The Espaço Cultural José Lins do Rego is João Pessoa's main cultural complex, named after the Paraíba-born novelist José Lins do Rego, whose novels about the decline of the sugar plantation aristocracy in northeast Brazil are considered classics of Brazilian literature. The complex houses a cinema, theatre, exhibition galleries, a small planetarium, and event spaces — it's where you'll find the cultural life of the city concentrated under one roof.
Check the programme before visiting — it's most rewarding when a temporary exhibition or live performance is on. The building is a few kilometres east of the historic centre, closer to the Tambau beach strip.