Ventoforte Theater demolished by the City of São Paulo. Photo: Jotabê Medeiros

Destroyed on February 13 by São Paulo City Hall's bulldozers, the Ventoforte Theater is fighting tirelessly to rebuild itself. On the 18th, there will be a public hearing at the São Paulo State Legislative Assembly to discuss proposals and possible solutions to the issue. More than a hundred participants are expected. The unanimous idea already outlined seems to be to rebuild the demolished spaces in Parque do Povo (the performance halls, the puppet theater and the Angola Cruzeiro do Sul Capoeira School), in the West Zone of São Paulo, which houses the Ventoforte's half-century of experience, a plan that has already been embraced by the federal government, through the Ministry of Culture and Funarte, in addition to several city councilors and state and federal deputies.

Around 60 actors, actresses, musicians, educators, cultural masters, producers and other people linked to the historical development of Ventoforte, founded in 1974 by Ilo Krugli and considered a model experience of community art, are expected to present at the public hearing the statutes of the brand new Ventoforte Living Memory Association, formed by all the activists of the legacy produced there. This association aims to create a responsible legal entity that will take charge of negotiations with the government for the new management of Ventoforte.

The destruction of the Ventoforte Theater caused a strong public reaction due to the violence of the action, carried out without warning and in violation of the law. Objects from the theater's collection were buried under the rubble, and even a Fritz Dobbert piano was destroyed. Parque do Povo is listed, as is capoeira, an expression of Brazil's intangible heritage. In addition, the action shows disregard for a cultural experience that is well-known in the theater scene. The National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (Iphan) issued a statement of repudiation on February 19, warning of “the risk of serious damage to the country's intangible heritage, given that the demolition of the buildings took place before the removal of documents, photographs, instruments and sacred images” that made up the collection of the Roda de Capoeira of the renowned Mestre Meinha, who had been performing for around 40 years (five of them at the Ventoforte Theater).

The legacy of Teatro Ventoforte is atavistically linked to the area where it operated, which was a degraded territory forgotten by the government in the early 1980s, when the group settled there – it had been inactive for a few months. Last year, the Casa Realejo de Teatro group, owned by Francisco Morato, approved under the Rouanet Law a project to stage and circulate “História de Lenços e Ventos”, VentoForte’s first stage show, including an exhibition and workshops based on the principles developed by the company, “founded on popular culture, Brazilian dances and a theater integrated with the animation of objects and intense musicality”.

The theater was torn down by the city government based on legalistic arguments, a complaint from the Itaim residents' association, and a lawsuit for repossession. This alleged motivation demonstrates the government's complete lack of concern for the cultural aspects of a public space – Parque do Povo is a public area, and Teatro Ventoforte was there even before the site was remodeled as a leisure area for the population in 2008. The São Paulo Department of Culture and Creative Economy has not yet expressed its position on the issue.

Dozens of artists from all over the country have expressed their sadness over what happened to Ventoforte. From New York, theater director Gerald Thomas recorded an outraged statement. “What can we do with the wretch who did this?” Also releasing statements were actresses Letícia Spiller, Marisa Orth, Letícia Spiller, Teresa Seiblitz, actors Pascoal da Conceição and Marcello Airoldi, theater director and actress Sara Antunes, singer Chico César, and many others. For some observers, the neglect of São Paulo’s culture has been growing and is worrying – the “dumping” of poet Haroldo de Campos’ collection from the Casa das Rosas museum is part of this militant lack of commitment to the destinies of art and culture.

“Theater cannot be torn down. Theater is an experience of democracy, of politics in art,” said Funarte president Maria Marighella. “This is a heritage of Brazilian theater, a link between theater and the city, with audiences, and with citizenship. We are here to undertake a process of restructuring and revitalizing this facility. And we absolutely agree that cultivation and culture are made in the territory. They are born from a place. They cannot be arbitrarily moved. Therefore, the idea of ​​transferring theater and the capoeira school to some other place cannot be an acceptable idea for those who know that culture is cultivation, is territory, is the seed of a place.”


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