''Teatro Ideal'', also known as La Plaza Theater (
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
: ''Teatro de La Plaza''), is a historic theater and performing arts venue located in the main town square (''plaza pública'') of
Yauco Pueblo, the administrative and historic center of the municipality of
Yauco, Puerto Rico
Yauco () is a town and municipality in southern Puerto Rico. Although the downtown is inland, the municipality stretches to a southern coast facing the Caribbean Sea. Yauco is located south of Maricao, Lares and Adjuntas; east of Sabana Grande ...
. The theater was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1988.
Background
The theater, originally built in 1926 as a movie theater for the ''Yauco Moving Picture Company'', is a two-storey Broadway-type eclectic-style structure with monumental
Tuscan columns with Roman amphora crowns that support the rainbow arch and roof which extends over the structure's façade. Although originally intended as a movie theater the venue soon became more popular in the 1920s and 1930s for
zarzuelas,
operettas and concerts by international musical artists such as by Argentine singer and composer
Carlos Gardel. The venue also became popular for political assemblies by figures such as
Antonio Rafael Barceló
Antonio Rafael Barceló y Martínez (April 15, 1868 – December 15, 1938) was a Puerto Rican lawyer, businessman and the patriarch of what was to become one of Puerto Rico's most prominent political families. Barceló, who in 1917 became the ...
and
Luis Muñoz Rivera
Luis Muñoz Rivera (July 17, 1859 – November 15, 1916) was a Puerto Rican poet, journalist and politician. He was a major figure in the struggle for political autonomy of Puerto Rico in union with Spain.
In 1887, Muñoz Rivera became part ...
, and for
poetry reading
A poetry reading is a public oral recitation or performance of poetry. Reading poetry aloud allows the reader to express their own experience through poetry, changing the poem according to their sensibilities. The reader uses pitch and stress, and ...
s by figures such as
Francisco Villaespesa,
Luis Lloréns Torres,
Evaristo Ribera Chevremont and
José Gordils. The theater was eventually closed and partially fell into disrepair until it opened after undergoing renovations between 2000 and 2012. The theater today hosts plays in addition to local events.
See also
*
References
External links
*
National Register of Historic Places in Yauco, Puerto Rico
Opera houses in Puerto Rico
Theatres completed in 1926
Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Puerto Rico
1926 establishments in Puerto Rico
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