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See also: Culture of Brazil
Inner front of the Theatro José de Alencar.Sand art, originating in Ceará, is one of the most present items in the city's craft centers.Dragão do Mar Cultural Center
According to the Master Plan of Fortaleza, the Special Areas for the Preservation of Historic, Cultural and Archaeological Heritage are the regions of the center, Parangaba, Alagadiço Novo/José de Alencar, Benfica, Porangabuçu and Praia de Iracema. Properties of conservation interest. The architectural heritage of Fortaleza in the form of fallen goods[clarification needed], however, is predominantly concentrated in the center of the city. The Mucuripe Lighthouse is unfortunately in ruins today, Ceará and Fortaleza were part of the pioneering group of states and cities to adopt public policies to protect the living intangible heritage of their culture, through the Masters of Culture program. The city is recognized as a "Design City" by UNESCO's Creative Cities Network.
Museums, theatres and cultural spaces[edit]
Among the theaters, the largest and most popular are Theatro José de Alencar, São José Theater, São Luiz Cinema Theater, and Teatro RioMar and Teatro Via Sul. The Ceará Museum houses numerous artifacts, including pieces of paleontology and furniture. The Dragão do Mar Center of Art and Culture is the main cultural centre, and includes the Ceará Museum of Culture, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Ceará, theaters, a planetarium, cinemas, shops and spaces for public presentations, as well as housing the Public Library Governador Menezes Pimentel, Oporto Iracema of the Arts and the School of Arts and Crafts Thomaz Pompeu Sobrinho. The Casa de José de Alencar is one of the Brazilian museums recognised as dealing with Brazilian literature. It was opened in 1964 and houses art collections, a gallery, a library and the ruins of the first steam power plant in Ceará. In the different SERs of the city, the complexes of the CUCA Network are spread, which are facilities dedicated to art, leisure and education, especially for young people.
Freemasonry is represented by the Grand Masonic Lodge of Ceará and the Great State East of Ceará. There are also service clubs in the city, such as the Lions Club and Rotary International.
The Ceará handicraft has its main market and showcase in Fortaleza. In the city, there are several specific places for trade in handicraft products, such as the Ceará Craft Center (CeArt), Ceará Tourism Center (Emcetur), Crafts Fair of Beira-Mar, and on Avenida Monsenhor Tabosa.
Literature and cinema[edit]
Rachel de Queiroz, the first immortal of the Brazilian Academy of Letters and winner of the Camões Prize.Ceará Palace, former seat of the Cearense Academy of Letters.
The main literary manifestation of Fortaleza's history emerged at the end of the 19th century, in the cafes of Praça do Ferreira, known as the Spiritual Bakery, a pioneer in the dissemination of modern ideas in Brazilian literature that would only be adopted nationally in the following century, in the Modern Art Week. The most important historical entities of high culture still present in the city are the Ceará Institute and the Ceará Academy of Letters, the first academy of letters created in Brazil, founded in 1887 and 1894 respectively. The Ceará Institute has helped launch important names in national historiography and philosophy, such as Farias Brito and Capistrano de Abreu. Among the writers who are members of the Cearense Academy of Letters and members or patrons of the Brazilian Academy of Letters, are Gustavo Barroso, Araripe Júnior, José de Alencar, Heráclito Graça, Franklin Tavora, Clóvis Beviláqua and Rachel de Queiroz, the first woman to Be part of the entity. The Casa de Juvenal Galeno is another historical cultural institution of Fortaleza, named after one of the greatest poets born in the city, Juvenal Galeno. The house became well known for its festivals of poetry and seminaries.
In cinema, the most well known name is Zelito Viana, director of films like Villa-Lobos: A Life of Passion and Life and Death of Severina. More recently, Karim Aïnouz has directed Madame Satã, Suely in the Sky and Futuro Beach, and script of Lower City, Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures and Behind the Sun. Another current exponent of cinema born in Fortaleza is Halder Gomes, director and screenwriter of Holliúdy Cinema. New filmmakers in the city have gained in recent years prominent exhibitions such as at the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival. The most traditional cinema event in Fortaleza is the Cine Ceará (Ibero-American Film Festival), considered one of the main festivals of the country.
Fashion[edit]
The main fashion name in the city is the Lino Villaventura [pt], who, from Fortaleza, designed himself nationally and internationally and today is one of the main names of São Paulo Fashion Week, besides being one of the founding designers of this fashion week. There are major events in the city, such as the Dragão Fashion Brasil, considered the largest fashion event in the Northeast and the third largest in the country.
Much of the clothing that is produced in Ceará flows through Fortaleza, which in turn is recognized as one of the most important textile centers of the country, giving the garment industry great weight in the metropolitan economy. Brands of the city like Santana Textiles and headquarters of brands like Esplanada and Otoch have considerable regional influence.
