Jews, Arabs, Asians, Bolivians, Eastern Europeans, Corinthians fans: the world lives in Bom Retiro.

By Ricardo Kotscho, in Kotscho's Basket and for the Journalists for Democracy

Having a beer on Saturday outside the modest restaurant, I find myself watching the people passing by chatting on the sidewalk.

You might think you're in a dive bar next to the UN headquarters in New York, such is the mix of nationalities, races, colors, creeds, clothes, and languages.

We are in Bom Retiro, in the central region of São Paulo, a traditional multicultural neighborhood of immigrants and migrants, which is constantly changing its faces and origins, but maintains its character as a global village.

The menu at "Delishop," which opened almost 40 years ago, is the most complete summary of this diversity, which you won't see anywhere else in the country I've visited.

It has everything: from Eastern European dishes that my mother used to make at home, to the age-old dishes of Lebanese and Jewish cuisine, passing through Peruvian ceviche, Moroccan rice and a genuine German schnitzel, tongue in tomato sauce, Polish vareniki and a multitude of other dishes, which vary according to the season and what the market offers.

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There's also no shortage of hearty pasta dishes from Italian restaurants, steaks with fries, and the usual Brazilian fare. Nobody leaves there hungry.

The history of São Paulo unfolds in this neighborhood, where the glorious Sport Club Corinthians Paulista was founded and which still houses the headquarters of the Gaviões da Fiel fan group and the samba school of the same name.

In Bom Retiro, Ford of Brazil installed the first automobile assembly line on Solon Street in 1921.

Today the street bears its name, the Marquis of Três Rios, Joaquim Egídio de Sousa Aranha, a farmer from Campinas who was president of the Province of São Paulo three times, lived there.

The Solar do Marques once hosted the imperial family and later served as the first headquarters of the Polytechnic School of USP (University of São Paulo).

Those strolling along the sidewalk, at a slow pace on a Saturday afternoon, coming from somewhere else in Brazil or the world, may not know any of this, but they soon feel at home.

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That's what happened to the couple Adi and Shoshana Baruch, who arrived in Brazil after the war thinking of selling clothes "and other things," but decided to open a rotisserie near their home.

The success was so great, recalls his son Nir, now head chef, with people eating on napkins on the sidewalk, that they had to bring tables, chairs, cutlery and plates from their own house to serve the clientele.

Shoshana went to the kitchen and Adi took care of the dining room; the house was always full, and its fame soon spread throughout the city, attracting immigrant families who wanted to remember the food from their countries of origin.

Simple, but very well prepared and served, Delishop occasionally includes dishes like bell peppers or cabbage stuffed with ground beef and sprinkled with sour cream on its menu on colder days – a specialty of Nir.

Before Nir took over the kitchen, Shoshana, who knew the secrets of Sephardic cuisine (from North Africa and the Mediterranean), shared the work with Dona Mania, a specialist in Ashkenazi food (from Eastern Europe and Asia).

When Mania left the restaurant, Nir took over the kitchen and fell in love with it: "This profession is about love above all else, above yourself. You love the kitchen more than you love yourself," he says, always willing to tell customers how the dishes are prepared.

No one gets lost in Bom Retiro. Visitors always find someone who speaks their language, and shops and parking lots display signs written in various languages.

It's possible to take a culinary tour of the world and still buy clothes at affordable prices in popular shops and malls, now dominated by Koreans.

It's worth the trip. Have a good Sunday everyone.

Life goes on.

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