Sao Bernardo do Campo
Municipality
Municipio de Sao Bernardo do Campo
Flag Coat of arms
Nickname:  The Automobile Capital
Motto(s):  Pavlistarvm Terra Mater (Mother Land of the Paulistas )
Location in Sao Paulo
Coordinates: 23°42′S 46°33′W  /  23.700°S 46.550°W  / -23.700; -46.550
Country	Brazil
Region	Southeast
State	Sao Paulo
Named for	Bernard of Clairvaux
Government
?  Mayor	Orlando Morando ( PSDB )
Area
? Total	409.51 km 2 (158.11 sq mi)
Elevation	762 m (2,500 ft)
Population   (2020) [1]
? Total	844,483
? Density	2,100/km 2 (5,300/sq mi)
Postal Code	09600-000
Area code	+55 11
HDI (2010)	0.805 ? very high [2]
Website	saobernardo .sp .gov .br /prefeitura

Sao Bernardo do Campo ( Portuguese pronunciation: [s??w be??na?du du ?k??pu] ) is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Sao Paulo .

It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Sao Paulo . ^[4] The population is 844,483 (2020 est.) in an area of 409.51 km ² (158.11 sq mi). ^[5]

History [ edit ]

The city was founded by Joao Ramalho in 1553 and was known as Vila de Santo Andre da Borda do Campo de Piratininga, soon transferred to another nearby place, safer from hostile tribes. It is, however, historically perceived as the first Brazilian settlement built away from the sea. The original settlement was then resettled as Sao Bernardo, became a parish in 1812 and became a municipality in 1890. In 1938, it became a part of the Santo Andre district only to be separated again in 1945, as the aftermath of an action from a group of entrepreneurs led by Wallace Cochrane Simonsen , who was eventually appointed as the first mayor of the newborn municipality. ^[6]

The area where Sao Bernardo do Campo, Santo Andre , Sao Caetano do Sul , and Diadema are located was once a farm owned by Benedictine monks, who owned enslaved Africans. By the second half of the 19th century, European immigrants started to come to the area, mainly from Italy. Italians settled in cottages in the rural area of Sao Bernardo do Campo that were called colonias. By the beginning of the 20th century, Japanese immigrants arrived, most of them going to the neighborhood called Cooperativa.

Industry, particularly metal works, thrived in the city during the 1960s, when Sao Bernardo do Campo became known as Brazil's Automobile Capital (Portuguese: a Capital do Automovel ). Many of these plants have since relocated to other regions but the automobile industry remains a vital part of the history of Sao Bernardo do Campo. The city is also known for its furniture industry developed by Italian immigrants, who helped Sao Bernardo do Campo become a high-tech industrial hub.

Industrialization also attracted migrants from the Brazilian Northeastern region in the 1960s. Among them was the family of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva , who grew up in the region. The future president of Brazil worked in automobile factories in Sao Bernardo do Campo in the 1970s, becoming a union and anti-military dictatorship figure.

Sao Bernardo also contributed to the development of Brazilian cinema, mainly during the 1950s and 1960s, thanks to the Vera Cruz studios, which produced a great number of movies and revealed many notable actors. This is also the birthplace of the football player Anderson Luis de Souza , better known as Deco.

Geography [ edit ]

Location [ edit ]

Sao Bernardo do Campo is located in the top of the Serra do Mar , on the Atlantic plateau. It occupies an area of 407.1 square kilometre. The altitude varies from a low of 60 meters above sea level at the foot of the mountain range where Rio Passareuva with the Rio Piloes rivers meet, to 986.5 meters at the peak of the Bonilha, in the Montanhao neighborhood.

Climate [ edit ]

According to the Koppen climate classification Sao Bernardo do Campo has a humid subtropical climate . On average the maximum temperatures is 24.0 Celsius, with an average low of 14.8, an average of 19.09 Celsius. In 2010 the summer temperatures reached 34 to 35 °C (93 to 95 °F) in January?February. In summer, normally only for a few days, heavy storms occur, reaching 110 mm (4 in) of precipitation. Winter is the coldest of the ABC region. In July and August the temperature can reach 8 °C (46 °F) or less, but towards the end of winter the heat returns with temperatures reaching 23 to 27 °C (73 to 81 °F). The summer of 2012 was not as hot as the previous 5 years. Also the average temperature has decreased over the years to 27.2 °C (81.0 °F) in 2011 and 23.7 °C (74.7 °F) in 2012.

