S\u00e3o Paulo – There are many good reasons for visiting Recife. One of the Brazilian Northeast\u2019s most charming cities, the capital of the state of Pernambuco is captivating for its blue skies, warm-water sea, colonial buildings, and the bridges that adorn the Centre, connecting the banks of the Capibaribe River, one of the highlights of the landscape.<\/p>\n
Conventional routes pay attention to these attractions, but forget a strong feature of the land of poet Manuel Bandeira: its vocation for arts, especially the fine arts, which catch the eyes even of tourists who stay away from museums.<\/p>\n
How can that be? In addition to the panels and sculptures scattered throughout the squares and streets, a municipal act passed 1961 provides that all buildings with over 1,000 square metres of built area only obtain a building permit if their plant specifies the location in which a sculpture or panel will be placed. Thus, it suffices to pay attention to the buildings along your way to get a sample of art in Recife. <\/p>\n
Along these lines, a good tour of the visual arts in the capital of Pernambuco may begin with a stop at the city\u2019s Ground Zero, in the Centre. There, by the ocean rocks, is the Brennand Sculpture Park, a set of sculptures by Recife native Francisco Brennand, one of the leading names in the fine arts in the state and the country.<\/p>\n
On the floor of the square in which the ground zero is located, a highlight is Rosa dos Ventos <\/i>(the Compass Rose), by the equally respected C\u00edcero Dias, a native of Escada, a city 50 kilometres away from Recife. Enjoy the breeze, rest your eyes and let time pass without hurry as you check out the artwork of the two.<\/p>\n
Also along the lines of \u201cbumping into art,\u201d pay attention when you go to the Guararapes Airport to take your flight back. There, you will find work by another local master: Abelardo da Hora, who made sculptures such as that of Recife-born social scientist Gilberto Freyre, the author of Casa Grande e Senzala<\/i> (The Masters and the Slaves).<\/p>\n
Willing to visit some of the good museums in the city? Then write down three important references on your travel book: Pernambuco State Museum (with a 14,000 item-collection, located at a small palace in the Gra\u00e7as neighbourhood), Museum of the Northeastern Man (featuring items that explain the background, habits and diversity of Northeastern culture, in one of the noblest, most charming neighbourhoods of Recife: Casa Forte) and Ricardo Brennand Institute (which brings together items acquired by the collector after which the museum is named, ranging from armours to rare tapestry, also in Casa Forte).<\/p>\n
Want more? The Alo\u00edsio Magalh\u00e3es Modern Art Museum (Mamam), on Aurora Street, in the Centre, by the banks of the Capibaribe River, has some good surprises in its collection. \u201cThe Mamam has a very interesting collection of work by Brazilian artists Cildo Meireles, Nelson Leirner, Jo\u00e3o C\u00e2mara and Samico, among others,\u201d explains fine artist and technical advisor to the Municipal Culture Secretariat of the City of Recife, Fernando Duarte.<\/p>\n
Another essential stop along the route of arts in the land of poet and writer Jo\u00e3o Cabral de Melo Neto is the Popular Art Museum, at P\u00e1tio de S\u00e3o Pedro, in the S\u00e3o Jos\u00e9 neighbourhood, in the central area. Want to know why? The premises feature over 480 items by popular sculptors of the Brazilian Northeast, such as Z\u00e9 Caboclo, Z\u00e9 Rodrigues, Manuel Eud\u00f3cio and the most famous of them all, Mestre Vitalino. \u201cVisitors at the museum get a good overview of these artists\u2019 work,\u201d says Duarte.<\/p>\n
Brennand Workshop<\/b><\/p>\n
No time to explore everything? Have only one day left to dedicate to the arts in your tour of Recife and need to choose only one attraction? That\u2019s okay, as long as you make a stop at the Brennand Workshop, in the V\u00e1rzea neighbourhood. \u201cThis is a tour that everyone needs to take,\u201d says Duarte. It is an open-air atelier\/museum featuring artwork by Francisco Brennand (the author of the Ground Zero Sculpture Park), inaugurated in 1971, erected on the ruins of the old ceramics factory of S\u00e3o Jo\u00e3o da V\u00e1rzea, owned by the artist\u2019s family. A temple of the arts located in a calm, quiet place in a green area of the capital. <\/p>\n
In 2009, the Workshop received over 32,000 visitors interested in taking a close look at the ceramic sculptures located in the facilities\u2019 indoor and outdoor areas, the highlights being Templo do Ovo Primordial <\/i>(Temple of the Primordial Egg) and the Grande Muralha M\u00e3e Terra <\/i>( Mother Earth, the Great Wall). \u201cThere are over 2,000 items, including sculptures, panels and murals, not to mention over 300 drawings,\u201d explains the librarian and coordinator of the Documentation Centre \u2013 Brennand Collection and Library, Marinez Teixeira da Silva.<\/p>\n
Eggs and birds are recurrent elements in the artist\u2019s oeuvre, and are symbols of immortality and fertility to him. \u201cVisitors marvel and are surprised by the sculptures\u2019 shapes, colours, and the beauty and mythical aura that the premises have,\u201d says Marinez.<\/p>\n
As if that was not enough, it isn\u2019t hard to find Brennand at the premises, always working and, as a good Recife native, being gentle to all of those who approach him. It is a display of hospitality in the capital of Pernambuco, and of the surprises of the local art world.<\/p>\n
Additional information <\/b><\/p>\n
Cultural Route of the City of Recife<\/b>: <\/p>\n
www.recife.pe.gov.br\/fccr\/agenda\/<\/p>\n
Museum of the State of Pernambuco<\/b>:<\/p>\n
www.fundarpe.pe.gov.br\/mepe<\/p>\n
Museum of the Northeastern Man <\/b>:<\/p>\n
www.fundaj.gov.br\/docs\/indoc\/muhne\/muhne1.html<\/p>\n
Ricardo Brennand Institute <\/b>:<\/p>\n
www.institutoricardobrennand.org.br\/index2.html<\/p>\n
Alo\u00edsio Magalh\u00e3es Modern Art Museum<\/b>:<\/p>\n
www.mamam.art.br<\/p>\n
Brennand Workshop<\/b>:<\/p>\n
www.brennand.com.br<\/p>\n
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Capital of the Pernambuco state features great open-air sculptures and panels, and eye-popping museums that are worth the visit. Highlights include the Brennand Workshop.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2314,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[101],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-35275","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-tourism"},"wps_subtitle":"Capital of the Pernambuco state features great open-air sculptures and panels, and eye-popping museums that are worth the visit. Highlights include the Brennand Workshop.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2314"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35275"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35275\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}