Although the vast majority of streets in São Paulo have male names, did you know that there are several streets named after women throughout the city? After all, the capital of São Paulo is made up of women who have left their mark.
To take advantage of the fact that we are celebrating International Women’s Day in March, we want to tell their stories. That’s why we’ve chosen some of the streets, squares and avenues named after iconic characters, either for their political trajectory or for the importance they played in their times. So, get to know some of them.
Streets named after women in São Paulo
Rua Maria Paula, in Bela Vista
This was the first street to be officially named after a woman, according to the Dictionary of Streets. The Baroness of Limeira (Dona Francisca de Paula Souza e Mello) opened the street on land she owned, and it was handed over to public traffic on May 14, 1894. The name chosen was a tribute to Maria Paula Machado, the Baroness’s grandmother.
Rua Anália Franco, in Água Rasa
Anália Franco graduated as a teacher at the age of fifteen in 1868. According to the Dictionary of Streets, she founded shelters for orphans, asylums, regenerative colonies, nurseries and nursery schools where she applied her own methods of education and teaching. At the same time, she was a very active contributor to feminist magazines and also created her own magazine: Álbum das Meninas.
Rua Maria Antônia, in Higienópolis
This street was opened on the farm of Maria Antônia da Silva Ramos between 1880 and 1883, and was one of the first to be built in the neighborhood that was later renamed Higienópolis. In 1874, she decided to sell an area of her farm to the Reverend Chamberlain, which later became part of the Mackenzie campus.
Rua Dona Veridiana, in Higienópolis
Veridiana Valéria da Silva Prado was born in the heart of São Paulo. The daughter of Antonio da Silva Prado, the Baron of Iguape, she built a mansion for herself in the then neighborhood of Santa Cecília. Due to the symbolism of Veridiana’s palace in the city, on March 20, 1888 the city council changed the name of the old Rua Santa Cecília to Rua Dona Veridiana Prado, which was later renamed Rua Dona Veridiana.
Avenida Angélica, in Santa Cecília
Dona Maria Angélica Souza Queiroz was the daughter of barons and the granddaughter of Brigadeiro Luís Antonio, a wealthy businessman who had one of the largest fortunes of the time. When she decided to open the first streets on her property, they initially formed the neighborhood of Santa Cecília. As the Dictionary of Streets tells us, the current Avenida Angélica, the first to be opened, became known in 1895 as “Avenida Viúva Barros”.
Avenida Hebe Camargo, in Morumbi
Hebe Maria Monteiro de Camargo Ravagnani was a famous radio and TV presenter. Her family moved to the capital, São Paulo, in 1943, when Hebe was 14 years old. Just a year later, she started as a singer on radio station Tupi, performing on the program Clube Papai Noel. She also presented various programs on SBT and Record.
Pérola Byington Square, in Bela Vista
Pérola Ellis Byington was born in Santa Bárbara d’Oeste, São Paulo, on December 3, 1879 . She was a Brazilian philanthropist and social activist, the daughter of American immigrants. In 1932, Pérola played an active and prominent role in the Constitutionalist Revolution, leading her Pro-Childhood Crusade and volunteering on the São Paulo side of the conflict.
Rua Anita Garibaldi, in Sé
This street has had the following names: “Rua Detrás da Cadeia” (18th century) and “Rua do Trem” (from 1865). However, in 1907, it was officially named Anita Garibaldi in honor of the heroine Ana Maria de Jesus Ribeiro da Silva, who was born in Morrinhos (SC) in 1821 and died in Italy in 1849. She took part, alongside Giuseppe Garibaldi, in the War of the Farrapos (RS).
Rua Anita Malfatti, in Casa Verde
Finally, another of the streets named after women in São Paulo bears the name of Anita Malfatti. The famous artist was born on December 2, 1889, in São Paulo. In 1917, she held an exhibition of her pictorial works, which is now considered to be the first Modern exhibition in Brazil. Anita was therefore a pioneer of the modernist movement in São Paulo, which would come to fruition at the Modern Art Week in 1922.
