The term Minhocão actually refers to a giant mythical worm said to inhabit the jungles of South America—and anyone who’s seen this twisting, heaving elevated highway from Monday to Saturday will find it a rather apt moniker for the Via Elevada Presidente Artur da Costa E Silva.

But since the people who live just a few meters from “The Big Worm” need to have holidays too, the government decided to shut it down once a week: on Sundays, pedestrians rule. A walk from the city center to the end of the highway takes about two hours, and the length is lined with “pixações” (graffiti tags unique to São Paulo), mobile grills, buskers and street vendors selling aqua de coco.

On these Sunday jaunts, Paulistanos are in their element: walking or riding bicycles, hanging around, flirting, smoking or simply enjoying the freedom of a car-free highway.