Sao Paulo

Without much notice (except from short notices in newspapers), Hotel Ca’d'Oro announced that they are going to shut down ’temporarily’.

Last week, the last meal was served in the restaurant, and this week, the two last guests checked out; “we maintained our standards of service until the last customer”, says concierge Ricardo Nocais, aged 64, 43 of which working at the hotel.

One of the last customers was Italian businessman Marco Crippa, who has come to Sao Paulo four times a year since 1992 and stayed only in CaDoro: “they are taking away my home in Sao Paulo”.

The owner Aurelio Guzzoni says that the hotel will re-open shortly: “we are looking for investors, and we plan to be open during the World Cup 2014“. The staff, however, are less optimistic, and everybody is looking for a new job.The reason is that the hotel is located near the old downtown of Sao Paulo, which do not attract people looking for five star hotels.

The CadOro, opened in 1953, was the first five star hotel in Sao Paulo.It was opened by Italian Fabrizio Guzzoni (1920 - 2005), first as a high class restaurant, eventually as a hotel. Until 1962, a tie was mandatory to access the restaurant; after that, only suits were required, but most gentlemen still kept their ties.

For decades, the CadOro was hotel of choice for all celebrities visiting Sao Paulo (the counterpart of Copacabana Palace, poshest hotel in Rio de Janeiro). Among the famous signatures in the guest book, one finds several Brazilian Presidents, several Brazilian artists (di Cavalcanti was a resident) and international personalities like François Miterrand, Pablo Neruda, Linus Pauling, Luciano Pavarotti.

Other five star hotels in downtown which closed doors recently: Crowne Plaza (rua Frei Caneca), Hilton (avenida Ipiranga), Othon Classic (rua Líbero Badaró).

See other hotels in Sao Paulo.

On May 25th, São Paulo will host the 12th edition of the São Paulo Gay Parade. In each of the last three years, a crowd of approximately 3.5 million people followed the parade, making it the biggest in the world.

This year, the organization announced the presence of 22 electric trios (large trucks with a band playing on top) who will perform for more than seven hours straight; there will be over 1,000 police forces, to guarantee peace all along the 3.5 km of the parade.

The São Paulo Gay Parade starts right in front of MASP, the Museum of Art, at Avenida Paulista; the parade moves along Avenida da Consolação as far as the Praça Roosevelt.

For more information about the organization, visit the official site of the São Paulo Gay Parade.

During the 19th century, the economy of São Paulo was based mostly on agriculture, particularly the plantations of coffee (see History of São Paulo). In the 20th century, the Economy shifted to industrialization and modern agriculture, which caused the decline of most farms, which in turn led to the aging and destruction of the instalations of most of those once glorious farms.

However, a few of those Historic farms were preserved. The owners of thirteen farms gathered together to form an association called Fazendas Paulistas - Farms of São Paulo (click to visit website).

By visiting these farms, tourists can see what life was like back in the 19th century (the oldest farm dates back to the 18th century). The main houses and their architectures were preserved, as well as the buildings were coffee was processed and stored.

Visitors can check in to some of the hotels (some hotels are for daily tours only) and enjoy other services such as horse riding, trekking, fauna and flora observation, enjoying regional food.