Monument to the Bandeiras, Granite monument at Ibirapuera Park entrance, São Paulo, Brazil.
The Monument to the Bandeiras is a large granite sculpture at the entrance of Ibirapuera Park in São Paulo. It is made from multiple granite blocks fitted together and depicts people working together to move a canoe.
The monument was commissioned in 1921 and created to mark São Paulo's 400th anniversary in 1953. Victor Brecheret designed it to honor the early expeditions into Brazil's interior.
The sculpture depicts Portuguese explorers, Indigenous peoples, Africans, and Mestizos pulling a canoe together. This scene tells the story of the expeditions that pushed into Brazil's interior and shows how different groups were part of these journeys.
The monument sits on Avenida Pedro Álvares Cabral at the entrance to Ibirapuera Park and is easy to spot. You can visit at any time, and there is no entrance fee or ticketed access—it is simply part of the public park.
Each granite block that makes up the monument weighs roughly 50 tons, making it one of Brazil's largest sculptural monuments. Assembling these massive stones was a remarkable engineering feat for its era.
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