Cine Rio Branco

One of Brazil's oldest cinemas, the majestic Rio Branco, founded in 1927, is located in the town of Nazaré das Farinhas, in the Bahian Recôncavo region. Created by Felisberto Ribeiro Soares, the cinema was built in the Art Nouveau style, which was rarely seen in the Brazilian Northeast, making it one of the few surviving examples. A stage for great stories, the Cine Teatro hosted countless artists, including Luiz Gonzaga, Waldick Soriano, Raul Seixas, Dalva de Oliveira, and others. Since the 1970s, when it passed from the Ribeiro Soares family's hands, the cinema has closed its doors several times. Inactive since the mid-1990s, the Rio Branco reopened in 2000, fully restored and equipped, in a more refined style. The city welcomed very special guests, such as soccer star Ronaldinho Fenômeno, who came to honor his friend Vampeta, a Nazarene and illustrious new owner who bought and restored the old building with his own funds. It was as if Nazaré had stepped into a time machine. With the same pomp as its inauguration in 1927, when a crowd in hats and evening gowns watched "A Night of Love."