Fortaleza – capital of Ceará 

By Zoe Marriage and Pauliana de Sousa

Fortaleza, the capital of Ceará, is now the largest city in the Northeastern region of Brazil with a population of 2.6 million. It has a well-established tourist industry in the city and along the incredible beaches that extend around the coast. 

For decades its cultural scene has been integrated with its tourist industry, leading to shows and performances that are outward facing while preserving and developing the cultural identity of the city.  

There is a strong feeling among the population in Fortaleza of being Northeastern – in the humour, accent, cooking, music and racial mix. These are elements of identity that people preserve and pass on through their cultural expressions. Among the tower blocks and snaking roads, snippets of Northeastern culture appear in the food and soundscape of the city. 

Forró, originating in the Northeast and now played and danced across Brazil, has a strong presence with a clear development of the style over time, and a break with tradition in the 1990s when electronic instruments started to dominate what had essentially been a folk tradition. 

Trad forró the Mercado Central

In the Centro das Tapioqueiras, tapiocas – a regional pancake made with cassava flour – are served with everything, sweet and savoury. Tapioca is also accompanied by flute music and little books of poetry, known as Cordeis, that record a living art of popular commentary. 

The capoeira scene, while less extensive than that in Bahia, has its distinct character, something that we explored as we travelled around Ceará and up to Maranhão. Many Bahian capoeira groups jostle for recognition of authenticity, and take their flavour from their association with samba and Candomblé.  

In Ceará and Maranhão, other cultural expressions such as Bumba meu Boi and Tambour de Crioula influence the music, movement and ritual of capoeira. We also encountered a strong community element, including children, and more emphasis on cultural and social literacy than malandragem. 

Fortaleza was our first port or call, and also hosted our last days in Brazil. 

Sunset on Barra de Ceará