VIDEO: How 10minutes of rain in São Paulo can turn a street into a river

São Paulo is pretty much bang on the Tropic of Capricorn and has a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate meaning it’s very green or in less endearing terms: it’s a goddam rainy city!

In fact one of its nicknames is cidade da garoa (the city of drizzle) which is mostly inaccurate because the rain when it does come down tends to come down no in a drizzle but in spectacular fashion. There are quite often intense flash showers which rapidly pour vast amounts of water onto the city and then disappear.

Last Saturday at about midday we had one of these showers. It was all over very quickly but here is what Rua Augusta looked like after about 10mins of hard rain:

I’m told that this is quite common at this time of the year as we are entering the rainy season but bear in mind that this is a very central street and probably blessed with above average drainage than most…

VIDEO: Reaction of Corinthian fans in a local bar in São Paulo to Fluminense's equaliser against Vasco

This weekend there were two games to go in the Brasileirão, Corinthians were 2 points ahead of Vasco and winning against Figuerense. Anything but a win for Vasco and Corinthians would take the title. That's the background and here's how the guys in my neighbourhood reacted to Fluminense's equalising goal against Vasco:

Emotional stuff. However Vasco went on to win the game so the league will go down to the wire on the final match of the season which sees Corinthians up against local rival Palmeiras. Can't wait..

Today is Black Friday in Brazil, let's shop!

Everybody who’s lived here for more than 5 minutes knows that Brazilians love a bargain!

So it comes as no surprise to see that although there is no tradition or celebration of Thanksgiving Day, Brazil has still embraced the Black Friday concept and created one of its own. 

I made a similar post a few months ago about how Valentines day was adopted as a sales booster for the winter months an today I ound out Black Friday has also come to town:

The online shops have all gone “black” too:

Fnac has even stretched it out to the weekend and is calling it the “Black Edition”

I guess if they made all that effort it would simply be rude not to buy something…

São Paulo in Statistics: 2010 Census

Here are some facts and figures on São Paulo recently released as part of the 2010 census but not widely commented on:

Household Income

At R$2,853 average income per household is high compared to the national average of R$ 2,222. The states with the highest household incomes are:

Brasilia D.F (R$ 2,853) [somewhat of an exception as it is a new city and an administrative district]

São Paulo (R$ 2,853)

Santa Catarina (R$ 2,636)

Rio de Janeiro (R$ 2,630)

Rio Grande do Sul (R$ 2,403)

Paraná (R$ 2,364)

Infant Mortality

One of the amazing statistics revealed is infant mortality. In 1980 23,3% of all deaths were infants below the age of 12months. The national average in 2010 is now 3,4% and in São Paulo 2,7%  the 4th lowest in the whole country behind Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and Rio Grande do Sul.

Brazilians living abroad

Of the total number of Brazilians who are living abroad a massive 21,6% originate from São Paulo state. The top destinations at a national level are US, Portugal, Spain, Japan, Italy and England but in São Paulo´s case Japan is second placed.

Police car chases and crashes into plane suspected of illegal imports

I always tell my friends that watching the regional news in Brazil is far more exciting than it is back home.

Today's evening news highlight came from Ribeirão Preto, inner state of São Paulo. It's basically a dramatic showdown between the "Policia Federal" and suspected smugglers of electronic goods originating from neighbouring Paraguay which culminates in the police agents driving their car at speed into a suspect airplane in order to immobilise it.

Video is below courtesy of Estadão TV:

Straight out of a movie scene!