From Wikitravel

Far East is a region of São Paulo. With about 2.7 million people, it is the most populous region and the main reduct of São Paulo's working classes, giving the region its nickname "the City of Workers". The Far East is a prime portrait of São Paulo's suburban side, with low level of verticalization, strong presence of migrants from the Northeast, and sadly, also many impoverished areas. The main attractions of the region are Parque do Carmo and the Parque Ecológico do Tietê, which are interesting combinations of popular leisure and preserved nature areas. In the extreme east, the region keeps a hidden gem - the oldest surviving church of São Paulo, the Capela de São Miguel Arcanjo.

The Far East is divided in 22 districts, grouped in 8 subprefectures:

• Penha subprefecture: Cangaíba, Penha, Vila Matilde, Artur Alvin
• Ermelino Matarazzo subprefecture: Ermelino Matarazzo, Ponte Rasa
• Itaquera subprefecture: Cidade Líder, Itaquera, Parque do Carmo, José Bonifácio
• São Mateus subprefecture: São Mateus, Iguatemi, São Rafael
• São Miguel subprefecture: Vila Jacuí, São Miguel, Jardim Helena
• Itaim Paulista subprefecture: Vila Curuçá, Itaim Paulista, Lageado, Guaianazes
• Cidade Tiradentes subprefecture: Cidade Tiradentes

[edit] Understand

The Far East was originally occupied by farms and industries. During the second half of the XX century, the fast economic growth of São Paulo attracted a large number of migrants from the Northeast of Brazil, who settled mainly in the city's peripherical areas: the Far East, Northwest and Far South regions. The Norheastern migrants and their descendents are now the predominant population in the Far East, although a significant Japanese community, that arrived during the farming era, is still present and remains culturally important to the region, organizing the annual Sakura Matsuri and the Kodomo no Sono bazaar events.

The predominant view of the Far East are the residencial areas - composed of terraced houses, countless 3- and 4-storey buildings (generally government-constructed social habitations), and also some favela's and middle class appartments. However, the region also contains local commerce centers, some industries and even Japanese-owned small farms that survive from the region's rural past, mostly located in the district of José Bonifácio. The two largest parks, Parque do Carmo and Parque Ecológico do Tietê, are unexpected wonders in one of the least visited regions of São Paulo.

Currently there is a lot of perspective for the Far East. There is a lot going on: the gradual return of industries, the construction of the a monorail line in the south part of the region, the recovery of the shores of the east part of the Tietê river, and on top of them, the district of Itaquera was chosen to host the opening of the FIFA World Cup 2014. Together with a new stadium, which will become the home of Brazil's 2nd most popular football team, Itaquera is being remodelled to become a new center of services and business in the East. It is yet to be seen what all of these will end up, but there is at least a big hope that in São Paulo, the time of the East has finally arrived.

[edit] Get in

[edit] By metro and train

The Line 3-Red is the busiest metro line of São Paulo, carrying everyday, along with Line 11-Coral and Line 12-Saphire, hundreds of thousands of workers from the East to the city center. These are the metro and train stations located at each district:

• beween Penha and Vila Matilde: Penha, Vila Matilde, Guilhermina-Esperança, Patriarca
• Artur Alvin: Artur Alvin
• Itaquera: Corinthians-Itaquera, Dom Bosco
• José Bonifácio: José Bonifácio
• Guaianases: Guaianases
• Cangaíba: Engenheiro Goulart
• Ermelino Matarazzo: USP Leste, Comendador Erlmelino
• São Miguel Paulista: São Miguel Paulista
• Jardim Helena: Jardim Helena-Vira Mara, Jardim Romano
• Itaim Paulista: Itaim Paulista

A monorail line, that extends Line 2-Green, is currently under construction. The line will integrate the districts in the south part of the region (São Mateus, Iguatemi and Cidade Tiradentes) to the rail network.

[edit] By car

Main accesses to the Far East region are Marginal Tietê (gives access to Parque Ecológico do Tietê), Radial Leste (gives access to the Itaquera district) and Avenida Aricanduva (gives access to Parque do Carmo).

