360 Degrees Almost Conquered

After a furious pace that has left my Spanish friend Camila calling me the expert of Sao Paulo, I decide the last day of sight-seeing must include some more big-ticket items, and a little less obscurity. So first on my list is the Praça de Sé and the city’s domed Cathedral. The clouds are still lingering in the sky, but I have to keep reminding myself that at about 800m above sea level, on a table-top plateau, Sao Paulo isn’t the hottest place to be – atmospherically speaking.

I am instantly entertained by the guy with one shoe on who is doing his best Michael Jackson moves on the steps up to the cathedral, vying for attention with the many homeless people who are flogging rosary beads and prayer cards too.
The main bells chime for midday as I walk in, and I realise that the service has just started. Not to let God get in the way of good tourism, people continue to wander in and out of the wings, taking photos of the early 20th century church and its smooth curved red-brick ceiling, that makes a beautiful contrast to the stone pillars. I must also mention that it is also the first church I have ever been in that has a toilet inside. Pretty revolutionary for Catholics.

I exit mass, like a true ‘Christmas and Easter-goer’, half-way through and make my way past shoe shiners and repairman who have set up their cash-only business along the edges of the busy square. Having parted with almost all my money without even a sniff of a receipt, I shudder at the thought of having to run a country with such a fluid economy. It’s no wonder that most of their prized historical relics are rotting away in mould.

The pedestrian mall starts at the other end with lots of bag shops and sucos (juice) bars. An intriguing assortment of spruikers covered in plastic advertising bibs or just big stickers on their fronts yell all sorts of deals to passers-by, but it is pretty clear from the empty shops, they it’s not really working. Street performers also fight to gain the attention of the lunchtime crowd, and I hurry to get to the city’s highest tower to see the view, before meeting my friend at another gallery.

Positioned in the highest building, but not the tallest one (that one was sadly built in the valley, so rarely gets the attention it deserves), the journey up to the look-out point is somewhat of a protracted experience, including the handing over of ID, the taking of another mugshot, the waiting in line for the last group to descend, the following of the guide up two different lifts, and the final march up the tower’s stairs. Compared to the allowed viewing time of about six minutes, I am glad to say that the view was worth it. Damn this city is big.

Realising that I am indeed late for Camila, I wolf down a kebab and suco, and take the metro to the MASP – Sao Paulo’s Art Museum (not to be confused with MAC or MAM as seen in previous encounters). Fortunately she is being chatted up by a hippy jewellery salesman, and I finally have a good excuse to write-off a pair of new earrings. Once inside, we make our way through Brazil’s supposed best showcase of European art, which I give a polite nod too, but which seems pretty out of place in this city of graffiti. Moving downstairs though, and we come across an amazing photographic exhibition, which has been growing for the last 17 years, and a world film festival showcasing 1000 minutes, in one minute tracks, of 80 different countries. It is a marathon mission to even get through one side of the square space, or about 2 or so hours of viewing, and I dare say a complete tour would unfortunately take days. I think we are both relieved to make it out of there in one piece, and start the journey to our final destination – the MIS (Sound and Image Museum).

Fortunately here, sensible design has only left room for one exhibiting space, which is taken up by a film installation “Repeat All”. Only one mention here, the awesome idea to do a real life clock – set up as a construction site - with workers assembling and disassembling the time as it passed while we watched. I can already see it in doctor’s waiting rooms everywhere.