Bela Vista 5.47

Bela Vista is one of the most traditional Italian neighborhoods in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. It belongs to the borough of Sé, and it has been a mixed neighborhood since its beginning, where free African-Brazilians and/or a mixture of Native-Brazilians, Blacks and Portuguese descendants lived. Later, more European immigrants arrived, such as Spaniards, Germans, English, French, Belgians, and Italians. The Italian community became more numerous than all the others during the first decades of the twentieth century. EntertainmentBela Vista hosts a large number of Italian cantinas or eateries, restaurant and/or delicatessens.Renowned theaters, such as the state-funded Teatro Sergio Cardoso and few smaller ones on Rua dos Ingleses/Morro dos Ingleses and Avenida 9 de Julho area, such as the teatros Bibi Ferreira and Maria Della Costa. Most theatres nowadays tend to concentrate on Avenida Brigadeiro Luis Antonio with Teatro Abril being the most important venue of musical presentations such as Miss Saigon, Beauty and the Beast, and The Phantom of the Opera. Towards the end of the twentieth century, parts of Bexiga became more decayed and dilapidated because its more affluent middle-class moved to newer areas in the suburbs. Although most of the clubs and bars moved from Bela Vista to Itaim Bibi and Vila Madalena in the late 1980s and mid 1990s, Bexiga still has a somewhat vibrant nightlife and is the home of many descendants of Italians and young professionals and students that enjoy the urban atmosphere and the Avenida Paulista area nearby. Bela Vista is also the home of the Vai-Vai Samba School, the oldest one in São Paulo.