This paper discusses the relationship between immigration, industry, diversification of the elites and the creation of cultural institutions in São Paulo in the 195's, a time of intense city dynamics when it was acquiring the definite shapes of a metropolis. As a consequence of these changes, the understanding of the civilizing character imbued in cultural development became solidified, and a general homology with the modernization in course, in all spheres of society, was established. This was breeding ground for renewed cultural languages, such as 'concretism' in poetry and in the fine arts; of the theatre and film making; of architecture, design and advertising; the social sciences and urban planning; of the debates that took place in all fields. The cultural vigor of the time was gained from the dynamics of bourgeois modernity, identified with progress and compromised with the institutional building of wealthy patrons.
Immigration; Cultural entrepreneurs; Cultural institutions; São Paulo; Metropolis