Visitors uncover Black Brazilian past of Sao Paulo’s Japanese neighborhood

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Visitors uncover ****** Brazilian past of Sao Paulo’s ********* neighborhood

By Dani Morera Trettin

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – São Paulo’s Liberdade neighborhood, home to the largest ********* community outside Japan, is renowned for its ******-style architecture, restaurants and public lighting resembling paper lanterns.

Thousands of tourists enjoy the area’s cuisine and culture, often unaware of the neighborhood’s ****** history.

The name “Liberdade” (liberty in English) has been linked to the story of Chaguinhas, a formerly enslaved ****** soldier who was sentenced to ****** in 1821 after he led a protest for better wages, prompting spectators to the ********** to call for his “liberty.”

“When people see the neighborhood, there is another history being told,” said Debora Pinheiro, a guide on a tour attended by Reuters. “The ********* arrived in the early 20th century and started a process of gentrification. But the ****** presence is still huge.”

Afrotourism – tourism with a focus on ****** history – is a growing industry in Brazil. Guia ******, an organization founded in 2018, aims to disseminate the often overlooked history in Brazil. It now offers tours in 22 cities, including Salvador, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo.

In 2023, the tourism agency announced that it would promote businesses in addition to tourism. The same year, Pequena ******* (Little *******) in Rio de Janeiro had more visitors than the iconic ******* the Redeemer or the Sugar Loaf mountain (Pão de Açucar), according to the agency, which cited data from the Rio mayor’s office.

Pinheiro said that the addition of “Japao” (Japan) to the name of Liberdade’s metro station by commercial initiative highlights how ****** history is still erased in São Paulo.

Despite not being known as the “Blackest city outside of *******” like Salvador, in the northern state of Bahia, or the neighborhood of Little ******* in Rio de Janeiro, the city of São Paulo has the largest population of ****** people in Brazil in absolute numbers.

****** ********* tourists are among Guia ******’s most frequent clients, choosing Brazil as a more welcoming destination.

“Brazil made me feel like a ****** queen,” said Dr. Chanel Adrian Clifton, who participated in the tour. “I feel very welcome, powerful, and understood.”

Guilherme Soares Dias, the founder of Guia ******, started the organization after experiencing frequent ******* profiling abroad. “I wanted to create a platform to encourage more ****** people to travel and for everyone to learn more about ****** history and culture,” he said.

Guia ****** emphasizes history education to combat prejudice.

In October 2020, police officers, alerted by social media posts about a “****** march,” came to the tour. For three hours, they questioned, filmed, and followed the organizers, suspecting the paid touristic tour was a protest.

In April 2024, a judge ordered the São Paulo State to pay 750 thousand reais ($138 thousand) to Guia ****** in compensation for “moral collective damage and discriminatory action, with clear outlines of institutional racism.”

(Reporting by Dani Morera Trettinl; Editing by Aurora Ellis)

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