Demographics [ edit ]

As of the census of 2006, the population was 803,906, making it the second most populous suburb of Sao Paulo, and fourth most populous city in the state. The population density was 1,937.02/km ² .

Color/Race	Percentage
White	59.0%
Mixed	32.3%
Black	7.2%
Asian	1.4%
Amerindian	0.1%

Source: 2022 census ^[8]

The population are primarily Afro-Brazilians and Luso-Brazilians . There are significant populations of Italian, Arab, Asian (mostly Japanese) Spanish and German descendants. ^{[ citation needed ]}

Economy [ edit ]

Sao Bernardo do Campo, from the 1950s had its economy based on the auto industry - At that time, the Brazilian Federal Government headed by Juscelino Kubitschek decided to create an executive board to promote local carmaking - the Grupo Executivo da Industria Automobilistica (GEIA) (Executive Group for Automobile Industry). Providing, among other regulations, a minimum amount of national components to integrate the vehicles, it stimulated the implantation of carmakers and auto parts industries. ^[9]

At that time, the German companies Volkswagen , Karmann-Ghia and Mercedes-Benz , as well the American Willys-Overland started to build their factories in Sao Bernardo do Campo, later followed by Simca, Toyota and Scania .

In 1967, Willys-Overland has been bought by Ford Motor Co. In that same year, the French carmaker Simca became a Chrysler plant, ending its operations in 1981 when it was acquired from Volkswagen to be their truck division. This plant has been shut down definitely in 1990 ^[10] and gave place in 2006 to a warehouse from one of the biggest retail stores in Brazil, Casas Bahia .

Together with those first automakers in Brazil, other factories established themselves in the city, e.g. paint industries as BASF , which produces Suvinil brand paintings, and auto parts industries that support them, as well the largest industrial plant in the world of Colgate-Palmolive toothpaste .

In the 1990s, the economy of the region had a wide variation, which increased the importance of the service sector in the city. The trade is diverse and found in every neighborhood, especially the traditional trade Marshal Deodoro Street and environs, and the nationally known Center Furniture at Jurubatuba street, which gives Sao Bernardo do Campo the name of Furniture Capital . The construction and urban reform was boosted in 2008 with the construction of the southern section of the Rodoanel Mario Covas beltway, a ring road in the Metropolitan Region of Sao Paulo, Avenida Pery Ronchetti with duplication and channeling Saracantan stream, plus the construction of many buildings, mostly residential, with reforms of the Metropolis Mall and the Golden Shopping Mall.

As of 2014 ^[update] , Sao Bernardo do Campo exports $3.59B (USD) worth of goods and represents 1.48% of Brazil's total exports. Transportation manufacturing and machine manufacturing make up the majority (84%) of the municipality's exports. The top five material goods exported by Sao Bernardo do Campo are Delivery Trucks (14%), Tractors (14%), Vehicle Chassis (13%), Cars (13%), and Vehicle Parts (12%). ^[11]

Education [ edit ]

The city is known for important private universities such as the Universidade Metodista de Sao Paulo and Centro Universitario da FEI .

Colleges and universities:

• Universidade Federal do ABC
• Faculdade de Tecnologia Termomecanica - FTT
• MEDICINA - Universidade Nove de Julho
• ETEC Lauro Gomes
• Faculdade SENAI de Tecnologia Ambiental
• Centro Universitario da FEI
• Faculdade de Tecnologia de Sao Bernardo do Campo - FATEC
• Faculdade PanAmerica - FAPAN
• Faculdade de Sao Bernardo do Campo
• Faculdade Anchieta
• Faculdade de Direito de Sao Bernardo do Campo
• UMESP - Universidade Metodista de Sao Paulo
• Seminario Presbiteriano Conservador
• Universidade Bandeirante de Sao Paulo - UNIBAN
• Faculdade Interacao Americana - FIA
• ESPM - Centro de Estudos de Propaganda e Marketing LTDA.
• Colegio Termomecanica

Transportation [ edit ]

The city is a core part of the ABCD region (A = Santo A ndre, B = Sao B ernardo do Campo, C = Sao C aetano do Sul, D = D iadema).

