Mooca () from tupi mo-oka, meaning to build houses (formerly written as "Moóca" prior to the Reforms of Portuguese orthography) is a district in the subprefecture of the same name in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Mooca today is home to over 75,000 inhabitants, spread in its . It is also considered one of the fastest-growing districts in the city, experiencing over the last years a vigorous momentum in the construction industry. Mooca has been the stage for many social movements, specially because of the presence of a strong influence of the industry interests in the political scene of São Paulo towards the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. The composition of Mooca's economy today ranges from small businesses ran by locals, large industries, such as Lorenzetti and Groupe SEB, both important players locally and globally in the home appliances industry, and ultimately, large shopping malls offering a variety of services. History The plains where Mooca lies were first settled by ancient Native American communities, such as the Tupi-Guaraní. São Paulo, known in the 16th century as São Paulo de Piratininga, arose from a Jesuit mission, founded in 1554 to convert indigenous populations, and its history is often confused with that of Mooca. In 1567, Portuguese Bandeirantes, or pathfinders, based in the village of São Paulo de Piratininga moved eastwards in their expeditions and that was probably when the region was first explored. Over the centuries, Mooca became an important rural area, containing a number of farms and cottages, dependent on the work of enslaved African-Brazilians. In the 1890s the area was divided into large plots that were put on sale in order to encourage Mooca's development. The district eventually became an important industrial area as the farms gave way to factories and industries towards the beginning of the 20th century. One of the first working-class sections is Vila Maria Zélia in the northern district of Belém. Many of the industrial installations eventually moved out of the city or closed down (even though a number of them are still active) and, much of the industrial zones became residential. Italian settlement In early 1900s, many industries settled in Mooca's quiet plains, an isolated area back then. Because labour at that time was in high demand, many immigrants from Italy, most of them coming from the city of Naples, fled to São Paulo to take