Happy birthday, São Paulo

On this day 458 years ago, Jesuit priests established a school that marked the spot considered to be the birthplace of the city of São Paulo. That school – the Pátio do Colégio – is just one of the venues in a huge programme of cultural events on 25 January to celebrate the city’s birthday. And for most paulistanos, it’s a day off work and the chance to get out and make the most of the city. We’ve rounded up our pick of the city's birthday events.

Photography exhibitions

In the heart of Parque do Ibirapuera, the Museu Afro Brasil pays homage to São Paulo in an exhibition 'São Paulo 458 – Uma Iconografia Urbana' (‘São Paulo 458 – An Urban Iconography’), with photographs and objects that chronicle the city’s evolution over the last four-and-a-half centuries. Free

The third edition of the photo exhibition Mostra SP de Fotografia – an annual project that takes place in the artsy Vila Madalena neighbourhood – will start on the 25th as part of the city’s birthday celebrations, and lasts all the way up to 19 February. The exhibition, which spreads across locations right across the neighbourhood, brings together the best of contemporary and old-time photography that has the city as a subject, from artistic photos to photojournalism.

The Museu da Imagem e do Som (MIS) is planning a party for culture vultures with music, art and food in its brand new ground-floor restaurant. But it has something else up its sleeve – the ‘Help Portrait – Paulistanos Invisíveis’ (‘Invisible Paulistanos’) exhibition.

The idea behind Help Portraits is to mobilise photographers to make portraits of people living on the margins of society. Thirty photographers from across the world went to São Paulo’s Zone Leste (Eastern Zone) to capture images of local residents for this exhibition – on show now at the MIS. 11am-8pm, free.

Art exhibitions and art tours

The local artist and architect Carla Caffé is hooked on Avenida Paulista, and spent seven years from 2003-2009 mapping it from end to end in a series of watercolours. You can see the results in her exhibition ‘Exposição A(e)rea Paulista’ at the Complexo Cultural Funarte (Alameda Nothmann 1058, Campos Elíseos, 3662 5177) until February 24.

Have a crack at capturing Avenida Paulista on paper yourself by joining Caffé on a drawing afternoon under the iconic MASP building. The group will leave from Complexo Cultural Funarte at 2pm, and goes on until 6pm. There's no need to sign up, but you will need to bring your own sketchbook and pencils. Free

Paulistano artist Paulo von Poser has spent years capturing images of the city in spectacular detail. See three decades of his work in an exhibition at the MUBE or join him on a cycling – and drawing – tour that leaves from MUBE at 11am, and goes all the way to the SP Market shopping mall at Avenida das Nações Unidas, 15km away. There's no need to subscribe – just turn up on the day.
 

Open-air art 

The lake at Parque do Ibirapuera is one of the city’s most recognisable postcard images; which is precisely why it was chosen by artist Guto Lacaz as the setting for his latest intervention, the ‘Instalação OFNIs’ (‘OFNIs installation’).

Playing on the Portuguese term for UFO – OVNI – Lacaz has replaced the V (for voadores – flying) with F for flutuantes (floating). The floating objects in question are two cubes, made from wire and white canvas, which will drift around the lake, propelled by small engines. Unlike UFOs, Lacaz’s objects will move slowly, their hard geometric lines contrasting against the organic, fluid landscape of the lake. One-hour presentations at 10am, 2pm amd 5pm. Free.

Head downtown in the evening for some more open-air art in the form of the Mostra de Arte Pública Urbe, in which videos are 'mapped' onto the facade of the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil building and the Vale do Anhangabaú – from 8-10pm.
 

Open-air music

There is a number of free, live gigs all over the city as part of the birthday celebrations. Rock band Os Paralamas do Sucesso will be playing at 6pm at Parque da Juventude, while at 8pm the well-respected MPB performer and showman extraordinaire Ney Matogrosso will perform at Praça da República. At SESC Ipiranga, two-days of live music in the Cruzando a Cidade project with bring will bring together a bunch of musical styles, including fresh faces of MPB Tiê and Tulipa Ruiz, to create a musical portrait of the city.

If you want to escape the city centre, a number of gigs will be hosted across the city’s parks. Samba beats will be resounding off the trees in the Parque Tietê from 11am, with a number of city samba schools taking part, followed by rock from the Banda Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo and Kid Vinil at 4pm.

Further west in Parque Villa-Lobos MPB singers Tiê, Mariana Aydar and Ana Cañas will perform from 11.30am with the band 5 a Seco, while over at the Parque da Água Branca in Barra Funda, a blend of classical and MPB music are the order of the day with the Orquestra Philarmônica de Sopros Brasil, at 3pm.

So what are you waiting for? Get out and join the fun.