Cyclists Square in São Paulo

Having now returned home from a Copenhagenize speaking gig in São Paulo and a Cycle Chic event in Rio de Janeiro, I'm sorting through an ocean of photographs and films I took/made. My friends in São Paulo figured they needed a bit of real estate to call their own in the city. They decided that a small square was appropriate. It is here they meet for their Massa Critica rides and other events. For ages they kept covering the street sign with the name of the square with their own name: Cyclists Square or Praca do Ciclista. Sticking the new sign up so it looked identical to the original.

The city tired of removing their signs and ended up giving in to their desires. Renaming the square Praca do Ciclista. Brilliant.

There are many subtle and lovely bits of stencil grafitti around the square. There is a statue of some Peruvian-born famous dead guy on the square who is now an unwitting symbol for the cyclist struggle. Forgot to take a photo of him. Whatever.