[edit] Get around

[edit] By bicycle

Cycleway Radial Leste (see São Paulo main section) is partly located in this region. The other cicleway is:

• Cycleway Várzeas do Tietê, Rod. Ayrton Senna, km 12 to km 23. The cycleway runs more-or-less in the south shore of the Tietê river, although the river is not visible in some parts. The cycleway is part of Parque Várzeas do Tietê, and it is expected to gain 12.44 km in the coming years. The cicleway gives access to Parque Ecológico do Tietê, Parque Jacuí, and USP Leste (the East campus of University of São Paulo). It also passes through residential areas, mostly lower class. Currently it has 11.41 km.  edit

[edit][add listing] See

• Basílica Nossa Senhora da Penha, Rua Santo Afonso, 199 (10 min. walk of Penha station), [1]. 11 2295-4462. The church is one of the most beautiful of the city, and sits in the top of a hill in the neighborhood of Penha, a former village from the colonial period. The neighborhood and the original church were founded around 1667, and the statue of Our Lady of Penha, from that era, can still be seen in the basilica.  edit
• Parque Ecológico do Tietê, Rua Guirá Acangatara, 70 - Cangaíba (near Engenheiro Goulart station, car access by Rodovia Ayrton Senna km 17), ☎ 11 2958-1477, [2]. everyday, 08-17. The huge park, with 14 million square meters, is part of the larger Parque Várzeas do Tietê, which when finished, will cover most of the east part of the Tietê river. The visitable area is the south shore of the river, which includes many sport/recreational facilities, a lake surrounded by preserved rainforest (where animals such as monkeys, coatis and capibaras be easily spotted), and Museu do Tietê, an educative space about the pollution of the Tietê river. Bicycles and paddle boats (for the lake) are available for renting. free.  edit
• Parque do Carmo, Av. Afonso Sampaio Souza, 951 - Itaquera, ☎ 11 2748-0010, [3]. Parque do Carmo has 9 million square meters, with the area open for visits having 1.5 million square meters - the same size of Parque do Ibirapuera (see São Paulo/South Central). This causes the two parks to be often compared to each other, but they are fundamentally different: while Ibirapuera has far more cultural and sport facilities, the main characteristic of Parque do Carmo is the exhuberant nature, including 390,000 square meters of preserved rainforest. The park is also an excellent opportunity of observing the culture of the East of São Paulo, like the many families and groups of friends making barbecues in the park's recreation areas. Other interesting areas of the park include the 8.2 km cicleway (bicyles for rent are not available) and the garden of cherry trees maintained by the local Japanese community (which motivates the annual Sakura Matsuri event - see #Do section). The park's Planetarium is considered to be the most modern in the city, but sadly, it is constantly under maintenance and with technical problems.  edit
• Capela de São Miguel Arcanjo (Capela dos Índios), Praça Padre Aleixo Monteiro Mafra, 11 - São Miguel Paulista (near São Miguel Paulista station), ☎ 11 2032-4160, [4]. In the extreme east of São Paulo lies the oldest church of the city, constructed by native Brazilians in 1622. São Miguel was the name of the indigenous village, which would later become a neighborhood of São Paulo. The chapel functioned as a regular church until 1965. Much of its original objects and furniture were recovered and can be seen inside it.  edit

[edit][add listing] Do

• SESC Itaquera, Avenida Fernando Espírito Santo Alves de Mattos, 1000 - Parque do Carmo (Next to Parque do Carmo), ☎ 11 2523-9200, [5]. 09-17. Just adjacent to Parque do Carmo, SESC Itaquera is one of the most important cultural, sport and recreation centers of the East. Highlights are the 5,000 square meters waterpark and the forest trails suited for families with kids. As other SESC units, it hosts cultural and musical performances. Note that to use the waterpark, it is necessary to perform a medical exam, which costs R$ 6 on the spot. free to R$ 7.  edit
• Expresso Brasil, Avenida Aricanduva, 11500 - Jardim Aricanduva, ☎ 11 2724-2000, [6]. The largest and most well-known performance venue of the region. Musical presentations are usually from popular Brazilian music styles such as samba, pagode, forró, axé, sertanejo, and funk carioca (a style originary from Rio de Janeiro's favela's) .  edit

