A look into Brazil’s luxury lifestyle

Americas Now

Sao Paulo and Rio are Brazil’s wealthiest cities. They are also the nation’s most fashionable and feature the biggest concentration of high-end shops, eateries, cafes and clubs in the country. Americas Now Anchor Elaine Reyes, on location for the World Cup, visits some chic streets to check out Brazil’s luxury lifestyle.

Brazil’s billionaires are soaring with 26 of them calling Sao Paulo home. According to Forbes, that’s more than any other city in the Southern Hemisphere and ranked among the top ten in the world. The Jardins District is where the rich and powerful spend their time and money. With influences reminiscent of Europe and California, this Sao Paulo neighborhood is overflowing with upscale bistros and boutiques. Expensive cars can be seen everywhere, and Correspondent Reyes visits the owner of a classic car dealership who says many of Sao Paulo’s well-heeled collect antique automobiles as an investment.

Ricardo Robertoni of “Private Collections” also tells Reyes that cars in Brazil sell for more than twice the amount of those of those sold in the U.S. due to taxes. He says catering to Brazil’s rich can have its offbeat moments: “You have a lot of crazy requests. I sold the Porsche, the 912, to a lady and she used to have a white one and the original car was blue. And she said okay I bought the car but you paint it for me white, because it is the same color I had in the past.”

The nation’s automobile industry started in Sao Paulo attracting tens of thousands of immigrants by the 1940’s. It may account for the more than 12,000 restaurants in the city, covering almost every kind of cuisine. One of the most popular dishes is “Curriscara,” Brazil’s “all-you-can-eat” meat feast. Much of Sao Paulo’s prosperity is also due to an early 20th century “coffee boom” which provided the city with great financial growth.

A look into Brazil's luxury lifestyle

Sao Paulo and Rio are Brazil’s wealthiest cities. They are also the nation’s most fashionable and feature the biggest concentration of high-end shops, eateries, cafes and clubs in the country. Americas Now Anchor Elaine Reyes, on location for the World Cup, visits some chic streets to check out Brazil’s luxury lifestyle.

Today, gourmet coffee houses are thriving and places where people-watching is as much of a delight as the cool drinks and sweet treats they serve. Well-polished Paulistas congregate at trendy cafes like Cristoff’s and Sante Grau . The crowd is easy and elegant without being elitist. But don’t be fooled. They both are located on the city’s most “elite street.” Rua Oscar Freire.

Americas Now also visits one of Sao Paulo top chocolatiers, Patricia Landmann of “Chocolat Du Juor.” She presents us with a signature cup of their “Hot Chocolate” and gives a visual demonstration of their latest edible creation. One of the shop’s top holidays is Valentine’s Day. But in Brazil Valentine’s Day takes place in June. And this year in fact, it fell on June 13th, coinciding with the opening match of the World Cup, which also was held in Sao Paulo. Incidentally, the ingredients for the luscious concoctions at “Chocolat Du Juor” originate from their own organic farm. Which they are proud to note is located in Brazil.

However, food isn’t the only way to a person’s heart in Brazil. How about beautiful jewels? 65 percent of the world’s colored gemstones are extracted from huge deposits in Brazil’s dry land. And Rio de Janeiro, is the headquarters of the largest jeweler in the country. H. Stern. It’s located in Ipanema and as we discover, H. Stern sells a line of orange and yellow colored jewels based on the glorious sunrise and sunset of Ipanema Beach. The collection is called “Sunrise.” H. Stern was the first jewelry store to ever launch a line of “designer jewelry.” It happened in the 1980’s and was inspired by iconic French actress Catherine Denueve.

Links:

H. Stern: www.hsternhome.com.br
Santo Grao – http://www.santograo.com.br/
Oscar Freire – oscarfreire@santograo.com.br
Sao Paulo Classic Car Dealer: Private Collections -http://www.privatecollections.com.br/index.html; https://pt-br.facebook.com/PRIVATECARS