Humor[edit]
Bode Ioiô, taxidermied and displayed at the Ceará Museum
The collective imagination regarding the role of humor in the identity of the people of Ceará dates back to the late 19th century, when Adolfo Caminha and Oliveira Paiva coined the term Ceará Moleque, referring to the jokes and social and political mockery practiced by the population. One example was the April 1 “lying contest”, which awarded, under the “Cajueiro da Mentira” at Praça do Ferreira, the greatest teller of tall tales in Ceará.
Bode Ioiô is another symbol of Fortaleza’s humorous spirit. The goat became famous in the 1920s for roaming public places, drinking cachaça, and even having been a candidate for city council. After its death, the animal was taxidermied and remains on display at the Ceará Museum; however, in 1996 its tail was stolen. Historical events like these and the traditions they inspired contributed to the development of a local humor industry. Bars, restaurants, and specialized venues serve as stages for the most acclaimed comedians, while public squares attract clowns and other performers.
Fortaleza is known as the humor capital of Brazil. Comedy shows are a major pillar of its tourist appeal, drawing three million spectators per year. Contemporary celebrities such as Tom Cavalcante and Wellington Muniz, both nationally famous, were born in Fortaleza. Comedians from other cities and states also built their careers there, such as Renato Aragão and Tiririca. Another major Ceará-born comedian who began his career in the capital is Falcão, who gained national recognition by combining humor with brega music, eventually becoming one of the greatest icons of that musical style. In Greater Fortaleza was born Chico Anysio, regarded as the greatest Brazilian comedian of all time.
Music[edit]
Aviões do Forró [pt], the biggest forró band in the countryAlberto Nepomuceno, the "father" of nationalism of the Brazilian erudite music.
Forró is the most popular musical genre in the city. Bands originating in Fortaleza, such as Desejo de Menina and Aviões do Forró, were responsible for the popularization of electronic forró, which promoted the revaluation of the accordion in the genre and brought it closer to pop music. The forró pé-de serra, however, still holds great cultural influence and commercial prominence in the city.
Genres such as rock and its various branches, blues, jazz, samba, hip hop, among other contemporary styles, are also part of Fortaleza’s cultural production and are common in the city’s nightlife. Fortaleza-based bands such as Selvagens à Procura de Lei and Cidadão Instigado have gained notable recognition by performing at festivals like Rock in Rio and Lollapalooza.
Another musical style strongly tied to the identity of the people of Fortaleza is lambada, which achieved great popularity in the city in the late 1980s.
In Música popular brasileira, some of the names from Fortaleza were Fagner, Ednardo, Belchior (from Sobral but lived in Fortaleza) and Amelinha. The musical tradition of Fortaleza, however, goes back to the composer Alberto Nepomuceno, one of the greatest names in classical music in Brazil, a pioneer in the development of the country's musical nationalism, and therefore considered the "founder of Brazilian music". The Alberto Nepomuceno Conservatory is one of the city's leading music schools.
Carnival[edit]
Fortaleza hosts one of the noted Brazilian Carnivals. Its main locations are Iracema Beach and Avenue Domingos Olimpio.
Cuisine[edit]
Baião de dois, a dish of Ceará origin, is very common in restaurants in the capital
Restaurants and bars in the city's historic center
Fortaleza’s gastronomy is very close to typical Northeastern cuisine, and locally, traditional dishes stand out, such as baião de dois, usually served with grilled mutton or carne de sol. Seafood is another key ingredient in typical dishes of Fortaleza’s cuisine, such as ray moqueca and cavala (mackerel) or pargo (snapper) stews, whose original popular purpose was to help restore the strength of the jangadeiros returning from the open sea.
The signature seafood of the state’s coast is crab. Every Thursday, the traditional caranguejada takes place—an event in which restaurants, bars, and beach tents across the city’s coastline serve dishes made from the crustacean, eaten with the help of a small wooden mallet.
Shrimp and lobster are also widely used in dishes such as shrimp rice and shrimp bobó. At Mercado dos Peixes (Fish Market) in Mucuripe, you can buy a wide variety of fish and have them cooked in neighboring restaurants. The most common practice is to buy shrimp and have it prepared with garlic and oil. A strong tradition in Fortaleza is to enjoy this dish on-site during weekend sunsets, while watching the return of the jangadeiros after a day of fishing.
The gastronomic hubs of Varjota, Praia de Iracema, and Avenida Beira Mar are the areas with the greatest diversity of international cuisine restaurants, with emphasis on Arab, French, Chinese, Japanese, Italian, German, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swiss cuisines, as well as pizzerias, steakhouses, and contemporary and regional cuisine.
There is another gastronomic hub in southern Fortaleza, near the border with Eusébio, known as the Tapioqueiras, a center of restaurants specialized in preparing tapioca, another hallmark dish of local cuisine.
