• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Street Smart Brazil

We teach smart Portuguese

  • Contact
  • My Account
  • Cart
  • Policies
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Service
    • Disclaimer
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Speak Portuguese With Ease
  • Home
  • About
  • Shop for Lessons
  • Starter Kit
  • Testimonials
  • Resources
  • Blog
Life in Brazil: São Paulo’s Big Worm

Life in Brazil: São Paulo’s Big Worm

posted on April 3, 2014

If the image above looks familiar, you may have seen it in person in São Paulo or in one of several Brazilian films such as Foreign Land (Terra Estrangeira), Not By Chance (Não Por Acaso) or Blindness (Ensaio sobre a Cegueira) which all featured the giant overpass.

São Paulo’s Costa e Silva overpass, better known as “Minhocão” (or “Big Worm”) has been a talking point of mayors, urban designers, architects and the general public since it was built back in 1970. It was originally imagined as a way to double the capacity of cars able to traverse central points of the metropolis. Unfortunately, it always seemed more like a mere political promise made and kept, one of brute engineering, rather than an architectural wonder that simplifies life and beautifies the city. It almost seemed to have been forced on the people, and to that effect, it didn’t help to be named after a President from the time when Brazil was under military dictatorship.

In all the years it has been open, the best thing it has had going for it are the pedestrian hours it keeps as of 1989. The car-only schedule goes from Monday to Saturday, from 6:30AM to 9:30PM, but during off-hours, the population uses it for leisurely strolls, Sunday bike rides, and as a jogging track. On some holidays, like the Festa Junina, the Minhocão plays host to related festivities like an extra-large quadrilha, or square dance, which can be quite fun (I’ve done it!).

In 2010, the then-mayor of São Paulo, Gilberto Kassab, submitted a project that would see the razing of the entire overpass, such as what happened recently in Rio de Janeiro with the Perimetral. As with the Rio overpass, whose destruction was discussed politically for 20 years prior, the removal of the Minhocão will also likely follow suit. According to the proposal, what would be put in its place would be another avenue, although other proposals out there on the internet seem more appealing (such as turning it into a park).

As interesting as what is to come, is what it used to be before politicians had their way. Luckily, a photo from 1942 showing how it used to be was just posted on a blog from the newspaper Estadão. Check it out below.

Free Travel Portuguese

Travel Portuguese lesson

Going to Brazil? Make sure you get our free Travel Portuguese lesson before you take off!

Related Posts:

  • The Difference Between ESTE, ESSE, ISSO in Portuguese
  • Articles in Portuguese - Portuguese lesson
  • 5 Brazilian Rock Bands that You Need to Know

About Adam Lee

Adam is a writer and a researcher who has studied Brazilian culture for over a decade and created several Brazil-themed blogs going back to 2008. Having taught himself Portuguese, he put it to practical use by spending three years doing Brazil on a budget (and living in favelas), from Rio de Janeiro to the Amazon.

He now resides in Lisbon, Portugal, developing a startup and dreaming about having a beachside B&B in the Northeast of Brazil.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Want to see your pic by your comment? Get a free custom avatar at Gravatar.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Categories

  • Brazil
  • Brazilian music
  • Brazilian Portuguese
  • Business Culture
  • Culture and History
  • Flashcards
  • Food
  • Grammar
  • Idiomatic Expressions
  • Learning Languages
  • Pronunciation
  • Resources
  • Video lessons
  • Visiting Brazil
  • Vocabulary

Schedule a Trial Session

Testimonials

The web class is a unique setup. When I first heard about it I thought it would be too weird to try to do something so personal and interactive as a foreign language online. Now I am sort of devotee. … Read more
John
Learning a new language can be one of the most challenging things you can do. The individualized and wholly personal tact of teaching at Street Smart Brazil makes it a challenge that you will want to … Read more
Gary
I love my Portuguese lessons. My instructor is fantastic. She listens to my requests and allows me to practice what I want to practice. I also like the written exercises and the fact that I can practi… Read more
Kate
The lessons were fantastic, and just what I wanted. The biggest difference between my Street Smart Brazil lessons and others I’ve taken is that my teacher knows English and understands what America… Read more
Bibi

Find Resources

Make your learning fun and easy with good resources.
Learn More

51 Portuguese Idioms – Speak Like a Brazilian

You will learn each expression inside a real-life context: everyday situations that could happen to any of us.
Purchase Now >

Recent Posts

  • Brazilian Books You Need on Your Bookshelf
  • How to use ONDE and AONDE in Portuguese
  • Master Question Words in Portuguese: O que, Que, Qual
  • Meio or Meia? How to say KIND OF in Portuguese
  • Family Vocabulary in Portuguese

Search

Cart

Classes

  • Trial Lesson
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Subscription
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Packages
  • Celpe-Bras Prep Classes with Street Smart Brazil

Footer Subscribe

Books

  • 51 Portuguese Idioms
  • Master the Word MESMO in Portuguese

Footer Video CTA

Subscribe to my YouTube channel to get all the new video lessons

Subscribe

https://youtu.be/UJPrLOdKYQQ

Footer Full CTA

Book a Trial Lesson today to get started.

Get Started Now

Footer CTA

Street Smart Brazil

  • About
  • Shop For a Portuguese Class
  • Testimonials
  • Blog

Portuguese Classes

  • Trial Lesson
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Subscription
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Packages
  • Celpe-Bras Prep Classes with Street Smart Brazil

Books

  • 51 Portuguese Idioms
  • Master the Word MESMO in Portuguese


Street Smart Brazil, LLC

phone 415.573.8180
email info@streetsmartbrazil.com
Oakland, California

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Disclaimer
  • Sitemap

© 2014–2023 Street Smart Brazil, All Rights Reserved.