Regina Vasquez is a journalist and native of Porto Alegre, where she worked as a reporter and editor for various daily newspapers and the extinct Coojornal. She has also worked as a press attaché in the public sector, for non-governmental organizations and private companies. She now lives in Brasília, where she works in the press relations department of the WWF-Brazil a Brazilian NGO that works on socio-environmental issues.
Symbol of the City - The Manhattan of the Pampas (plains) – the row of skyscrapers – can be seen from the Zona Sul (southern) district or, better, aboard a boat on the Guaíba River.
Architectural Symbol - Usina do Gasômetro
Favorite Street - Padre Chagas
Favorite Corner - Fernando Gomes com Padre Chagas
Favorite Neighborhood - Moinhos de Vento
Bookstores - Prosa i verso, in the Galeria Champs Elisées (Rua Mostardeiro corner with Miguel Tostes); Palmarinca, on the Rua Riachuelo
Used Book Stores - There are several on the Rua Riachuelo and Rua Duque de Caxias (Centro).
Restaurants - For a good lunch, the bistro Sanduíche Voador at the Praça Maurício Cardoso (Moinhos de Vento), where the menu changes everyday. Or go to Gambrinus, in the Mercado Público (Centro), where you’ll feast on a delicious fish fillet, grilled or breaded with shrimp sauce. Depending on the day of the week and the season of the year, you can choose one of several local dishes: in the winter they serve the city’s best mocotó (beef foot stew). If you want barbecue or steak, the Barranco (Av. Protásio Alves, em Petrópolis) is unbeatable for its pleasant atmosphere; it offers specialties like the grilled breast of lamb with garlic – and for desert don’t pass on the ice cream cake. Another option is the Santo Antônio barbecue (Rua Dr. Timóteo, near the Rua Cristóvão Colombo, Floresta), with caramel sweets for desert. For German food, I suggest Steinhaus, on Rua Professor Duplan near Protásio (Caminho do Meio); try the pork chops with orange sauce and apple strudel for desert. For Italian food, I suggest the Vecchia Cucina (Moinhos de Vento). The city’s best Japanese restaurant, and its oldest, is Sakae, on Rua Castro Alves (Moinhos de Vento); order the “caixa” (to try everything), sukiyaki or batayaki. You can get good Chinese at Nankim on Av. Protásio Alves, starting with the “trovão” soup. There’s another good one, though I forget the name, on Av. Assis Brasil across from the Bourbon supermarket.
Fast Food and Snacks - Trianon (Av. Protásio Alves, corner with Rua Santa Cecília) for the city’s best “bauru” (“pão francês” with steak, a fried egg and tomato). Another good option is Primavera, on Dr. Timóteo near the Rua 24 de Outubro; try the fried torta.
Bars – At night, a good choice are the bars that feature German-style draught beer like Printz (Av. Protásio Alves, in Petrópolis), where you can have a will-drawn beer, eat the best potato salad, the best open-faced pork sandwich, and an excellent breaded steak (by itself, with filling or with cream sauce) with “power” mustard. For happy hour, I suggest the terrace of the Teatro São Pedro (Praça da Matriz), or the Casa Mário Quintana (Rua da Praia, which appears on the map as the Rua dos Andradas, near the corner with Rua João Manoel). Or go to one of the bars on Rua Fernando Gomes (Moinhos de Vento).
Botequins - Toca do Ratão, at the corner of Rua Eça de Queiroz with Rua Protásio Alves, with great draught beer and local munchies. Or one of the “botecos” in the Zona Sul (the southern section) on the riverside.
Candy Shop – There are lots of good ones, but my favorite is Doces Pelotenses on Rua Quintino Bocaiúva near Cristóvão Colombo. Truly homemade candies and cakes.
Ice Cream - Torta de Sorvete on Rua 24 de Outubro near Hilário Ribeiro and the Sorveteria Delícia, on the corner of Rua Dona Leonor with Protásio Alves.
Coffee House - Café do Ponto on Padre Chagas. But what people also drink in coffeehouses, and lots of it, is tea – generally accompanied by a torta. Movie Theater – The screening rooms at the Guion, on Nova Olaria (Av. Lima e Silva near the Rua da República, in the Cidade Baixa district), is perfect for film buffs. It always has good films, the ambiance is great, and it is in a pleasant location. There’s also a coffeehouse and a CD shop.
Theater - São Pedro (Praça da Matriz)
Night Club - Bar Opinião (Cidade Baixa)
Museum - the Science museum at PUC, the Catholic University (Av. Ipiranga near the Av. Cristiano Fischer)
Art Gallery - Tina Presser’s
CDs Shop - in the in the Galeria Champs Elisée
Park or Square - Redenção, Farroupilha - the biggest and most traditional (the Sunday morning "brique," flea market and crafts fair, is a must) – and Moinhos de Vento are the nicest. But there are many others.
Newsstand - the one in the Praça da Alfândega, on the corner of the Rua dos Andradas with General Câmara, and the one in the airport.
Soccer team - Grêmio
Soccer stadium - Beira Rio (Colorado’s home field)
What I don’t recommend - Walking at night
City Tour - Start downtown with City Hall (Prefeitura), Praça XV and the Mercado Público. Continue on Sete de Setembro to the Praça da Alfândega, where the beautiful buildings like the old post office (Correios e Telégrafos), customs house (Alfândega) and others still hold forth. Keep going until the Casa Mário Quintana and then go up João Manoel to Riachuelo and then to the Praça da Matriz. Don’t miss the Usina do Gasômetro. A series of buildings on the downtown campus of the federal university, UFRGS, between Av. João Pessoa and Av. Osvaldo Aranha, are also nice. Wander along Independência, 24 de Outubro and other nearby streets. If you have a car, take Av. Beira Rio to Ipanema and then stop by TV Hill (morro da TV), which offers the best panoramic view of the city. Take a short boat trip on the Guaíba.
Day Trip - Take the Romantic Route (Rota Romântica) through the German foothills (serra alemã) or the Wine Route, through the Italian foothills (serra italiana). If you want the seashore, visit the cliffs or the caverns in Torres.
Emblematic personality - Ruy Carlos Ostermann, journalist, sportswriter, philosophy professor and politician.
Emblematic literature – “Time and the Wind” (Tempo e o Vento) or anything else by Érico Veríssimo. The poetry of Mário Quintana. Stories by Luis Fernando Veríssimo, also the author of the unforgettable “O Analista de Bagé.”
Emblematic Song - "Deu prá ti," by the traditional gaúcho musicians Kleiton and Kledir, is a hymn to Porto Alegre. Perhaps not everybody knows is that Lupicínio “Lupi” Rodrigues (“O estado da arte da dor de cotovelo” and the Grêmio hymn) composed and performed all of his songs in a bar in Porto Alegre on Rua Cristóvão Colombo. There’s also lots of good-natured rock, like that of Graforréia Xilarmônica.
Emblematic Films - Productions by Jorge Furtado and Carlos Gerbase’s group (Casa do Cinema)
Local artist - I’d call attention to painter Fernando Baril
Local writer - Tabajara Ruas
Local Band or Musical Group - Orquestra de Câmara do Teatro São Pedro
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