Foreign Investors Flock to the Brazilian City of Embu

Embu, also known by its full name Embu das Artes, is a city of about a quarter of a million people near Sao Paolo, Brazil. In practical terms Embu is actually a suburb of the huge metropolis but it does have a separate municipal and legal status. The exact location of Embu is at Latitude 23.6 degrees south and Longitude 46.9 degrees west. The population density of Embu is currently very high, over 3.500 people per square kilometre in the township area which consists of about seventy square Km. Nonetheless, the town is generally regarded as a charming getaway, especially for Sao Paolo people, anxious to escape for a while the hustle and bustle of Brazil's (and indeed the whole Southern Hemisphere's) largest conurbation.

As its name (in Portuguese) suggests, the city is known for its close association over the years with art and artists. Embu had its earliest origins in the mid sixteenth century. In the year 1554 a group of Jesuit missionaries arrived in the district to attempt the conversion of the native inhabitants. At that time the motivation was mainly one of thereby making the native Americans more suitable for providing cheap (or free) labour to the local, colonialist owned farms. The Jesuits were dominant in the area for almost two hundred years, after which they were expelled by the Portuguese monarchy from Brazil. This seems to be because they were deemed to be "over protective" of the natives, against the civil administration of the country.

The artistic reputation of the area started to become really apparent about seventy to eighty years ago, in the nineteen twenties and thirties. At that time the locally famous religious sculptor, Cassio M'Boy gained first prize in the international Artistic Techniques exhibition in Paris. That immediately gave a great boost to the fledgling artistic movement in the Embu area. M'Boy himself continued his renowned work and in fact he became an important teacher of the 'school' of artists which exists in the city to this day. An important source of pride and tourism revenue nowadays is the regular 'Arts and handicrafts of Embu' festival. This has now become international in scope and the proximity of Embu to Sao Paolo and its excellent global communications has helped a great deal. As well as special events like this, a regular feature in local life is the weekly art and crafts market, held in the comparatively small city centre. Goods here tend to be much cheaper, and negotiable, when compared to the relatively expensive shops and cafes that have their eye on the purses and wallets of so called 'rich' visitors from the big city.

This part of the greater Sao Paolo area is notable also for something different. In this and some adjacent districts there is quite a large population of people of German descent. In fact, the infamous Dr. Josef Mengele was first buried in a cemetery in Embu, under his pseudonym of Wolfgang Gerhard.There are many supporting services of all kinds in Embu, quite apart from arts and crafts. Furniture making, plastics and food processing and distribution are also quite prominent.

Thanks to the Minha Casa Minha Vida social housing programme and the finance options favoured by many Brazilian construction companies, Investing In Brazil is now on the increased with more and more foreign investor turning their attention to this area.