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Fortaleza 300 anos: Dicionário Amoroso de Fortaleza

·54 min·4 clips

Tessia Montenegro reveals why she wrote a 'love dictionary' of Fortaleza, mixing affection with sharp criticism of the city.

1. Rádio Debate (107.9, Universitária FM) discusses 'Dicionário Amoroso de Fortaleza' by Tessia Montenegro, reissued by UFC Editora to mark Fortaleza's 300th anniversary on April 13, 2026. 2. Host Carolina Areal speaks with writer and UFC professor Tessia Montenegro, UFC editorial coordinator Fernando Gleybe, and UFC editor-in-chief and professor Cavalcante Júnior. 3. The episode's organizing question is how literature helps citizens understand their relationship with the city they inhabit, using Tessia's dictionary as the lens. 4. The book was originally written around 2014-2015 and is being reissued in an expanded magazine edition with new entries, as part of UFC's broader 300-year anniversary project that also includes 'Fortaleza Amada,' a collection of 163 chronicles written by members of the public. 5. Tessia explains the dictionary structure as a narrative thread rather than a reference format — entries are impressions, reflections, and provocations, with the first entry being 'water,' anchoring the book in the city's physical geography. 6. The 'loving' dimension of the title refers not to idealized love but to a complex affection that includes criticisms and what Tessia calls 'abuses' — moments of frustration or indignation with the city. 7. Fernando Gleybe describes the editorial process as a seven-month collaboration that grew beyond the book to include a companion booklet, marketing materials, and a cover designed by Carlson Gray, developed through three iterations before achieving balance between Tessia's centrality and the city's visual elements. 8. Tessia went back to every location in the book while preparing the new edition, describing the process as nostalgic and sometimes involving mourning — places that no longer exist required adjustments to entries. 9. She cites Sobrado José Lourenço as a venue that was once central to Fortaleza's cultural calendar but has since closed its doors to the public, leading her to insert a direct criticism into the updated entry while expressing hope the situation will reverse. 10. New entries added in the expanded edition include one on the geography of Fortaleza, which Tessia says allowed her to combine her 'detective' research side with her imaginative side. 11. Tessia argues that there is no objective 'true Fortaleza' — the city exists only in each person's interpretation and is felt rather than concretely real in any shared sense. 12. She illustrates the singularity of belonging with her own natal astro-cartography, revealing that Fortaleza lies exactly between her Sun and Moon planetary lines, making it personally inevitable — while for others, 'I was born in Fortaleza' might carry indifference or resentment. 13. Cavalcante Júnior frames the function of literature as a photographer's act of generosity — Tessia delivers word-photographs of lived places, some of which no longer exist, placing her in a lineage alongside Tassilo Collares, who wrote a previous literary portrait of the city. 14. Cavalcante highlights the entry on gym culture ('abductors'), which uses humor and irony to make a serious point: Fortaleza has lost its street bookstores while gyms and pharmacies proliferate on every corner, over-emphasizing body and illness at the expense of reading and writing. 15. He names the 'university' entry as one of the book's most beautiful, citing Tessia's reflection on her dream of becoming a teacher, her childhood in Benfica, and her debt to the Federal University of Ceará for her literary existence. 16. Fernando Gleybe, who comes from the small interior city of Potiretama and has lived in Fortaleza for more than ten years, describes the book as a guided tour through places he had only passed by, giving him new experience and sensation of familiar environments. 17. Cavalcante shares a finding from 'Fortaleza Amada': summarized in one word by literature professor Sara Ipiranga, the 163 public chronicles are about joy — and unexpectedly, contributors wrote more about Fortaleza's wind and breeze than its sea. 18. The conversation is warm and collegial, with all three guests building on each other's points; Carolina Areal steers with close reference to the text and invites listener messages throughout. 19. Residents of Fortaleza, Brazilians interested in urban literature and regional identity, and readers of literary non-fiction who enjoy chronicles and essay-style writing will find this episode engaging. 20. Listeners outside Brazil with no familiarity with Fortaleza's neighborhoods, cultural landmarks, or literary scene will find many references opaque without additional context.

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