Espacio Iberia São Paulo
Discovering new destinations
Bogotá, Mexico City, Buenos Aires and… São Paulo! This Brazilian city has become Espacio Iberia’s fourth destination outside of Spain. An initiative that continues to connect cultures, people and opportunities while it presents the airline’s essence through an immersive experience. It also became the perfect place to celebrate the launch of two new routes to Brazil: Fortaleza and Recife.
Rua de Oscar Freire 777, located in one of the most exclusive areas of São Paulo—specifically in the neighbourhood of Jardins—, became the headquarters of Espacio Iberia during its journey through Brazil. Its doors opened on the 3rd of November and will close on the 30th of the same month, a period during which visitors can have the Iberia experience without leaving the ground: trying out the comfortable seats on the A350 that flies between Spain and Brazil, tasting the delicious menus served onboard, piloting an aeroplane through a flight simulation controller, enjoying an immersive experience related to aviation through virtual reality or getting to know the airline’s history through its vintage uniforms. The ideal place to discover how Iberia flies and the inspiration behind the airline.
Espacio Iberia São Paulo, with more than 1,100 m2 across three floors, also hosted events related to Spanish culture, tourism and gastronomy. Wine tastings, samples of Iberian ham and tapas made with Spanish products, as well as cooking shows have attracted hundreds of visitors who left with a good taste in their mouth. Concerts, comedy sketches and performances typical of Spanish culture have also been held there. Some of the main Brazilian radio and streaming programmes have also been broadcast from there. A special mention for the events organized in collaboration with LALIGA, including gatherings with former football players like Mauro Silva or Edmílson, and live broadcasting of matches.
“We invite all Brazilians to visit us, learn about our brand and our proposal so that we become their preferred option when travelling to Spain, Europe and beyond” — Gemma Juncá
“Iberia is making a huge bet on Brazil, and we have decided to boost that effort by opening the doors to our Espacio Iberia in São Paulo, an initiative that seeks to bring the experience of flying with Iberia closer to the Brazilian public,” explained Gemma Juncá. The Marketing & Brand Director at Iberia also reminded us of the airline’s strong connection to Brazil: “It’s not only one of our oldest markets we fly to in the area, it is also one of the ones showing greater growth. We invite all Brazilians to visit us, learn about our brand and our proposal so that we become their preferred option when travelling to Spain, Europe and beyond.” The company’s bet on the country is so strong that they have an exclusive business plan for it.
Brazil is one of Iberia’s historical destinations in South America, where it started to fly 75 years ago when the capital, Río de Janeiro, became one of the airline’s first layovers in the area—with a final destination in Buenos Aires—. Espacio Iberia’s celebration in São Paulo coincides with Iberia’s recent increase in capacity in this market. Two new routes have been added to the two daily flights connecting Madrid and São Paulo and the four-to-five connections between Madrid and Río de Janeiro: Recife and Fortaleza. Therefore, Brazil is the only country in Iberia’s long-haul network that will have flights to four destinations within its borders, representing unprecedented growth in connectivity between this market and Europe.
Chef Hugo Muñoz became the ambassador of the Talento a bordo initiative at Espacio Iberia São Paulo. First, he hosted a gathering with food critic Josimar Melo. In Hugo’s own words, “a star” he was lucky enough to dine with the day before at Murakami, one of the best Japanese restaurants in the city. With “a warm reception by the audience,” Hugo notes, they chatted about the evolution of Spanish cuisine since the year 2000 and its impact outside of Spain. They also discussed the current landscape of Brazilian gastronomy, which Hugo, wearing a canarinha football shirt, spoke highly of: “During this trip I’ve been fortunate to go to all kinds of restaurants and learn about their gastronomy and I’ve been surprised by their top standards.” As well as chatting with Josimar, Hugo also went to Espacio Iberia to cook moqueca, a traditional Brazilian stew made with fish and prawns, alongside a tapa. “On the one hand, we marinate the moqueca and serve it cold. On the other, we prepare a snack with perilla leaves, shrimp and pork rind, which we bought at A Casa do Porco, one of the most famous restaurants in São Paulo,” explains the chef. He humorously concluded: “They didn’t beat me up, so they must have liked it.” A fan of Japanese cuisine couldn’t leave São Paulo without visiting Liberdade, the city’s Japanese neighbourhood. See you next time, Hugo!
Chef Hugo Muñoz, alongside food critic Josimar Melo, at Espacio Iberia São Paulo.
