Inside São Paulo

World Naked Bike Ride is coming up this Saturday (13th). Don't miss it!

2010-03-12T11:00:00.001-03:00

1st World Naked Bike Ride of São Paulo 2008 - (blogkampa) from Kampa on Vimeo.

It's time to get naked! This Saturday, at 2pm on the Parque do Ciclista (Cyclist Park), a group of cyclists will ride their bicycle naked. That will be the third World Naked Bike Ride organized in São Paulo. From 12pm, the cyclists will in the square, to paint the body of any participant. Nudity is not compulsory. Actually, it's not allowed to be naked on the street in Brazil. The advice is to seem naked. Otherwise it is an offense, and can be a mess. Avoid it!

The movement World Naked Bike Ride took place in Europe aiming to raise awareness about the cyclist's vulnerability. The rule is: get naked according to your own way. Everyone can be part of it, even dressed. The most important thing is to grab the community attention.

Service
Where: On the corner of the av. Paulista and rua da Consolação
When: March 13th
How much: For free

Nelly Furtado in Sao Paulo on March 27th. Tickets from R$ 180 to R$ 300

2010-03-12T10:00:00.002-03:00

The Canadian singer Nelly Furtado (31 years old) comes from Portuguese family and is considered a complete artist. She sings and dances, acts as a songwriter and producer, is an actress, plays five different instruments (not at the same time. lol) and speaks fluently several languages.

Grammy-winning and more than 18 million albums sold around the world, she is back to Brazil for a concert (March 27th) to sing her biggest hits, such as: “I´m Like a Bird”, “Turno f the Light” e “Say it Right”.

Service
Where: Via Funchal
When: March 27th, at 10pm
Phone: (11) 2144-5444
How much: From R$ 180 to R$ 300. It's possible to buy via this link

Related link: Nelly Furtado will be in Sao Paulo on March 27th

Sao Paulo Indy 300 Map

2010-03-12T09:00:00.007-03:00

Map of the São Paulo race track Indy 2010 [art: andré marcondes]

How to get there
For those interested in going to the race, a special bus service will depart straight to the Sambadrome. There will be the reverse path after the qualifying and also the race.
1. Congonhas Airport
2. Expo Center Norte
3. Tietê Metro Station
4. Barra Funda Metro Station

A good advice is to print or download this map for your mobile.

Concert of the Symphonic Band of the State of Sao Paulo this Friday (March 12th)

2010-03-11T12:45:00.001-03:00

The world of classical music begins to brighten in 2010. And the noble Theatro São Pedro will be glad to receive a single submission with three established composers. "Live Music" by Alfred Reed, opens the series, followed by "The Four Noble Truths," by Philip Sparke, to finish with more expected, "The Lord of the Rings, as the conductor Johan de Meij. The conductor Mark Sadao Shirakawa adds: "For those who know the film's soundtrack, will be an amazing experience to hear the version of Meij with striking scenes in mind, made long before the book reaches the screens."

[fernando aguiar by b.coolt]

Service
Where: Theatro São Pedro, Rua Barra Funda, 171 — Barra Funda
When: March 12th, at 9pm.
How much: R$ 2

Franz Ferdinand concert in Sao Paulo will be on March 23rd

2010-03-11T12:18:00.000-03:00

Franz Ferdinand will be on the Via Funchal's stage on March 23rd. There are still available tickets for prices ranging from R$ 180 to R$ 300.

The previews time Franz Ferdinand came to Brazil was on September last year. They played at "The Week" nightclub, where there were just 500 tickets available. At this time, Via Funchal is able to host about 6 thousand people and it's not the only place the group will play. On March 19th, they will have a concert in Rio at Fundição Progress.

Franz Ferdinand is an alternative rock band that emerged in 2002 in Glasgow, Scotland, and soon drew attention for its energetic performances and his strong grip of rock and dance.

Service
Where: Via Funchal
When: March 23rd, at 10pm
Phone: (11) 3188-4148
How much: From R$ 180 to R$ 300. It's possible to buy via this link

Finnish exhibition brings a refined design to Sao Paulo

2010-03-11T11:32:00.006-03:00

Design is one of the biggest artistic expressions of Finland. Today, the Tomie Ohtake Institute open its doors to the Finnish Design Exhibition in São Paulo and aims to provide a complete overview of some of the most important works ever created in that country.

