São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil and one of the largest urban areas in the world, with around 12 million people in the municipality and more than 20 million across the wider metropolitan region. Founded by Jesuit missionaries in 1554, it grew from a small colonial settlement into Brazil’s main financial, industrial and cultural centre, particularly after rapid expansion during the coffee boom and industrialisation of the 19th and 20th centuries. The vast city is divided into numerous distinct districts, with major sights including Avenida Paulista, Ibirapuera Park, the São Paulo Museum of Art, the historic centre and the Japanese-Brazilian district of Liberdade. São Paulo is also one of the most important cities in South American heavy metal. Thrash metal veterans Korzus formed here in the 1980s, followed by Viper and later progressive power metal band Angra, while the city has long supported an extensive network of metal venues, record shops, festivals and underground scenes.

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