Auto da Compadecida is a play written by Ariano Suassuna

Ariano Suassuna

Ariano Suassuna is a Brazilian playwright and author.He is in the "Movemento Amorial". He founded the Student Theater at Federal University of Pernambuco....

, published in 1955 and based in Molière

Molière

Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...

's literary composition. Its first production was in 1956 in Recife

Recife

Recife is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Brazil with 4,136,506 inhabitants, the largest metropolitan area of the North/Northeast Regions, the 5th-largest metropolitan influence area in Brazil, and the capital and largest city of the state of Pernambuco. The population of the city proper...

, Pernambuco

Pernambuco

Pernambuco is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. To the north are the states of Paraíba and Ceará, to the west is Piauí, to the south are Alagoas and Bahia, and to the east is the Atlantic Ocean. There are about of beaches, some of the most beautiful in the...

.

Auto da Compadecida is a comedy of northeast Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

. It combines elements of the tradition of literature of string, a striking feature of the Brazilian Catholic baroque, mixing popular culture and religious tradition.

This piece brought Suassuna nationwide acclaim and was considered by Sabato Magaldi (in 1962) "the most popular of the modern Brazilian theater."

Film and television adaptations

The play has been performed and adapted several times since its first production:

• A Compadecida (1969 film)
• Os Trapalhões no Auto da Compadecida (1987 film)
• Auto da Compadecida (1999 miniseries)
• Auto da Compadecida (2000 film)