The exhibition, curated by Marianne Aav and support by the Finland's Embassy, brings more than 200 artworks, divided into five perspectives introducing from ancient artists to the young generation.

Among the highlights are the architect Eliel Saarinen, born 1873, and Maija Louekari, born almost a century later, in 1982.

There are plenty of objects such as: chairs, tissues, jars, and items released by Nokia through a mobile phone project. All about the history of design in the country, that lived its big momentum after the Second World War, due to the needs of industry and consumers.

Service
Where: Tomie Ohtake Institute — Av. Brigadeiro Faria Lima, 201 — Pinheiros
When: March 11th to May 2nd. Tuesday to Sunday, from 11am till 8pm.
Phone: (11) 2245-1900
How much: For free

There are still available tickets for the Sao Paulo Indy 300

2010-03-10T09:00:00.085-03:00

Anhembi Circuit F-Indy 2010. Address of the Sao Paulo Carnival every year

For those who haven't bought yet the ticket for the Sunday Indy race in Sao Paulo, there are still 30% of the 36.5 thousand tickets available.

The remaining tickets are from the sectors where the prices range from R$ 250 to R$ 500. Tickets can be purchased at the Sambódromo-Anhembi or on the website www.saopauloindy300.com.br/

About 70% of tickets have been sold and according to the event's organizers, the remaining ones are always sold few days before the race.

More expensive than in the U.S.
The tickets sold to the Anhembi's Circuit are more expensive than the races of the Indy Racing League in the U.S.

The price for the São Paulo racing costs twice more than the Indy 500 (most expensive one in the U.S.). In Indianapolis, the tickets cost from R$ 68 to R$ 255.

The street circuit of Saint Petersburg, Florida, which will be held on March 28th will cost between R$ 76 and R$ 187.

The circuit will be ready only tomorrow
The São Paulo street circuit (4.180 meters) which opens the 2010 season, will be ready tomorrow. The cars will be on the track on Saturday (March 13th) for the classification training. The race is on Sunday (March 14th) at 1pm.

[source: destak]

Red Team is the winner of the WarTube match (March 7th, 2010)

2010-03-09T12:45:00.004-03:00

WarTube match on March 7th, 2010. The Red Team was the winner

At 5pm every soldier was already customized to the WarTube match organized for the "Minhocão" issue last Sunday (March 7th). Despite the troopers being a bit late to start moving toward the enemy confront (there was a TV channel shooting the event), no one was afraid.

Among both troops — Sons of Masushi (Red) and Arthurian Armada (Blue) —, the Red one seemed to have a larger contingent. The whole battle took about a minute and half. Before the fight starts, there was a confront of single soldiers as you can see on the video below.

The most interesting point of the event, was the organization and the impressive participant's behavior. It was pretty safe and everyone was having lots of fun. There was also a full family of four people including: dad, mum, child and baby (in a trolley), ready to attack the enemy team. It was great to be there!

The Red Team ended as the winner of this edition, but much more fight is coming up. Click on their website (www.wartube.com.br) and try to be part of the next match.

BB King will be playing in Sao Paulo on March 19th and 20th.

2010-03-08T18:58:00.001-03:00

BB King will be playing in São Paulo next weekend. The concert will be host at Via Funchal through his international tour on March 19th and 20th.

BB King celebrates his success and almost 85 years old of life with a new tour, displaying his talent with the same good humor and enthusiasm that highlighted his entire career, since he was born as "Riley B. King" on September 16th, 1925 in a farm near Indianola, Mississippi, Southern U.S.