Roads [ edit ]

• Via Anchieta ( SP-150 ): state toll road operated by Ecovias dos Imigrantes company, links the city of Sao Paulo to Port of Santos and neighboring towns. Established in 1949, it is an important traffic route for trucks carrying goods to be exported from Santos. As Via Anchieta has many exits throughout the city, they become important traffic routes to allow people's displacement inside Sao Bernardo do Campo. Due to its strategical placement, many large factories are based at the edges of the road, for example Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz plants.
• Rodovia dos Imigrantes ( SP-160 ): state toll highway operated by Ecovias dos Imigrantes company, links the city of Sao Paulo to the southern shore of State of Sao Paulo , specially Sao Vicente and Praia Grande municipalities. It started its operations in 1976 as a one-way highway (switched from uphill to downhill direction depending on the traffic intensity) and gained its definitely downhill path in 2002.
• Perito Criminal Eng. Antonio Carlos Moraes/Interligacao do Planalto ( SP-041 ): short state road designed to link Via Anchieta and Rodovia dos Imigrantes roads, allowing vehicles to change from one to the other in case of special operations, traffic constraints or weather difficulties. Those three roads, among with some other ones in the shore, compose the Sistema Anchieta-Imigrantes , fully operated by Ecovias dos Imigrantes.
• Rodovia Indio Tibirica ( SP-031 ): state road operated by the Departamento de Estradas de Rodagem (DER-SP) connecting Sao Bernardo do Campo to the city of Suzano , in the Metropolitan Region of Sao Paulo . It is also used to have access to the municipalities of Ribeirao Pires and Rio Grande da Serra , as well Santo Andre 's Paranapiacaba district.
• Caminho do Mar ( SP-148 ): historical state road operated by the Departamento de Estradas de Rodagem , it connected Sao Bernardo do Campo to the city of Cubatao , thus allowing access to the Port of Santos and the shore itself. It has been fitted to serve automobiles in 1913 but, with the establishment of Via Anchieta and Rodovia dos Imigrantes , its path seemed to be not suitable for traffic anymore. Today it is used only to reach Rodovia Indio Tibirica and some neighborhoods along the Billings Reservoir , although its old mountain path can still be reached by walking.
• Rodoanel Mario Covas ( SP-021 ): state toll highway operated by SPMar company in its south lot and by CCR RodoAnel in its west lot, it is a beltway intended to connect all major roads and highways surrounding the Metropolitan Region of Sao Paulo , thus decreasing the need for trucks to cross the city of Sao Paulo. At its current completion, it links Via Anchieta and Rodovia dos Imigrantes directly to Rodovia Regis Bittencourt (heading South of Brazil), Rodovia Raposo Tavares (westbound of Sao Paulo State, Mato Grosso do Sul State), Rodovia Castelo Branco (westbound of Sao Paulo State, North of Parana State), Via Anhanguera (North Sao Paulo state, Goias State, Brasilia ) and Rodovia dos Bandeirantes (central region of Sao Paulo State, Viracopos International Airport - VCP). It also reaches city of Maua and thru expressways, gives access to Rodovia Ayrton Senna , therefore to Gov. Andre Franco Montoro International Airport in Guarulhos - GRU ).

Public transportation [ edit ]

Public transportation in Sao Bernardo do Campo is provided by ETCSBC (Empresa de Transporte Coletivo de Sao Bernardo do Campo) and EMTU (Empresa Metropolitana de Transportes Urbanos, "Metropolitan Urban Transport Company").

Local bus service is provided by SBCTrans - Consorcio Sao Bernardo Transportes, which has owned the rights to operate the ETCSBC - Empresa de Transporte Coletivo de Sao Bernardo do Campo routes in 1998. ^[12] Buses and minibuses are used in this operation. Intercity buses are also available connecting Sao Bernardo do Campo to Diadema , Maua , Osasco , Ribeirao Pires , Rio Grande da Serra , Santo Andre , Sao Caetano do Sul and Sao Paulo. ^[13] Many bus companies operate such routes under permission of EMTU - Empresa Metropolitana de Transportes Urbanos de Sao Paulo , a state-owned company.