[edit] Events

• Sakura Matsuri (Festa das Cerejeiras), at Parque do Carmo. 11 6191-0470. Parque do Carmo is the place of São Paulo's most famous cherry blossom festival, a typical Japanese tradition. It happens annually around august. The festival is accompanied by Japanese food and cultural presentations, although the hightlight of the festival is naturally admiring the cherry blossoms. free.  edit
• Kodomo no Sono, R. Professor Hasegawa 1198 - José Bonifácio, ☎ 11 2521-6437, [7]. The charity bazaar, organized by a Japanese-founded association that takes care of mentally disabled people, is an atypical event, closely resembling a fair in the countryside of the state. It happens, in fact, in a weekend in july in the district of José Bonifácio, which is semirural, despite being in the middle of the Far East region. The bazaar looks like a mix between a Japanese community event (with typical food and presentations), a farmer's market, a handcraft market and a funfair.  edit

[edit] Learn

• University of São Paulo - East Campus, R. Arlindo Béttio, 1000 - Cangaíba (Near USP Leste station), ☎ 11 3091-8161, [8]. The East campus of University of São Paulo contains the School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities (EACH), with courses more focused on necessities of local communities and economical development of the region. The campus contains also a large area of regenerating rainforest, which is part of Parque Várzeas do Tietê and can be accessed using the cycleway of same name.  edit

[edit][add listing] Buy

• Centro Comercial Leste Aricanduva, Av. Aricanduva, 5555 - Cidade Lider, ☎ 11 3444-2000, [9]. Considered to be the largest shopping mall of Latin America, with 425,000 square meters of constructed area. Focused on low to middle class consumers. The commercial center is actually composed of three shopping malls: Shopping Leste Aricanduva (the most frequented one), Auto-Shopping (a true "car shopping mall") and Interlar Aricanduva (household items and furniture). Buses to the commerical center depart from the Carrao, Artur Alvin, Guilhermina and Vila Matilde metro stations. About 577 shops.  edit
• Aquário Itaquera, Av. Jacú Pêssego, 1685 - José Bonifácio, ☎ 11 2535-8000, [10]. tue-sun, 09-17. Probably the largest fishkeeping market of the city. In the same space, there is a plant market and a small theme park, which gets quite crowded on weekends.  edit
• Shopping Metrô Itaquera, Avenida José Pinheiro Borges, Itaquera (linked to Itaquera station), ☎ 11 20403635, [11]. The shopping mall was built in a state-owned area, in order to help bringing economical activity to the region. Its profile is similar to Shopping Leste Aricanduva, focusing on popular shopping options rather than exclusive stores. About 200 shops.  edit
• Shopping Center Penha, Rua Dr. João Ribeiro, 304 - Penha, ☎ 11 4003-7210, [12]. Shopping mall with a more middle class profile, attending mainly the Penha and Vila Matilde districts. About 232 shops.  edit

[edit][add listing] Eat

There is a concentration of bars and restaurants around Parque Tiquatira, a park between Penha and Cangaíba, surrounded by the lanes of Av. Governador Carvalho Pinto.

[edit][add listing] Drink

[edit][add listing] Sleep

[edit] Stay safe

The Far East region has a reputation of being dangerous among Paulistanos, but in reality, crime has drastically decreased in recent years, and nowadays, it has pretty much average levels of crime in comparison with the rest of the city.

Still, the region is quite large to be described by average statistics, and pockets of violent crime, as well as areas under the influence of criminal organizations, still exist. São Mateus, Cidade Tiradentes, São Miguel Paulista and Itaim Paulista are known to contain areas like this.

Therefore, if you want really to explore the region, having a local as a guide is advised. This is especially true if you don't speak Portuguese, as finding someone who speaks English may not be easy in the region.

[edit] Contact

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