Service
Where: Via Funchal
When: March 19th and 20th, at 9h30pm
Phone: (11) 2144-5444
Website: www.viafunchal.com.br/

Prices:
VIP: R$ 600
Premium: R$ 480
Sector 1: R$ 300
Sector 2: R$ 200
Central Mezzanine: R$ 350
Side Mezzanine: R$ 290
Cabin: R$ 500
Buy online

Libyan Art Exposition at the Museu Afro Brasil

2010-03-07T10:03:00.004-03:00

The Afro Brazil Museum (Museu Afro Brasil) and the Gaddafi International Foundation for Charitable Associations, under the leadership of architect and artist Saif El Islam El Gaddafi, son of the Libyan leader present "The Desert is Not Silent" - a selection of the finest pieces of the archaeological heritage and contemporary art from Libya.

Visitors can admire archaeological Greek-Roman and Islamic pieces in the form of sculptures, mosaics and objects of everyday life. The exhibition brings together 28 valuable archaeological items and 51 paintings. The public will have the opportunity to experience the variety and richness of the historical past of Libya and some of its contemporary art.

The show is traveling and has been displayed in 10 major cities in the world: Paris, Berlin, London, Rome, Milan, Geneva, Vienna, Madrid, Tokyo and Montreal.

Service
Where: Museu Afro Brasil, Av. Pedro Álvares Cabral, s/nº - Ibirapuera - São Paulo
When: From March 9th to April 18th. Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm.
Website: http://www.museuafrobrasil.com.br/index_01.asp

B_Arco, another great cultural center in Sao Paulo. Brazilian Contemporary Art.

2010-03-06T17:05:00.003-03:00

b_arco Cultural Center [photo: edouard fraipont]

The b_arco is a Contemporary Cultural Center. A multimedia space designed to integrate the different areas of culture in a special environment outside the academic and informal circuit. Innovative place and laboratory of artistic and intellectual research, the b_arco is committed to the transmission, distribution and promotion of knowledge in all cultural segments: visual arts, music, literature, arts, philosophy and audiovisual media. An extra special schedule: with events, concerts, exhibitions and performances.

The b_arco also works in the area of education and research, holding courses, debates and research clusters with relevant names of Brazilian culture. We really can say they join the practice to the theory.

Service
Where: Rua Dr. Virgilio de Carvalho Pinto, 426 - Sao Paulo
Phone: (11) 3081-6986
Website: http://www.obarco.com.br/

WarTube death match on Sunday. Prepare your cardboard equipment and apply for this fight. It's for free!

2010-03-05T14:55:00.003-03:00

Troopers getting ready to the WarTube match

If you are in Sao Paulo this weekend, do not miss the incredible battle of cardboard that will happen in Sao Paulo, near the city center. You can watch or even subscribe yourself for this fight!

On Sunday, at 5pm, a match between two enemy troops will happen in the Minhocão (Elevado Presidente Arthur da Costa e Silva). This battle is a brand new issue of the War Tube (the War of cardboard tubes), a traditional war that happens between two armies — Armada Arturiana (Arthurian Armada) and Filhos de Musashi (Sons of Musashi) — every two months in different locations around the city.

This meeting is very well planned and includes registration and regulation. In the fictional story created by the organizers, two armies are about to compete in a battle where the survivor army wins the fight. Each team should gather as much troopers as possible trying to eliminate the enemy. The war is between a Japanese Army (Sons of Musashi - Red) and a British troop (Arthurian Armada - Blue).

Rules
To become a soldier, you must apply through the website (click the link) and read the Participant Manual (unfortunately only in Portuguese. If you need any help, leave a comment and we will help you). The participation is for free and female soldiers are also required.

The following accessories are allowed to this battle: weapons, armor and shield. Everything must be done using only cardboard. It is allowed to use rope or twine to tie the body armor, but you may not use any other type of material. The cardboard used can not be too hard to prevent accidents and armor should be marked with the team colors of your choice (blue or red). The participant will be eliminated when their weapon get broken. Wins the survivor army.

The meeting point on Sunday at 4 pm will be at the exit of the subway Marechal Teodoro for the participants of the group Arthurian Armada while for the warriors of the Sons of Musashi, the meeting point will be at the exit of the subway Santa Cecilia also 4pm. The battle begins at 5pm.

Do not miss this battle, soldier!

