Galeria do Rock — Attraction in Região Imediata de São Paulo

A very iconic place in Sao Paulo, the Galeria do Rock (Rock Gallery in a free translation) houses a very particular set of stores, the vast majority centered around rock related (metalhead, punk, and gothic, mostly) clothing, memorabilia, and records. The underground floor is more rap/hip hop related, and the ground floor has more common trainers and clothing stores. I do recommend being extra careful on the region, as the surroundings may be somewhat unfriendly to people not used to the organic chaos (and I mean it in the greatest of ways). If you plan on visiting Galeria do Rock, spend some time in Baratos Afins, a historic (but not old)...

If my father saw Galeria do Rock at its best, I saw it at its worst. But that's in the past. Galeria do Rock has changed a lot but is the same at its core. Many of the shops dedicated to rock music and fashion have closed or were updated to appeal to a more varied target, keeping the place alive and vibrant with street and youth culture. Galeria do Rock was featured in a soap opera, which was (in my opinion) vital to draw the kids attention to it, giving the mall a breath of fresh air since it was only attributed to rock culture since forever. I like Galeria do Rock, but it needs investment and maintenance. I wish to see the mall fully...

One of the most intriguing concepts I've seen: an entire mall almost exclusively dedicated to rock & roll and hip hop: nearly all businesses inside are clothing, music stores, skateboard, graffiti supply, tattoo shops, and embroidery/printing stores. Very cool on the surface, but once inside it's very repetitive (especially the shoe and clothing stores - in some cases the same business exists on multiple floors). Each of the lower 4 floors feels and looks a lot like the previous floor.

Where this mall shines is in its diversity of record shops - some specialize in modern music, others...