Guia Cultural da Costa Verde

Mangaratiba • Mangaratiba

FUNDAÇÃO MÁRIO PEIXOTO & CENTRO CULTURAL CARY CAVALCANTI

A limitless cultural institution

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Located in the Mangaratiba town center, Fundação Mário Peixoto is an entity that plays the role of the local government’s secretary of culture and is in charge of a number of the local cultural facilities.

The entity was organized in 1986, based on the need to obtain funding to preserve and restore the 19-century Solar do Barão de Sahy mansion, expropriated by the town hall to be used as a public asset. The mansion was completely restored in 1987, and for a long spell served as the Foundation’s headquarters, named after its patron Mário Peixoto, a famous film maker born in the town. These offices were subsequently transferred elsewhere and the property served to house two museums, an exhibition hall and other activities.

The key purpose of Fundação Mário Peixoto is the conservation and preservation of the municipality of Mangaratiba’s material and immaterial cultural heritage. Its operations are based on a structure that divides its actions into specific areas: culture, civil works, administration, planning and finance, under the control of a seven-member board of trustees. During its years of existence, the Foundation has performed an impeccable task that surely honors the name of Mário Peixoto, who immortalized his town in 1930 by using it as the scenario for Limite, a famous internationally acclaimed motion picture.

Among other innovative projects put into practice are Ler é Viver, which, in addition to organizing libraries, also encourages a reading habit by placing books in the town’s bus stops and surroundings; publication of the Mangaratiba & Cultura newspaper; Encontro de Grafites that called outstanding performers to place grafitti in a town center street; Passeio Cultural, a guided tour around the Rota do Café and historical sites that include a producer of banana preserves, the Estrada Imperial in the Serra do Piloto and Parque Arqueológico e Ambiental de São João Marcos, in nearby Rio Claro.

Another cultural facility created by the Foundation and important to the town is Centro Cultural Cary Cavalcanti, located in a century-old property previously known as Chacrinha, as it was really a rural estate. This property is located in Rua Fagundes Varela and was declared a heritage site in 2012, currently holding numerous performances that enhance Mangaratiba’s cultural scene, and also houses the Foundation’s administration.

In addition to theater and musical performances, the Cary Cavalcanti center provides painting, theater, ballroom dancing, capoeira, guitar, handicrafts and ballet lessons, among others. The facilities include an ample hall that can accommodate 120 people and where celebrations and exhibitions are held, as well as lectures and meetings with local residents.

Visits and events are entirely free of charge and its programming may be viewed in the official website of the Fundação Mário Peixoto, which complies literally with its motto – No Limit for Culture.

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