Service
What's up: War Tube
Where: Minhocão (Elevado Presidente Arthur da Costa e Silva)
When: March 7th, at 5pm but there will be a team meeting at 4pm.
Website: www.wartube.com.br/

Where to buy tickets for the Sao Paulo Indy 300

2010-03-05T11:00:00.013-03:00

IZOD Car - 2010

The Sao Paulo Indy 300 tickets can be purchased by two different ways. Through the official selling points or via internet. There are still about 12 thousand tickets available.

Among the 15 sectors and values ranging between R$ 100 and R$ 500, three of them are already sold out. See below the complete list of the Sao Paulo Indy 300 sectors.

Selling points

Morumbi Shopping, CarPark - Floor G1: Av. Roque Petroni Jr., 1.089 – Morumbi - São Paulo.
Monday to Saturday, from midday till 8pm. Sundays and Holidays, from 2pm till 8pm.
Shopping Anália Franco, Floor Orquídea - Rua Regente Feijó, 1739 – Tatuapé - São Paulo.
Monday to Saturday, from midday till 8pm. Sundays and Holidays, from 2pm till 8pm.
Posto Ipiranga – Av. Faria Lima, 3825 – Pinheiros - São Paulo
From 12h30pm till 8h30pm.
Posto Ipiranga – Rua Dr. Franco Da Rocha, 664 – Perdizes - São Paulo
From 12h30pm till 8h30pm.
Posto Ipiranga (Centro Automotivo Gravatinha) - Av. Portugal, 1756 - Jd. Bela Vista - Santo André
From 12h30pm till 8h30pm.
Sambódromo do Anhembi - Av. Olavo Fontoura, main entrance, close to the 30 – Santana – São Paulo
From 10am till 6pm.

Buy online

Virtual tour at the 2010 Indycar street circuit of Sao Paulo

Brazilian racer had the chance to speed up a F-Indy car inside Sao Paulo yesterday morning

2010-03-05T10:00:00.016-03:00

Bia Figueiredo speeding up inside São Paulo

Yesterday morning (March 4th), the Indy Racing League driver Bia Figueiredo had the chance to speed up the engine of his Honda V8 650 horsepower in the city of Sao Paulo. It happened at 5h40am, in a provisional route of six kilometers inside the city, passing through landscapes of São Paulo, such as: the Municipal Theater (in the central region) on the Obelisk (in front of the Ibirapuera Park), along the Avenida 23 de Maio and around the Monumento à Bandeira (sculpture symbol of the Inside São Paulo blog), also in the Ibirapuera Park.

The structure of this route had the support of the CET (Traffic Engineering Company) in the interdiction of some streets for the passage of the F-Indy car. In the coming days (March 13th and 14th) São Paulo will host the opening race of the 2010 season of the IZOD IndyCar Series.

The track of the São Paulo Indy 300 is under construction and will be held on a street circuit of 4.180 meters mounted on the Sambódromo Anhembi. To promote the championship, the debuting pilot Bia Figueiredo (who is a Brazilian woman and also Paulista), was called to drive a Formula Indy car inside the city. Figueiredo works for the team Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.

Many people who walked on the streets early in the morning were caught by surprise to see a race car speeding through the streets. If you want to watch the Indy Racing League in Sao Paulo, there are still 12 thousand tickets available and can be purchased through the site: http://www.saopauloindy300.com.br/

Choque Cultural

2010-03-04T09:00:00.005-03:00

Choque Cultural involves education and socio-cultural engagement. Its primary mission is to bring the young people close to the arts, encouraging them collecting, producing knowledge and promoting exchange. Since its founding in 2003, the project shown more than 200 Brazilian artists, brought to Brazil more than 50 international artists, led Brazil to Europe and the United States in more than 10 major exhibitions and edited many books and prints. Choque Cultural created production of low-cost limited editions, signed posters, stickers and art objects.

First the Choque Cultural Editor was open. Soon after, in 2004, the gallery opened the doors to its first exhibition space in a house built in the 40th, in Pinheiros, a simple home in a working-class neighborhood. The first exhibitions helped to determine some characteristics of non-conventional design: the walls always painted, often by the artists themselves exhibitors, prices alongside the work and the informal and participatory.

