By Maria Lopez Conde, Senior Contributing Reporter
SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL – São Paulo may be the country’s financial capital, and world’s seventh largest city by population, but Paulistanos also know how to unwind. The metropolis’ endless array of cultural offerings are the perfect escape from the hustle and bustle, so for those hitting São Paulo this month, we round up three of November’s must-see events.
A seasonal ritual for São Paulo’s cool and trendy since 2007, the Festival Planeta Terra is taking over the city’s Campo de Marte private airport for a ten-hour musical extravaganza with a line up of well-known Brazilian and international acts on November 9th.
In previous years, the music festival, organized by internet provider and online portal Terra, has brought together various artists from different genres: from grunge legends Pearl Jam and the iconic Iggy Pop to the pop of Lily Allen and indie favorites, Phoenix. In 2012, over 30,000 people gathered in São Paulo’s Jockey Club to watch Garbage, Kings of Leon and Gossip rock the stage.
This year, the line-up is no less impressive with five international headliners that count millions of fans in Brazil. Scottish Brit-pop and rock band Travis will kick off the festivities with songs from their 2013 album, “Where You Stand.” Philadelphia natives The Roots follow, charming fans with their distinct brand of jazzy, funk-fueled hip hop.
The ever-glamorous Elizabeth Woolridge Grant, better known by her stage name Lana del Rey, will have the crowd swooning with her romantic and cinematic hits “Blue Jeans”, “Video Games” and the melancholic “Young and Beautiful.” Her performance at Terra will be the seductive songstress’s first concert in Brazil.
Cult American singer-songwriter Beck will take to the stage carrying more than just two turntables and a microphone, delighting fans with a string of slacker hits before one of England’s most influential rock bands, Blur, invades the main stage. Opportunities for communal singing along are guaranteed with a host of ’90s anthems like “Girls & Boys”, “Song 2” and “Coffee & TV.”
What: Festival Planeta Terra 2013
When: November 9, 2013
Where: Campo de Marte, São Paulo
Entrance: R$150-R$350
The month’s must-see exhibition for film fans is American director Stanley Kubrick‘s self-titled retrospective at São Paulo’s sleek and modern Museu da Imagem e do Som (MIS). The event, organized with the help of Kubrick’s widow, presents props and screenplays, costumes and stills from movies created by one of the 20th Century’s most innovative directors.
Highlights include a recreation of the spaceship from “2001: A Space Odyssey”, The Moloko milk bar as seen in “A Clockwork Orange” and the original costumes, as well as the typewriter from “The Shining.” Fans will also get the chance to read pages from the original script of “Spartacus” and read the visionary director’s personal correspondence with those who wanted his controversial “Lolita” banned.
What: Stanley Kubrick – The Exhibition
When: October 11, 2013 – January 12, 2014 (Tue-Sat 12PM-9PM; Sun 11AM-8PM)
Where: Museu da Imagem e do Som (MIS), Avenida Europa 158, Jardim Europa, São Paulo
Entrance: R$5-R$10
The eighteenth edition of the biannual Videobrasil festival launches at SESC Pompeia and CineSESC on November 6th. What started as a way to showcase the diversity of Brazil’s art video production, the festival has grown to include installations and performances. With a focus on the electronic art created in the “geopolitical South” and 106 works by 94 different artists from 32 countries, Videobrasil is a mandatory stop for all art enthusiasts in São Paulo.
What: 18º Festival de Arte Contemporânea Sesc_Videobrasil
When: November 6, 2013 – February 2, 2014
Where: Rua Augusta 2075, Jardim Paulista, São Paulo
Entrance: FREE