Fortaleza

Fortaleza is the capital of Ceará, a city on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Brazil. Its name means fortress, after the fort around which the town grew. The writer José de Alencar, author of the novel Iracema, was born in Messejana, now a district of the city.

The Dutch built Fort Schoonenborch on the coast in 1649, and when the Portuguese took it a few years later they renamed it the Fort of Our Lady of the Assumption. A village grew below its walls and received the status of a town in 1726. Fortaleza became the seat of the captaincy of Ceará at the end of the 18th century, and in the 19th century the export of cotton through its port paid for new streets, a railway to the interior and public buildings. The city grew fast in the 20th century as families from the dry interior moved to the coast.

The Port of Mucuripe ships fruit, cashew nuts and textiles and receives cruise ships at its passenger terminal. Grupo Edson Queiroz, based in Fortaleza, sells bottled gas under the Nacional Gás brand and mineral water under the Indaiá brand.

The Theatro José de Alencar, opened in the 1910s, has an iron frame and stained glass in Art Nouveau style brought from Glasgow in Scotland. Praia de Iracema, named after the heroine of Alencar's novel, has an old iron pier built by British engineers for the port, and its bars and restaurants fill at night. The Dragão do Mar Center of Art and Culture joins a planetarium, museums and cinemas in restored warehouses by the old harbor. The city hosted matches of the FIFA World Cup in the 2010s, and the forró dances of the northeast are played in its clubs every week.