Focused on the presentation of art to a new audience, the curators have always sought to create amazing dialogues between artists of different generations, styles and artistic proposals, putting side by side the revelations with established artists. Interested in the development of both new audiences and new artists, Choque invested since the early years, in exchange. It joined galleries and curators around the world and held many exhibitions and workshops of Brazilian artists in the U.S., Europe and Japan.

On the other hand, it brought many foreign artists to showtheir work in large exhibitions. This new art gallery has attracted many admirers and opened a new art market that consists of new collectors, many of them young people who had ge into a gallery.

Service Website: http://choquecultural.com.br/
Where: Rua Joao Moura 997 - Pinheiros - Sao Paulo

Coletivo Role - Sao Paulo Night Shots

2010-03-03T20:35:00.011-03:00

The group was created by friends, some professional photographer and some just amateur, what they have in common is the love for Sao Paulo, especially Sao Paulo by night. That's how it works: the members of the group talks and decide the meeting point, it can be everywhere in Sao Paulo, any area. What matters is to meet in a good "boteco" (bar) where to have some beers and talk about the city before they start their mission.

In order to shoot more and more neighborhoods in Sao Paulo at night and to show other dimensions of the city, the Coletivo Role has 13 fixed participants and many guests. For them, photography is only a means to reveal the metropolis. The ride is more than photography. Visiting the city on foot at night is to live it in a way that no one is used to. Walking, especially at night, helps to lower the speed imposed on their day-to-day practice and to experiment observation.

Service
Website: http://www.role.art.br/home/album/role.htm

Let the music play! The unique sounds from Rua Teodoro Sampaio

2010-03-03T17:26:00.020-03:00

Soulshine Guitar Shop

Rua Teodoro Sampaio, in the neighborhood of Pinheiros, is definitely known by the variety of products that is offered when it comes to musical instruments. This street is, for sure, the first place that crosses the mind of people in São Paulo when that´s what they are looking for, and it attracts people from other cities when they get to the information that the stores from that street offer way more than the usual.

One of the most famous stores on that street is “Made in Brazil”. They have good offers, a great number of products and lines, and they are the only company that represents the Martin Guitars in Brasil. The company was founded in 1833 and is widely known as one of the companies that produce some of the finest acoustic instruments in the world, and they sound amazing. Martin Guitars have special or signature editions from artists like Eric Clapton, Joan Baez, John Mayer, Ben Harper, Johnny Cash and Jonny Lang (the youngest artist to be selected for one of those editions).

Another store that is interesting and brings different options is “Soulshine Guitar Shop”. It´s located at Rua Cristiano Viana, wich is a lane of Teodoro Sampaio. They offer very good instruments from important brands and top of line editions. Part of the products is, actually, rare to find or classical pieces developed as part of the musical history, or part of the history of artists who have left their own marks in this industry. Those instruments seem to bring together features that make them unique when it comes to: material, sound, comfort and play ability. Soulshine Guitar Shop offers brands like Fender, Gibson, Rickenbacker, Taylor and Marshall.

One instrument that is rare, and can be found at the store, is a Stratocaster, a second edition of 1959, made by Sr. John English. He was a Master Designer, responsible for the creation of Fender Custom Shop, and used to make guitars to artists like Dick Dale or Eric Clapton. Sr. John English passed away in 2007 and left this iconic, high quality standard guitar. They were made in 2005, and there are only 100 Stratocaster guitars from this edition around the world. Two of them are at Soulshine Guitar Shop. This store also offers a brand new studio that has just been opened and offers high quality equipments for production of records, musical projects and jingles.

This studio has been built in a way that respects the environment, as its walls are covered by a material that is made using filaments of the banana tree´s leaves. The studio is located right above the store and there´s no way their music could disturb the neighborhood since whenever you are out the doors it´s completely silent. All the instruments are owned by the store and can be used during work at the studio. It is worth checking it out.

Service

Where: Made in Brazil – Rua Teodoro Sampaio, 777 – Pinheiros

When: Monday to Friday, from 9am till 7pm. Saturdays, from 9am to 5:30pm.

