São Paulo is a municipality, metropolis and global city located in southeastern Brazil. It is the most populous city in Brazil, in the Americas, and the world's twelfth largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the most populous metropolitan area in Brazil, the second in the Americas and the seventh in the world. São Paulo is the capital of the state of São Paulo, Brazil's most populous and wealthiest state. It exerts strong regional influence in commerce, finance, arts and entertainment and a strong international influence.< The name of the city honors Saint Paul of Tarsus.
Having the largest economy by GDP in Latin America and Southern Hemisphere, the city is home to the São Paulo Stock Exchange, the second largest stock exchange in the world, in market value. Paulista Avenue is the economic core of São Paulo. The metropolis is also home to several of the tallest buildings in Brazil, including the building Mirante do Vale, Italy, Banespa, North Tower and many others.
The city has significant cultural, economic and political influence both nationally and internationally. It is home to several important monuments, parks and museums such as the Latin American Memorial, the Ibirapuera Park, Museum of Ipiranga, São Paulo Museum of Art, and the Museum of the Portuguese Language. The city holds high profile events, like the São Paulo Art Biennial, the Brazilian Grand Prix, São Paulo Fashion Week and the ATP Brasil Open. São Paulo hosts the world's largest gay pride parade. It is also the headquarters of the Brazilian television networks Record, Band and Gazeta.
São Paulo is a cosmopolitan, melting pot city, home to the largest Italian, Arab and Japanese diasporas, with examples including ethnic neighborhoods of Bixiga, Mercado and Liberdade respectively. People from the city are known as paulistanos, while paulistas designates anyone from the 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."
The city, which is also colloquially known as Sampa or Terra da Garoa (Land of Drizzle), is known for its unreliable weather, the size of its helicopter fleet, its architecture, gastronomy, severe traffic congestion and skyscrapers. According to a report from 2011, São Paulo was expected to have the third highest economic growth in the world between 2011 and 2025, after London and Mexico City.
São Paulo was one of the host cities of the 1950 and the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Additionally, the city hosted the IV Pan American Games and the São Paulo Indy 300.