It belongs to the borough of Sé, and it has been a mixed neighborhood since its beginning, where free African-Brazilians and/or a mixture of Native-Brazilians, Blacks and Portuguese descendants lived.

Most theatres nowadays tend to concentrate on Avenida Brigadeiro Luis Antonio with Teatro Abril being the most important venue of musical presentations such as Miss Saigon, Beauty and the Beast, and The Phantom of the Opera.

Although most of the clubs and bars moved from Bela Vista to Itaim Bibi and Vila Madalena in the late 1980s and mid 1990s, Bexiga still has a somewhat vibrant nightlife and is the home of many descendants of Italians and young professionals and students that enjoy the urban atmosphere and the Avenida Paulista area nearby.

Famous for the Achiropita procession and the street Italian food fair all weekends in August, the community caters to the needs of poor children and their families in the section and promotes integration of diversity into worship, by adding an African-Brazilian flavor to its masses and baptismal ceremonies.

[clarification needed] Lack of funding and greed on the part of revellers who grabbed chunks of the cake and stuffed Tupperware containers to take home, which made the cake disappear in seconds, seem to have stopped the annual event on January 25, the Catholic feast of the Conversion of Paul, the apostle, and anniversary of the foundation of São Paulo de Pirapitininga by chief Tibirica' & the Spanish Jesuits Anchieta and Nobrega.