The Ant Blog

Episode 2: A shot of Chile: Futbol at the Vila El Guaton is a cute, unassuming bar tucked away in a little corner of the Vila Madalena - SamPa’s (i.e. Sao Paulo’s) most famous neighborhood. Vila Madalena is a labyrinth of winding roads that seem to slope up and down at will and is peppered with enough bars and restaurants to feed and thrill the entire population of any small European nation of your choice. If that’s not thrilling enough, take a look around you and you will notice, unless you are blind or have a terrible hang-over, that the walls are full of mind blowing graffiti and sublime street art. Bernardo tells us with no note of exaggeration that to many it is like a temple. “You go to Vila when you are down and something spiritual happens.” Grafitti at Vila Madalena So we walk to Vila from Bernardo’s place and pass two magnificent churches and even a Necropolis to boot, in search of spiritual tranquillity before the all-important Brazil-Chile match. We are...