Phone: (11) 3061 - 3131

Website: www.madeinbrazil.com.br/

Where: Soulshine Guitar Shop – Rua Cristiano Viana, 524 – Pinheiros

When: Monday to Friday, from 10am to 7pm. Saturdays, from 10am to 3pm.

Phone: (11) 3086-3021

Website: http://www.soulshine.com.br/

iPhone application displays flooding spots of Sao Paulo

2010-03-03T10:00:00.031-03:00

Recently, the Noel Rocha developer created an interesting iPhone application that follows the flooding points of the city. It's called Alaga SP, which is available for free. The program uses the same data of the CGE - Centro de Gerenciamento de Emergências (Emergency Management Centre), which reports on its website inundated sites based on information provided by the CET - Companhia de Engenharia de Tráfego (Traffic Engineering Company) working together with surveillance cameras.

Maureen Bisilliat at Sesi. A great chance to see pictures of Brazilian backwoodsman

2010-03-02T11:00:00.053-03:00

Caranguejeiras, 1968

About 200 pictures of the English photographer Maureen Bisilliat, are on exhibition at the Art Gallery of Sesi.

She is daughter of an Argentinean Diplomat and an Irish woman, Sheila Maureen was born in Bisilliat Englefield Green, Surrey, England, in 1931. She studied painting with Andre Lothe in Paris (1955) and at the Art Students League in New York (1957), before settling down permanently in Brazil in 1957, in São Paulo. She worked for the Abril Magazine Publisher between April 1964 and 1972, shooting for various publications.

The highlight of her job are:

The universe of Guimaraes Rosa, on the Xingu Indians - conducted with the Villas-Boas brothers (the show's visitors will see a canoe with six meters in length produced according to the Indian tradition).
Os sertões de Euclides, as Caranguejeiras - photographic equivalent of the poem by João Cabral de Melo Neto.

In addition, throughout the show, there will be a projection of Xingu / Land, a documentary made in the 1980s by Maureen Bisilliat and Lucius Kodato, shot in Mehinaku village in the Upper Xingu.

Service
Where: SESI Gallery, Avenida Paulista, 1313 - Sao Paulo
When: March 1st to July 4th. Monday, from 11am till 8pm; Tuesday to Saturday, from 10am till 8pm; Sunday, from 10am till 7pm.
Phone: (11) 3146-7405
How much: For free

Today, Coldplay has a Concert at Morumbi and there are still tickets available

2010-03-02T10:00:00.003-03:00

Coldplay is in Brazil for the third time, but makes its first concert in a Stadium in São Paulo. The tour aims to promote the album Viva la Vida, 2008.

During the Concert the rock band will throw 200 giant balls to the public. In addition to them during the song "Yellow", thousands of papers shaped like butterfly will be falling around the band and the audience.

On the stage, six lamps replace the traditional giant screen and transmit images of the band. The British band 'Bat For Lashes' and the Brazilian 'Vanguart' will be opening the Concert.

Service
Where: Estádio do Morumbi
When: Today, 19:30.
How much: R$ 160 to R$ 250 at www.ticketmaster.com.br

Livraria Cultura promotes a movie exhibition about Akira Kurosawa. Check it out!

2010-03-02T09:00:00.003-03:00

Next March 23rd, the Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa completes a century. He is one of the most recognized movie director in the Western side. Well known as a perfectionist Director, extraordinary artistic sense and talent, he was skillful enough to gather Western narrative techniques and the spiritual Japanese tradition. Kurosawa brought his style thorough and thoughtful way of seeing the human nature.

In his honor, the Livraria Cultura at the Shopping Market Place will promote on every Sunday of March, an exhibition entitled 100 anos Akira Kurosawa (100 years Akira Kurosawa), which will start always at 5pm. The event brings important movies of Kurozawa. The schedule and the movie titles can be found at this link.

Ex-bassist for Miles Davis is coming to Brazil in May

2010-03-01T13:00:00.002-03:00

The Bass player Dave Holland, who played on classic albums like Miles Davis's "In the Silent Way" (1969) and Bitches Brew (1970), is coming to Brazil in May. He plays on March 21st at Citibank Hall, São Paulo, as one of the attractions of "Bridgestone Music Festival".

