Rua 25 de Março
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Rua Vinte Cinco de Março, in English, 25th of March Street, is a popular commerce region near the center of São Paulo, Brazil.
[edit] The Street
Though now encompassing a number of streets, it is still referred as Rua 25 de Março. The road winds down the Arab and Chinese district of the city, where it is not uncommon to see to see an Israeli and Irani descendant talking to each other quite peacefully in Arabic. The area is located in the São Bento neighborhood, right outside the São Bento metrô station. It is in easy walking distance from any area in the center of the city.
[edit] The Goods
Though generally illegal, Rua 25 de Março has a host of products, from wristbands to plasma TV's, or Nike's to fake iPods. Items sold here are generally very low priced, and often mock products of the originals. It is a great place to buy small gifts in bulk, such as bracelets, cups, or the like, due to the low price many sellers advertise when a person buys many of one item.
Whereas electronics are heavily priced throughout the country due to tax initiatives, one can find an assortment of electronic goods in 25 de Março for relatively low prices. These include computers, TV's, fake iPod's, calculators, and many other things. Many of the items are never taxed, and are quite illegal, though governmental enforcement is only seen during the peak buying season around Christmas.
Name brand apparel (generally fake), watches, CDs, DVDs and console games (all being illegal copies) are also very common in the area.
[edit] The Dangers
Though physical injuries and serious crimes and fatalities are very rare in the area, it is a haven for crooks stealing from unwary shoppers. Apart from many of the goods being stolen to begin with, 25 de Março is not a place to bring your Visa. Pickpockets are numerous, and it would be quite unusual for a person not to attempt to pickpocket a visitor, even if they don't succeed.
A person whom shops here also runs the risk of getting caught by the government, though the dangers are quite low unless it is a foreigner bringing illegal goods back into their developed country, such as illegal electronics and software like Microsoft Windows, among other things.
Though most car traffic is now not allowed on the street during busy periods (photo above was taken before the rule was put in place), it is generally not a good idea to attempt to drive in the area. The reasons may be numerous, and an example can be seen in the photo placed on this page.
