We spent six weeks hitting the streets of São Paulo photographing the people that make the city so great. Here are our favorite portraits.
Nayara de Deus, bar tender at Empório Sagarana in the trendy neighborhood of Vila Madalena.
Homeless man on Avenida Paulista.
Local resident in Liberdade.
“Tell Obama you have found the only terrorist in São Paulo!” Muslim immigrant from Rajasthan India showing a photo from his Michael Jackson stage, next to his Angolan wife.
“I was wondering if I could take a picture of you man, I am doing a blog on people that I am meeting in Sao Paulo” “A blog on ugly people?” (laughs)
Korean man in front of his restaurant in Bom Retiro, a densly populated neighborhood inhabited by Koreans, Jews, Eastern Europeans, Paraguayans and Bolivians.
Hannah in Bom Retiro. After fleeing persecution in 1951 from Stalins Soviet Union, Hannah settled in this traditional Jewish neighborhood north of downtown Sao Paulo.
Jewish mystic in Bom Retiro, “my mother died yesterday, im just looking for a few dollars for a coffee.”
Diego in Luz.
Lebanese merchant in the 25 de Março section of Centro, the largest shopping district in Latin America.
Rubens and Vinicius both traveled to San Francisco and were inspired to open an authentic California style Taqueria in São Paulo, “theres nothing like this here, we wanted to bring back the true burrito experience to Brazil!”
Shoeshiner from the poorer Northeastern part of Brazil, he says he family was Dutch and settled there 400 years ago.
“Mother Earth will die if we don’t do our part to save it. I’m just trying to do mine” Piaui Ecologica, a local Sao Paulo environmental artist doing work to raise awareness about the environment.
Leo Pride, model for Rock Managment, hanging out at Galeria do Rock, a 6 story building dedicated to rock, rap, skating and tattoos.
Key maker in Centro.
A Dupla da Paulista, a talented duo that play weekly on Avenida Paulista.
“can I take a picture of you sir”? “…”