Quitandinha 80 years
One year before the end of the Second World War was declared, the Quitandinha hotel-casino was opened. A few years later, it would host the Inter-American Conference, which followed the interests of countries in creating self-defense in treaties sealed in meetings initiated in other countries, at the end of the 19th century. Therefore, in addition to the much talked presence of Hollywood actors and actresses, the Quitandinha salons, throughout these 80 years, were also strongholds of the utopia for world peace, frequented by visual artists carrying out diplomatic missions, by representatives of ethnic and racial movements, by presidents and ambassadors.
Thinking about the history of this place means reviewing its archives, observing the contradictions in elite parties, gathering newspaper reports, photographs and, above all, investigating its artistic achievements. As a result, we occupied the entire mansion; before exhibiting works of art, we tried to understand places that already housed exhibitions on their premises, such as the balcony spaces that were full of easels, displaying works by great artists. On the other hand, how can you keep everything clean and organized?
Through these same halls passed workers, musicians, drivers, housekeepers. We brought, in sound files, the testimonies of Nelson Silvério Evangelista and the actress and accordionist Adelaide Chiozzo, among other workers who were involved in the construction and events of the Palacete. Here, illustrious names passed by, such as João Gilberto, Roberto Carlos, Jair Rodrigues e Wilson Simonal.
In 2023, Sesc Rio will transform Quitandinha into a cultural center, which encourages us to carry out regular programs and retraining cultural activities, committed to socio-political and environmental issues. That way, the memory of the place continues to guide us in our programming, encouraging us to a responsible vocation, in which art and culture are aligned with the historical reparations necessary for a multi-ethnic country.
Video Thomas Mendel.
Photo Thomas Mendel, Lucas Landau.
The story of Quitandinha has a touch of delirium and fantasy. And a lot of real Brazil, with its superlative virtues and vices. The fable of a former drover who became a king with his hotel of a thousand and one nights provokes the imagination. It brings together the ingredients of a mythical plot, capable of surprising even when told repeatedly.
If the art decided to revive this fable in a theatrical play, for example, we would have a great production in two acts.
Let's imagine a production in the mechanized theater itself. In the first part, hundreds of workers in frenetic movements star in Joaquim Rolla's reverie in the making: a colossal work in a Shangri-la in the tropics. Sound design reproduces the action of shovels, tractors and hoes. In the background, explosions remind us that the war in Europe makes construction even more unlikely.
The rotating stage moves. In the second act, fiction becomes reality. The set design with a harsh wild atmosphere,
with huts shrouded in dry ice fog, gives way to glittering scenes that make up a palace with Norman lines. There are those who define it as the Taj Mahal of hotels. Majestic halls. Vibrant colors never before combined in luxurious decoration. A dazzle!
The biggest casino of Brazil, of the Americas, of the world. A babel dressed in a tuxedo and gown, at champagne-filled balls. The sound of casino roulette wheels and orchestras invades the early hours of the morning, in an endless party. Around the hotel, the themed city, with its courts and parks, gradually expanded itself, long before the emergence of mass tourism.
From the mezzanine, in total discretion, the visionary creator of these scenes follows the evolution of the story, attentive to every detail, certain that, in this show, the curtains will never close.
Flávio Menna Barreto
Quitandinha 80 years
Research and Texts
Flavio Menna Barreto Neves
Project Design and Content
Ana Cunha
Design and Expo graphic Project
Celophane Cultural | Jefferson Duarte
Sound Experience Design
Objeto Sonoro | Felipe Barros e Saulo Dansa
Production of objects
Vlad Victorelli
Cenotechnics
Nova Dupla
Collection photographic reproduction
Levi Fanan, Manuel Águas, Mariana Rocha