Holland, also played with Herbie Hancock and jazz musicians as Gary Burton and JackDeJohnette. The English bass guitarist is also known by his solo career. Among his most celebrated albums are: "Music From Two Basses", "Conference of the Birds" and "The Razor's Edge", released respectively in 1971, 1972 and 1987. His brand new jazz album studio is entitled "Pass it On", 2008.

The 2010 will be the third one of "Bridgestone Music Festival". Last year, the main attraction was Jimmy Cobb, drummer for Miles Davis.

[source: josé norberto flesh]

Restaurant week 2010 starts today. More than 200 expensive restaurants for affordable prices

2010-03-01T11:00:00.065-03:00

The opportunity to try the menu of some of the most expensive restaurants in São Paulo for affordable prices only happens twice a year. The sixth edition of the Restaurant Week 2010 (and first of the year) begins today. The Restaurant Week is one of the most important gastronomic events in the world. It came up about 17 years ago in New York and nowadays it happens in more than 100 cities in several countries.

São Paulo is internationally recognized for its cuisine and it's possible to enjoy the best of the international cuisine. The Restaurant Week, held from March 1st to 14th brings more than 200 restaurants to this challenge of creating special menus for popular prices. The menu is composed by entrance, main menu and dessert for a unique price in any restaurant: R$ 27,50 for lunch and R$ 39 for dinner. But these prices don't include beverage and/or artistic coverts.

Italian restaurants are 25% for a total of 51 restaurants. Among the Italians, the highlight is the La Vecchia Cucina (photo). Debuting at the event, this restaurant only serves dinner.

Visiting the restaurants during the event is a great opportunity to meet some of the most outstanding restaurants in the city and contribute socially. São Paulo is one of the biggest Gastronomic Capitals in World. The objective of the SPRW is to let accessible the high level cuisine to everyone. Aiming to help the Fundação Ação Criança (Brazilian Children Foundation) all the menus will have an increasing of R$ 1 for this cause.

From now on during 14 days, the lunch's price will be R$ 27.50 and the dinner's R$ 39 (R$ 1 optional for the Children Foundation). Don't miss it!

Service
What's up: São Paulo Restaurant Week (SPRW)
When: March 1st to 14th. Lunch and Dinner.
Where: Click here to follow the program. There are 201 restaurants subscribed.
Website: www.restaurantweek.com.br/

Matt Blum came to Sao Paulo for "The Nu Project" and insidesaopaulo interviewed him. Check it out!

2010-03-01T10:00:00.053-03:00

Matt Blum is an American from Minnesota and the author of "The Nu Project", which is a series of nudes of common women. The project started in 2005 with the purpose of shooting naked women, but under a condition: no models, no makeup and no glamour.

The purpose is wonderful and gives the opportunity to people to see themselves as they really are. Matt does it as a personal project and Katy, his adorable future wife, follows him on the project. Insidesaopaulo had the great opportunity to meet them during their visit to the city (February 15th to 20th). Check out the video interview (and also the transcription down here).

Hi I am Diego from InsideSaoPaulo and I am here with Matt Blum, the author of “The Nu Project”. I would like to tell us a little bit about your project.
The project started a couple of years ago and it is basically involved with people I have never met and never seen before. They are shooting nudes and back in the States we did a lot of work. Here in Brazil we took mostly in location like homes or spaces that they have, houses. So the idea of the project was to give everybody a chance to be part of art and to give people the opportunity to feel beauty about their bodies or how they look regardless about they are supermodels or just normal people.

Great. Where have you already been with this project?
First we were shooting where we live in Minnesota, so this is the first time we left Minnesota to shoot. We never really thought about doing it we just decided we are going to be here so we give it a try and we found enough people to make it work. So now I think when we travel we will try to cooperate some shoots trying to get looks into people’s lives from all over the world.

What kind of woman wants to be your model?
I think that people that are the best model are people that are open to the experience. They don’t have to be any particular age or any particular body types just they have to be able to be open and relaxed. Other than that it doesn’t really matter. I have seen the best results with people that are like that. It is more about their personality and their willing to be present and involved in the project and just kind of trust on it.

