Teatro Santa Roza and the capital's performing-arts scene

Opened in 1889, the Santa Roza is cited as the oldest theater in Paraíba and one of the oldest still operating in Brazil.

Construction of the Teatro Santa Roza officially began on August 2, 1852, through a provincial law, under the responsibility of the Sociedade Particular Santa Cruz. The works were suspended in 1882 due to a lack of funds and resumed under the administration of Francisco da Gama Roza, who gives the theater its name. The opening took place on November 3, 1889, with the staging of the drama "O Jesuíta ou O Ladrão de Honra." With 412 seats, the building follows a neoclassical style with Greco-Roman influence, built with lime-plastered walls and Baltic pine wood.

The theater was the stage for central episodes in Paraíba's history: it hosted the assembly that conceived the state flag and the session of the Legislative Assembly that, in 1930, changed the capital's name from Paraíba to João Pessoa, in tribute to the state president who was assassinated on July 26 of that year. Between 1911 and 1941, it also operated as a cine-theater, screening films alongside stage performances.

On December 2, 1998, IPHAN listed the Teatro Santa Roza as national historic and artistic heritage. Today the venue is run by the Paraíba Cultural Space Foundation (Funesc) and hosts theater, dance and music programming by booking, functioning as one of the capital's main performing-arts stages, alongside the Arena and Paulo Pontes theaters of the Espaço Cultural José Lins do Rego.

For those interested in performing arts in João Pessoa, the Santa Roza remains a mandatory reference — both for the building's historical value and for the cultural programming Funesc maintains throughout the year.