Santa Tereza is a hilly older neighbourhood on the northern edge of the centre, built up in the 1920s and 30s as a streetcar suburb and quietly preserved ever since. The houses are low, the streets are narrow, and the corner bars — botecos — open onto the pavement with cheap beer, salt cod fritters, and people sitting around on white plastic chairs.
It is the kind of place that defines Belo Horizonte's reputation as a bar city. Bar do Lurdinha, Maletta arcade up the hill in the centro, and a dozen smaller spots scattered through the residential blocks are the classic stops. The Clube da Esquina musicians grew up here, and the neighbourhood still feels like the back room of the city's cultural life.