Freiheit, Freedom, Libertad or Liberdade, is the name of the biggest Japanese community outside Japan in São Paulo City in Brazil. The name of the neighborhood comes from the slavery times. The area was known as “Field Strength” and it was the only place where the owners of the slaves allowed them to go when they were not working. In other words, it used to be the only place where they could have some kind of freedom.
At the beginning of the 20th century the changes in the neighborhood (that used to be inhabited by Italians) started. In 1908 the first Japanese immigrants were brought to “build America” what meant to plant coffee in the countryside of São Paulo. Most of people could not get used to the slave routine so they went back to the capital. On the following decades more and more Japaneses were arriving and they have chosen Liberdade to be their home.
If you walk in the streets you will feel like in Japan. The narrow streets, the plates in the shops written in Portuguese and Japanese with vertical letters, a lot of colors, a lot of different smell in the air, the artisan market place in the center, gardens, typical Japanese fixtures, typical foods, typical clothes…you will feel that you have crossed the Pacific ocean and changed to another country.
Not all of the Japaneses that live today in Brazil can speak Portuguese so the gestures language is used very often what makes us feel that we are far far far away from the chaos of São Paulo city.
Liberdade is the kind of place who shows its own identity and culture in the streets, buildings and people’s smile. It is part of a city-word called São Paulo.
If you go to São Paulo don’t miss this opportunity!
Gabi