously phenomenal!
Chelsea
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This was the cite I researched and educated the group about on Day 1 of our Sao Paulo week. Patio de Colegio, meaning “School Yard,” is the place where the city of Sao Paulo was founded. This was a beautiful building that has been kept well since it was built in 1554. There were museums and a cafe inside, including a models of what the geography and city plans looked like over time… Interesting, informative, and easy to comprehend (as a visual learner)! I will never forget what we saw before left, though. We looked outside one of the museum windows and there was an Adam-Without-Eve dancing hobo that had weeds tucked in his underwear and dirt smeared on his skin for a fake tan.
Chelsea
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Fairwell Sao Paulo/Graffiti Tour
This is Caitlyn posting for the final time on the final day of our trip to Brazil. It was a short day but very adventure filled! We visited Vila Madalena, a creative, artist neighborhood in Sao Paulo.
Vila Madalena became popular in the 1960’s and 1970’s among University of Sao Paulo staff and students who were looking for affordable housing. It houses many artists and designers. In addition to art galleries, Vila Madalena is also popular for fine restaurants, interesting bars, and unique shops. The group ate at a cool little restaurant with a menu names after cartoon characters. Only there can you get a Pocahontas sandwich in Sao Paulo.
We took a walking tour of the neighborhood and it was so beautiful and seemed like a place any creative person would aspire to live. The most interesting, fun, and unique part about Vila Madelena was the graffiti that was everywhere! We took a graffiti tour and saw some truly awesome artwork. Post above are some photos I took for the day, I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
The day ended, after a stop for coffee and frozen yogurt, in leaving the city. We returned to the hotel, hoped on a bus to the airport, and were off to take a 10 hour flight back home to the United States (but not before a stop at the Duty Free Shop)!
I hope all readers have enjoyed our tales of our experiences!