When you said you were coming to Brazil you received 500 hundreds emails on the first 12 hours you announced the trip to Brazil. Why do you think people want to be so much to be your model?
I think that everybody of us as human we want to be seen and we want to be appreciated and I think that especially for women this is hard because if they don’t fit certain mode, I think the message is that all you might have is internal beauty or you might to have a great personality but no one says that you are also beautiful and externally too beautiful. It is just because they are not super model, skinny, 5/10 or whatever it doesn’t mean they are not extremely beautiful as well. To me I think that people want to feel like that, they want to feel comfortable on how they look even though they don’t fit that models. It seems that either you are really beautiful or you are internally beautiful. But I think there is something else too even if you have not the perfect bodies you still beautiful. I think they just want to be part of it and show.

Your work can help them to feel more confident.
Yes, that is about all the feedback that we get. After seeing their shots the people feel like they didn’t know what they have. It is like a third part saying objectively this is what you look like and then they see it and they think “actually I am good, I am ok with that”. So it helps to build some self-confidence.

Did you ever get any complain?
No actually. The only things that we tell everybody that once we shoot, we don’t edit the work, we only produce what it is seen on the site so it is not going to look any different of that. If you want to be part of it than it should be ok to be there on that side. We won’t blur your face… So once in a while some people say I should take the picture down and I wait a couple of days, we try not to do anything, if you really want me to do it I can do it, just let me know. And every time they say: “no, it’s ok, I like it”. This is like an additional thing like “oh my gosh, it’s out there, it is on the site”. So this is the only thing we ever had. After I ask them again, they say yes.

It’s pretty mature.
I think it’s because the type of photography. What is there of being ashamed about? The photo is not hypersexual, it is not going to expose somebody, we are not trying to take advantage of anybody. It is not the kind of stuff you see on Playboy, which to me means there is nothing to be ashamed about.

Do you want to go further with the project?
I think that any good artist never ends it, just a sort of feel stopping. So there are moments when you are shooting and you are not feeling it anymore, so you should stop. What I hope to do is just to keep shooting around the world and maybe, years from know, have a really large collection of photography of all over the world, of all kinds of people, spaces and whatever and happen to been a sort of sampling of women around the world that maybe otherwise beauty negatives couldn’t be in course. That is the purpose: normal people from a bunch of cultures, and different skin types, different bodies, personalities...

What do you think about the Brazilian woman?
Honestly I think that Brazilian women are just like every other kind of woman. The people in Sao Paulo are extremely open and extremely friendly. Without knowing me they let me come into their home, spend time with me and let me photograph them but I think just like anywhere else. Everyone is different, so after working with 15 people, I couldn’t tell you what is the Brazilian woman like because they are all different. Some people were super relaxed and super comfortable and we did the shoot and it was great. Other people were a little bit nervous and regarded but I think that is just like anybody. There are many different kinds of people making the same culture.

Thank you Matt, your job is great. I’m glad to have you here with me and I hope the best for your job. What you do is good for people. Thank you very much.

Bulgarian food in Sao Paulo

2010-02-28T21:41:00.002-03:00

Bom Retiro and Higienópolis keep some culinary surprises of Jewish origin. This is the case of the burek, a donut-shaped pastry , which can take different fillings.

This food crossed continents to reach Brazil. Passed through generations, today it is fiercely defended by the Bulgarian Lona Levi. In Sao Paulo since 1974, she is keen to keep the secret. Employees only remove the delicious snacks from the oven, ready to be tasted. Lona opened the Casa Bulgara (Bulgarian House) just one year after she arrived in Sao Paulo.

This wonderful burek is filled with eggplant, chicken, potatoes, cheese, gorgonzola, spinach and even chocolate. Their costs is from R$ 2.00 and we suggest the Higienopolis shop!

Service
Where: Rua Baronesa de Itu, 375 - Higienopolis - São Paulo.
When: Everday from 8am to 7pm; Saturday from 9am to 3pm. Closed on Sundays.
How much: From R$ 2.