Little Brazil: The Disappearance of New York’s “Brazilian Heart.”

The newspaper reported that while upper-class customers still frequent the street, the middle class, which constitutes the majority of customers, has stopped traveling to New York.

“This is a part of New York that depends more on the economic decisions made in Brasilia than on those coming from Washington,” Jota Alves, editor of the community newspaper The Brasilians, told the New York Times at the time.

Abrau Glicas, owner of Bertabrasil Butik, an electronics and clothing store, also lamented: “It was a time that made me feel nostalgic. They only spoke Portuguese, from one end of the street to the other.”

The local newspaper’s report also highlighted the details that made the street so Brazilian: “To satisfy nostalgia, it was possible to listen to bossa nova records in music stores, buy Portuguese-language issues of Seleso do Readers Digest, see the green and yellow colors of the Brazilian flag in the windows, and take the family to enjoy a traditional feijoada on a Saturday afternoon.”

“The street will never go back to what it was,” Luis Gomez, owner of the Via Brasil restaurant, told the newspaper at the time.

More than 40 years later, at the end of September 2025, BBC News Brasil met Luis Gomez, who said something similar while preparing a cocktail at the Via Brasil bar, which he has run since 1978.

“Oh, there’s no comparison,” Lewis recalls. “Back then there were school groups coming to shop, tour buses, it was a completely different time.”

“There were many Brazilian shops and clubs… A lot has changed since then. Unfortunately, there has been a radical change. I don’t think it will come back.”

Today, Via Brasil is one of the few restaurants to survive that golden era. “We still maintained a good customer base, but the 1990s were busier,” Lewis says nostalgically.

Photos on the wall and memories of old customers show a lively space, a reference for those who wanted to experience a piece of Brazil outside the country.

In addition to Luis Restaurant, the Brazilian presence continues with another restaurant and a few shops resisting real estate speculation and the rapid transformation of the city.

Anthropologist Maxine Margolis, author of the book Little BrazilHe has studied the Brazilian community in New York since the early 1990s. According to her, the Brazilian presence on 46th Street was focused more on tourists than resident immigrants.

“At that time, there were many electronics stores. Brazilians came to 46th Street to buy televisions and other products, which were much cheaper in the United States than in Brazil. This changed because many of these products began to be produced in Brazil, and there was no longer a need to import them. Little by little, the stores closed, and the Brazilian presence on the street began to decline.”

Margolis’ research also points to structural factors that contributed to the neighborhood’s disappearance. The construction of large commercial buildings, hotels, and luxury developments has dramatically increased rents and hurt small businesses.

“New York is always changing. But there has been a lot of large-scale construction that has hurt small businesses, including Brazilian ones,” the anthropologist explains.

In his book, Margolis treats Little Brazil as a “meeting point,” but he paints a broader picture of Brazilians living in the city. It describes a group of immigrants who were not fleeing extreme poverty or political repression, but were facing “chaotic economic conditions in Brazil that make it difficult to maintain a middle-class standard of living.”

Their description indicates that despite their education (some with college degrees) and social origin (middle class and lower middle class), many of them, with little English and no work documents, ended up accepting low-skilled jobs after arriving in the United States.

In addition to the daily action, the building on 46th Street served as the birthplace of one of the community’s most emblematic celebrations: Brazil Day.

The party, which takes place every year in September, brings together thousands of people – Brazilian and American immigrants and tourists interested in trying national cuisine, products and rhythms.

Over the years, groups such as Papado Novo, Calypso and other artists have participated in parades and street fairs.

“The ceremony was probably the most important, not only for the Brazilian community, but also for the Americans and the Spanish colony. It was wonderful,” Gomez recalls.

The celebration is now 38 years old. According to the event’s official website, “In 2013, according to New York Police Department (NYPD) data, about 1.5 million people attended Brazilian Day, filling the space of 25 blocks over the course of the day.”

But in 2025, Brazil Day will not be celebrated, according to the website, due to “various obstacles.”

Even in the heyday of so-called “Brazil Street,” many of the merchants and workers who worked on 46th Street lived farther away—in quieter, more accessible neighborhoods, such as Astoria, in Queens.

The cost of living was much lower than in Manhattan, and the area began to concentrate Brazilian families looking for cheaper rent and life in the neighborhood near other immigrants.

“46th Street was important to tourists, but I think it was less important to immigrants living in New York,” explains anthropologist Maxine Margoli.

“If you visit Astoria today, there are still many Brazilians.”

According to Margolis, the neighborhood stood out specifically for its welcoming of those who settled permanently. “There are big Brazilian supermarkets with all kinds of products – options that make you think you could be in Brazil,” he says. “They have everything from soaps and detergents to meat and feijoada ingredients.”

Moreover, according to the researcher, restaurants and snack bars in Astoria were always easier to reach than those on 46th Street. “Many Brazilians thought that the restaurants on the 46th floor were too expensive. In Queens, there were those who served food by the kilo – which is simpler and less expensive.”

According to US Census Bureau data (American Community Survey, 2020), Astoria has an estimated 37% immigrant population. Today, institutions like Copacabana Restaurant and Rio Market remain popular places — symbols of how the Brazilian presence is spreading and reinventing itself beyond Manhattan.

Walking down Rua 46 in September 2025, remnants of Brazilian nostalgia could still be found.

The Buzios store, for example, has no sign or anything to indicate its presence to those who pass around the building unnoticed. You have to approach the intercom in a cramped building to read the name and ring until owner Marcela Ferreira opens the door.

Even “hidden,” Buzios continues to attract customers — both loyal and new.

“Our space is limited, so I try to have a little bit of everything Brazilians miss so much: cheesy bread, cream cheese, guarana, chocolate and brigadero. The little things that remind us of Brazil,” says the owner.

According to her, those who buy the most are, of course, Brazilians who miss their homeland.

“We’re buying nostalgia. Personally, I hate changing the packaging, it seems like it’s not the same anymore. People want the experience they had when they were kids,” he explains.

“But there are also those who already have a Brazilian partner, have tried something and want to continue consuming, and there are families with children here who want to share a little of what life was like in Brazil…”

Havaianas bikinis and flip-flops are also very popular with foreign customers – and even the children’s books and Turma da Mônica comic books are popular with Americans. “I sell a lot to adults who are learning Portuguese and need to practice reading in an easy language,” he says.

The neighborhood’s history also features pioneers who helped solidify the Brazilian presence.

According to Margolis, the dedication of the “Little Brazil” sign on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 46th Street was the result of the work of an immigrant from Minas Gerais who convinced the mayor of New York to make the recognition official. Furthermore, the proximity to the diamond region attracted Brazilians selling gemstones, such as amethyst and peridot, boosting local trade.

“Brazilians have always tried to differentiate themselves from other Latin American immigrants, especially Spanish-speaking immigrants, who were often stereotyped as poorer or less educated. There was a sense of community and self-identity,” Margolis says.