EMTU is also responsible for the Corredor Sao Mateus-Jabaquara bus system, connecting Diadema , Santo Andre , Maua and South and East regions of Sao Paulo. It is operated by METRA - Sistema Metropolitano de Transportes. As it uses a busway in most of its path, it is considered a bus Rapid Transit system. It also provides access to Line 1 of Sao Paulo Metro thru Jabaquara terminal, the Jabaquara Bus Terminal and Line 10 of the commuter rail CPTM in Santo Andre station. This bus system is often called as trolleybus system as it employs many trolley buses. This system is considered part of the Metropolitan Transport Network of Sao Paulo . ^[14]

The integration among local bus service, intercity buses and trolleybus system can be done at Ferrazopolis Terminal , Sao Bernardo Terminal and Joao Setti Terminal . The Terminal Rodoviario Alvarenga , is located in a neighborhood with easy access to major highways, as well asprovides long-distance and interstate bus routes, giving access to the coast and countryside of Sao Paulo , Santa Catarina , Parana , Rio de Janeiro , Minas Gerais , Bahia , Ceara , Paraiba , Mato Grosso and Rondonia states, as well as the Brazilian capital Brasilia . ^[15]

Media [ edit ]

SBC is also known because of the number of small Newspapers that the city has, for example: Jornal da Balsa, Jornal Hoje, Tribuna do ABCD, and more.

There is the Diario do Grande ABC a daily news about all region, the paper is located in Santo Andre , but it is distributed in all ABC and some parts of Sao Paulo.

Entertainment and sport [ edit ]

The Cidade da Crianca ( English: Children's City ) is an amusement park located in the center of the city behind the former Vera Cruz Film Studios . It was the first theme park in Brazil ^[16] and in Latin America. ^[17] It opened on October 10, 1968. ^{[18] [19] [20] [21]}

The local association football clubs are rivals Sao Bernardo Futebol Clube and Esporte Clube Sao Bernardo . The city also hosted the 2000 Pan American Men's Handball Championship and the 2011 Pan American Women's Handball Championship .

Sao Bernardo also have an American Football team, the Sao Bernardo Avengers. The team have won SPFL ( Sao Paulo Football League) Golden Series in 2022, and now compete in SPFL Diamond Series. The team also competes in the National Football Championship.

Notable people [ edit ]

• Salvador Arena , (1915?1998), Italo-Brazilian entrepreneur.
• Deco (born 1977), footballer.
• Gabigol (born 1996), footballer.
• Hugo Hoyama (born 1969), retired Brazilian table tennis player.
• Andreas Kisser , (born 1968), guitarist.
• Thiago Motta , (born 1982), footballer.
• Alex "Poatan" Pereira , mixed martial artist , current UFC Light Heavyweight champion , former UFC Middleweight champion and former two division kickboxing champion.
• Maisa Silva , (born 2002), actress.
• Bruna Takahashi (born 2000), Brazilian table tennis player.

International relations [ edit ]

Twin towns ? Sister cities [ edit ]

Sao Bernardo do Campo is twinned with: ^[22]

Acucena , Minas Gerais , Brazil Linkoping , Ostergotland County , Sweden Monte Azul , Minas Gerais , Brazil Varzea Alegre , Ceara , Brazil Ouro Preto , Minas Gerais , Brazil General San Martin Partido , Greater Buenos Aires , Argentina Aparecida , Sao Paulo , Brazil Governador Valadares , Minas Gerais , Brazil Aveiro , Central Region , Portugal Xapuri , Acre , Brazil Diadema , Sao Paulo , Brazil Havana , Cuba Managua , Nicaragua Marostica , Veneto , Italy Vittorio Veneto , Veneto , Italy Shunan , Yamaguchi , Japan

References [ edit ]

External links [ edit ]

• Sao Bernardo do Campo travel guide from Wikivoyage
• (in Portuguese) Official website
• (in Portuguese) Official website of the chamber of the councilmen of Sao Bernardo do Campo