Sao Paulo

São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city of the southern hemisphere, of all America, the world's 7th largest metropolitan area, and the most populous city proper in the Western World. The city is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous Brazilian state. The name of the city honors Saint Paul. São Paulo exerts strong regional influence in commerce and finance as well as arts and entertainment. São Paulo is considered an Alpha World City. The city has many renowned landmarks, such as the Museu Paulista do Ipiranga, the gothic Metropolitan Sé Cathedral, the São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP), the Monumento à Bandeira (Portuguese for Monument to the Flag) and Niemeyer's Ibirapuera complex Bienal, planetarium, and museums; and more recently the Estaiada bridge in the South Side. Paulista Avenue, in Midtown is the most important financial center in the country and South America. The city is home to the São Paulo Stock Exchange, or BOVESPA, the Future Markets, and the Cereal Market Stock Exchanges, the second largest stock exchange in the Americas and the third largest in the world.. São Paulo has been home to several of the tallest buildings in Brazil, including the Mirante do Vale Building and Itália Building. With an estimated population of 11,037,593 residents within an area of 1,523 square kilometers (588.0 sq mi), São Paulo is the most populous city proper in the Americas, 6th largest in the world as well as most populous in the Southern hemisphere. The city also lies at the center of the heavily urbanized São Paulo metropolitan area, with an estimated 19,889,559 people in 2009 over 7,944 square kilometers (3,067.2 sq mi), is the largest metropolitan area in the nation. Depending on which definition is used, the São Paulo metropolitan area is ranked as the second most populous in the Americas.

People from the city of São Paulo are known as paulistanos, while paulistas designates anyone from the whole of São Paulo state, including the paulistanos. The city's Latin motto, which it has shared with the battleship and the aircraft carrier named after it, is Non ducor, duco, which translates as "I am not led, I lead." A famous nickname for the city is "Sampa." São Paulo is also known for its unreliable weather, the size of its helicopter fleet, architecture, gastronomy, and multitude of skyscrapers. The São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport operates many domestic and international flights.