Memory alone doesn't serve anyone. You keep the symbols and add substance.
Na confluência entre memória e futuro, a Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul ressuscita um cinema a céu aberto que dormia há mais de três décadas — não para repetir o passado, mas para reinventá-lo. O Autocine de 1972, que um dia reuniu famílias em torno de uma tela iluminada, renasce como espaço de convivência, empreendedorismo e inclusão, com investimento de R$ 6,6 milhões. A inauguração, presidida pelo ministro Leonardo Barchini, coincide com a entrega de estruturas dedicadas a estudantes indígenas, lembrando que preservar o patrimônio e ampliar o acesso ao conhecimento são, no fundo, gestos do mesmo impulso humano.
- Um espaço abandonado por 37 anos carregava o peso do esquecimento — e a pressão sobre a universidade para dar destino digno a um patrimônio cultural da cidade.
- A transformação exigiu 18 meses de obras e R$ 6,6 milhões em recursos federais, mobilizando a bancada sul-mato-grossense para viabilizar o projeto.
- O novo complexo de 2,1 mil m² integra cozinha experimental, coworking, palco, livraria e espaços de eventos, sem apagar a tela original e o estacionamento histórico.
- Paralelamente, estudantes indígenas do Campus Aquidauana ganham alojamento, laboratório de informática, cozinha acadêmica e sala de amamentação — estruturas que sustentam sua permanência no ensino superior.
- A cerimônia ainda autoriza a expansão do programa Aldeias Conectadas e obras no Campus Paranaíba, sinalizando que este não é um gesto isolado, mas parte de uma estratégia institucional em curso.
Na quarta-feira, 10 de junho, a UFMS reabre formalmente o Autocine de Campo Grande — um drive-in que funcionou de 1972 a 1989 e ficou silencioso por mais de três décadas. O espaço, que já teve estacionamento para carros, arquibancadas, lanchonete e cabine de projeção, retorna agora como Centro de Convivência e Empreendedorismo Estudantil. A cerimônia será presidida pelo ministro da Educação Leonardo Barchini.
A reforma custou R$ 6,6 milhões, financiados pela bancada federal do estado, e durou 18 meses. O resultado é um complexo de 12,6 mil metros quadrados, com um edifício modular de dois andares e cerca de 2,1 mil m² de área construída. O projeto abriga cozinha experimental, coworking, cafeteria, livraria, lojas, palco, camarins e bilheteria — preservando, ao mesmo tempo, a tela original e o estacionamento que definem a identidade histórica do lugar.
A inauguração vai além do Autocine. No Campus Aquidauana, a universidade entrega estruturas voltadas a estudantes indígenas: alojamento (primeira fase), laboratório de informática, Laboratório Criativo Indígena, Camarim Indígena, cozinha acadêmica, brinquedoteca e sala de amamentação. Para a UFMS, esses espaços são pilares das políticas de acesso, inclusão e permanência no ensino superior.
A cerimônia também prevê a assinatura de duas ordens de serviço: uma para expandir o programa Aldeias Conectadas, que leva internet a comunidades indígenas, e outra para obras de infraestrutura elétrica no Campus Paranaíba. O conjunto de anúncios revela uma universidade que, ao honrar sua memória, aposta na expansão — física, digital e humana.
On Wednesday, June 10th, the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul will formally reopen a piece of the city's cultural memory. The Autocine—a drive-in cinema that operated from 1972 until 1989 and sat dormant for more than three decades—is being transformed into the Center for Student Coexistence and Entrepreneurship. Education Minister Leonardo Barchini will preside over the ceremony, marking the end of eighteen months of renovation work that began in October 2024.
The Autocine was once a defining leisure destination in Campo Grande. It had parking spaces for cars, bleachers for pedestrians on foot, a snack bar, a projection room, and speakers distributed across the grounds. The space fell silent after 1989, though it briefly returned to life in 2020 when the university converted it into a drive-in cinema during the Covid-19 pandemic. Now it is being reborn as something larger: a permanent gathering place for students, researchers, and the broader community.
The renovation cost R$ 6.6 million, funded through allocations from Mato Grosso do Sul's federal delegation. The new complex spans 12,600 square meters total, with a two-story modular building occupying approximately 2,100 square meters. Inside are an experimental kitchen, offices, coworking spaces, a cafeteria, a bookstore, retail shops, event spaces, a stage, dressing rooms, and a ticket office. The design preserves the Autocine's historical character—the original screen and vehicle parking remain—while expanding its purpose to encompass cultural events, academic activities, and entrepreneurial ventures.
The inauguration ceremony will also mark the opening of new academic facilities dedicated to indigenous students at the university's Aquidauana campus. These include an indigenous dormitory (phase one), a computer lab, the Indigenous Creative Lab, an Indigenous Green Room, an academic kitchen, a toy library, and a nursing mothers' room. The university describes these spaces as essential to strengthening policies of access, inclusion, and retention for indigenous students in higher education.
Beyond the ribbon-cutting, the ceremony will include the signing of two new service orders authorizing further institutional investment. One will expand the Connected Villages initiative, a program designed to increase internet access in indigenous communities. The other will fund electrical infrastructure work at Block 4 of the Paranaíba campus. Together, these announcements signal the university's intention to deepen its commitment to indigenous inclusion and to extend its physical and digital reach across the state.
Notable Quotes
The university stated the space would maintain historical characteristics like the screen and vehicle parking while expanding its purpose for cultural events, academic activities, and student gathering.— UFMS administration
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does a drive-in cinema from the 1970s matter enough to spend 6.6 million reais bringing it back?
Because it's not really about the cinema. It's about what the space meant to the city, and what it can mean now. The Autocine was a gathering place for decades. Closing it meant losing that. Reopening it—but as something new—says the university is willing to honor what was while building something the community actually needs now.
What's the connection between reviving a historic cinema and supporting indigenous students?
On the surface, they're separate projects. But they're part of the same ceremony for a reason. The university is saying: we're investing in our history and our future at the same time. The indigenous facilities aren't an afterthought—they're central to what this institution is becoming.
The original Autocine had a very specific purpose. Why keep the screen and parking if the new space does something completely different?
Because you can't erase what a place was. The screen and the parking spaces are anchors. They tell people: this building remembers. But memory alone doesn't serve anyone. So you keep the symbols and add the substance—the coworking spaces, the experimental kitchen, the stages for events. You let the past and present share the same roof.
What does "Connected Villages" actually do?
It's about closing a gap. Indigenous communities in Mato Grosso do Sul often have little or no internet access. The program works to change that. It's not glamorous work, but it's foundational. You can't participate in higher education or the broader economy without connectivity.
Is this just a university project, or does it signal something larger about how the state sees indigenous inclusion?
The fact that a federal minister is showing up to sign these orders suggests it's being treated as significant at the state level. Whether that translates into sustained funding and real change—that's the question that comes after the ceremony ends.