Thanks Verticalextropy. Yes, most everybody says that Porto Alegre looks more like Buenos Aires or Montevideo than with Rio or São Paulo.
Anyway, that shot of Santander should show one more building, similar to the old one on the left. Porto Alegre downtown is very dense indeed.
This photo shows that same corner of the city (you can see the same buildings there)
http://www.portoimagem.com/pontos_turisticos.html
Another example of density in Porto Alegre downtown is the Borges de Medeiros Canyon...
I do have a thread about Porto Alegre downtown. Check it out:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=172039