Mario Quintana Cultural House

Mario Quintana Cultural House is named after the famous poet born in 1906.
The cultural house downtown Porto Alegre is known for its pink color. In the past it used to be the Majestic hotel. It was built in the early 20's in a baroque style.
Today, this beautiful 7 story building is a home for cultural events, library, art galleries, shows, courses and movies. There's always something interesting going on and it definitely worth a visit.
On the 5th floor, there's a nice garden called Jardim Lutzenberger with purple water lilies in bath tubs, benches to rest and a view to the Centro and a beautiful church. A perfect place to relax or read a book.There are 2 cafe-restaurants. One is located at the entrance and the other one on the top floor, where we visited yesterday with our friends J&M. It's called "Cafe Santo de Casa". They have tables indoors and also outside the balcony with a view to the Guaiba. The food is simple and good. The dish names are all spiritual and the place is full of different santas.



Address:
Casa de Cultura Mario Quintana
Rua dos Andrados 736, Centro
Tel. 3221.7147
Closed on Mondays

Renting DVD's in Porto Alegre

The 2 biggest DVD stores we found are Espaço Video and Blockbuster. Signing up to a store is a bit of a pain... you'll need an ID card, CPF number and a residence proof. Payment is per movie - you rent a movie and pay upon return. Usually you can keep the movie for 24-48h on weekdays or for the whole weekend if you rent on a Friday. Espaço Video also has movie delivery service for extra 4R$.

Espaço Video stores addresses:

1. Rua Vasco da Gama, 153 Bom Fim. Tel. 3311-7999
2. Rua 24 de Outubro,1378 Auxiliadora. Tel. 3342-8585
3. Mucio Teixeira,661 Menino Deus. Tel. 3024-0808

Blockbuster stores addresses:

1. Assis Brasil 2847 Tel. 3361-6769
   
2. Carlos Gomes 11 Tel. 3333-8151
   
3. Av. Nilo Peçanha 2785 Tel. 3328-5660
   

Movies and Theaters

Foreign movies in Porto Alegre are usually in their original language with Portuguese legends (unless it's a movie for children and then it would be dubbed).
Theater seats are not marked on the ticket so if the movie is new, it's better to arrive a little earlier to get a good seat.

You can find a movie guide here. On Tuesday evenings in the Moinhos GNC theater you can watch a movie for a special price of 5R$ only!