Scott Krueger, age 10, of Sprinfield, Ill., for his question:
WHAT IS THE LARGEST SOUTH AMERICAN CITY?
Sao Paulo is Brazil's largest city and also the country's leading commercial and industrial center. Sao Paulo is also the largest city in all of South America. It has a population of almost 5.5 million.
The city of Sao Paulo is the capital of the state of Sao Paulo and it lies in the southeastern part of Brazil, about 240 miles from Rio de Janeiro.
Jesuit missionaries from Portugal founded Sao Paulo as an Indian mission in 1554. As a result of attacks by hostile Indians, the Jesuits joined with some nearby Portuguese colonists and formed one community.
Many of the early residents organized groups to travel into the interior of South America in search of wealth. Members of these groups were called bandeirantes.
Until the mid 1600s, the bandeirantes sought mostly Indians, whom they captured and sold as slaves to other settlers. The ISandeirantes later prospected for gold.
In time, cattle trading and sugar planting brought wealth to some of the citizens. By 1800, Sao Paul was an administrative and commercial center of over 20,000 persons. In 1822, Prince Regent Pedro of Portugal declared Brazil's independence during a visit to Sao Paulo.
Coffee planting spread to the area near Sao Paulo during the mid 1800s and the city soon became the commercial center for the nation's coffee industry. Immigration was encouraged and foreigners poured into the area.
Sao Paulo's industrial growth started in the late 1800s when coffee profits were invested in new industries in the city.
Today the city of Sao Paulo and its surrounding area account for about half of Brazil's total industrial output. The city ranks as one of the fastest growing major cities in the world in terms of poplation.
Wide avenues and unusually designed skyscrapers today give the city a fresh, modern appearance. Few of Sao Paulo's buildings are even 100 years old, although a chapel built in 1554 and a few old churches still stand.
The center of the city's business district is an area called the triangle. This name goes back to the 1500s when paths connecting three mission buildings formed a triangle there.
Many hotels and restaurants are northwest of the Triangle. A public square called the Plaza of the Republic features an arts and crafts market each Sunday in this area.
Mansions once lined Paulista Avenue, southwest of the Triangle, but most have been replaced by skyscrapers. Apartments and office buildings also have taken the place of homes in other areas. Many residents have moved to the suburbs.
Sao Paulo has many parks, the largest of which is the beautifully landscaped Ibirapuera Park. A monument to the bandeirantes of Sao Paulo stands at the entrance to the popular park.