Sé (district of São Paulo) in the context of Estação da Luz

⭐ Core Definition: Sé (district of São Paulo)

Sé is the name of the most central borough in the city of São Paulo, in Brazil, divided in eight districts. The name comes from the presence of São Paulo Cathedral (Catedral da Sé) in the borough, and it is also the name of the central square (Praça da Sé). Also located in the Sé are the Pátio do Colégio, site of the foundation of the city in 1554, the São Paulo stock exchange (the Bovespa), the mayor's palace and other historical buildings, including the Municipal Theater of São Paulo, the São Paulo Music Hall (Sala São Paulo) and the central railway Luz Station (Estação da Luz).

Immigrant groups established in the Sé borough include Italians (in Bela Vista), Japanese (in Liberdade), and Jews (in Bom Retiro). Sé is also the borough with the largest number of subway stations. There are many areas of popular commerce, like the 25 de Março Street (one of the most popular area of commerce in Brazil, though often illegal), and high-class areas such as Pacaembu and Higienópolis. The famous Paulista Avenue (Avenida Paulista) is the southwest limit of this borough, with the borough of Pinheiros.

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Sé (district of São Paulo) in the context of Liberdade (district of São Paulo)

Liberdade (Portuguese: [libeʁˈdadʒi], liberty; Japanese: リベルダージ, romanized: Riberudāji) is the name of a district in the subprefecture of Sé, in São Paulo, Brazil. Liberdade is known as a Japantown, although the Japanese presence did not occur throughout the neighborhood, but in specific streets. Japanese immigrants started settling in the region in 1912, coming from the interior of São Paulo, as many did not adapt to working on coffee farms and started looking for better opportunities in the capital. Even today, the neighborhood is famous for its typically Japanese restaurants and shops, as well as its oriental elites and signs in Japanese.

Currently, the majority of Japanese people and their descendants no longer live in the neighborhood, only maintaining their commercial establishments in the region. With the departure of the Japanese, the region began to receive many Chinese and Korean immigrants.

View the full Wikipedia page for Liberdade (district of São Paulo)

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