Visit the Cinema-Theater Messias - Mealhada

The Cine-Teatro Messias, is the Municipal Theater of Mealhada. This cultural equipment appeared due to the decline of the old "Theatro Mealhadense", building next to the old passage of level at the rear of the city council, presented in 1943. The industrial Messias Baptista, seeing that the old theater commission did not understand, decided to construct a new building next to the new variant of the national road. The new building was to be designed by architect Raul Rodrigues Lima, who also designed the Cinearte cinema in Lisbon, the Monumental Cinema, also in Lisbon and the Cine-Teatro Covilhanense, which resemble the Cine-Teatro Messias. The work was inaugurated on January 18, 1950, under the name Cine-Teatro de Mealhada and was attended by high representatives of the region highlighting the then substitute of the civil governor of Aveiro, Fernando Marques.The name that remained in the memory, Cine-Teatro Messias, in honor of its founder, was also due to the neon that the spade contained the word "MESSIAS". The original building, consisting of three floors, a technician and two publics, had a separation between rich and poor, the architect's personal, from there the audience and the counter, with a total capacity of 600 seats, two ticket offices and two different bars, this separation never resulted because the settlement was small and everyone knew each other and was very indifferent to their social status. The projection room was known to be cold and because the wooden chairs were very uncomfortable, it was also built in double wall for better soundproofing. Every time there was a show, whether it was a movie theater or a theater, the volunteer fire brigade was sentinel for the protection of the people and the building. The first piece on the scene was "Quem mandanda são ellas" with the cast of Vasco Santana, Maria Matos, António Silva, Irene Isidro and Henrique Santana.