Person of the Day: Juliana

I met my friend Juliana for lunch today — we went to a small cafe called Boa and proceeded to have a leisurely lunch over which we discussed the prison system in Brazil (the prisoners eat their meals out of plastic bags!), and the state of affairs of both of our lives. 

After lunch, we went shopping at one of Juliana's favorite stores located across the street from the Fasano Hotel: Cris Barros, which is now one of my favorite stores. The sales staff were incredibly friendly, and there were cookies next to the register when you pay. Juliana then took me to Daslu, which is like a giant mansion-y huge house, filled with clothes organized by color. When you want to try something on, you literally just stand next to the display and take your clothes off and put on the clothes you want to try on. It took a few moments to get used to that.

The store has attracted significant controversy since its opening for a number of reasons. Firstly, the store is one of the most public and unapologetic displays of São Paulo's immense economic inequality; the four-story behemoth of a store is located right next to Coliseu, one of the city's many favelas or shanty-towns. Since the beginning of the store's construction, much has been made of this geographical juxtaposition in the media. While Daslu has made an effort to launch a number of social programs in this neighborhood, it is uncertain what impact they have made.

It was a super nice day and it made me so happy to know that I have a friend in São Paulo, whenever I go to visit or for work. Juliana is so awesome, and has to be one of the nicest people I know.