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Praça José de Alencar
The best street artists perform at the Praça José de Alencar. It is named after the writer, lawyer and politician José de Alencar who wrote a novel about the founder of the city. This square is bordered by a small but beautiful park and the José de Alencar Theatre which was built in 1908.
José de Alecanr was a writer who wrote about the romance of Portuguese Martim Soares Moreno who fell in love with the Amerindian girl Iracema. In Fortaleza there is a statue of Iracema waiting for her sailing lover at the beach Praia do Mucuripe.
Praça José de Alencar is one of the best venues in Fortaleza for musical performances. Here music lovers can enjoy classical music performances by the Eleazar de Carvalho Chamber Orquestra. Even if you're not a classical music fan, a night at the Teatro Jose de Alencar should not be missed.
The José de Alencar Theatre follows the basic design of Lieutenant Bernardo José de Mello. Its metal structures were planned by the architects and engineers of the Scottish foundry Walter MacFarlane & Co. The took the unusual step of designing and eclectic façade on an iron-framed theatre - and innovation for the times.
The Theatre is surrounded by streets but faces onto a square, the Praça José de Alencar, and stands well in the company of prestigious buildings of the same time.
The façade is composed at ground-floor level of four central apertures; a small portico with tuscan columns projects forward, and each lateral pavilion has another three apertures. The upper storey terraced at front and sides, and is topped by a triangular pediment in eclectic taste.
The building is in four parts. The front part is occupied by the vestibule and adjuncts on the ground floor and the foyer above. Then follows the internal courtyard. The third part is formed by the four-tier hall, and last comes the stage area.
The Theatre was totally restored in 1974. The metal structures were carefully reconstituted; modern ventilation, lighting and scenery systems were installed; the Austrian chairs have been refurbished and the courtyard garden redesigned by landscape artist Roberto Burle Marx.
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