María Ana de Jesús Guerrero Torija (April 17, 1867 - January 23, 1928), better known as María Guerrero, was a prominent Spanish theatre actor, producer and director.

Life and work

María Guerrero Torija was born in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

in 1867. She enrolled at the Official School of Declamation, in the prestigious

Madrid Royal Conservatory The Madrid Royal Conservatory ( es, Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid) is a music college in Madrid, Spain. History The Royal Conservatory of Music was founded on July 15, 1830, by royal decree, and was originally located in Moste ...

, where she was trained in the theatre with dramatist Teodora Lamadrid. Guerrero debuted in 1885 and later performed for

José de Echegaray José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacu ...

, one of the principal figures in the Culture of Spain, at the time. She later performed for French dramatist

Benoît-Constant Coquelin Benoît-Constant Coquelin (; 23 January 184127 January 1909), known as Coquelin aîné ("Coquelin the Elder"), was a French actor, "one of the greatest theatrical figures of the age." Biography Coquelin was born in Boulogne-sur-Mer, Pas-de-Calais ...

, and with Sarah Bernhardt.''La Vanguardia'' (24 January 1928)
/ref> She married Fernando Díaz de Mendoza, the Marquess of San Mamés, in 1896, and the following year, the couple relocated to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. A commercial success at the local Teatro Odeón, her productions of zarzuelas and adaptations of classics in

Spanish literature Spanish literature generally refers to literature ( Spanish poetry, prose, and drama) written in the Spanish language within the territory that presently constitutes the Kingdom of Spain. Its development coincides and frequently intersects wi ...

(particularly Lope de Vega's) took her company to theatres nationwide. Retaining contractual obligations in Spain, the couple purchased Madrid's ''Teatro de la Princesa'' in 1908. The couple also set aside a share of their fortune in 1918 for the construction of a new, grand theatre house in Buenos Aires. The project caught the attention of both local high society and the King of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alf ...

, who collaborated with its construction by commissioning artisanal material for the theatre, named in honor of Spain's legendary novelist and dramatist,

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists. He is best kno ...

.Teatro Cervantes: historia
/ref> The Cervantes Theatre was inaugurated in 1921 with a production of Lope de Vega's ''

La dama boba ''La dama boba'' (given various titles in English including ''The Lady Simpleton'', ''The Lady Boba: a Woman of Little Sense'', 'Lady Nitwit'', ''The Lady-Fool'') is a 1613 comedy by the Spanish playwright Lope de Vega. It is one of the earliest ...

'' (''The Foolish Lady''). The proliferation of theatres in Buenos Aires and the advent of the

radio in Argentina Radio in Argentina is an important facet of the nation's media and culture. Radio, which was first broadcast in Argentina in 1920, has been widely enjoyed in Argentina since the 1930s. Radio broadcast stations totaled around 150 active AM broadcast ...

soon eroded the Cervantes' audience base, however, and in 1926, the couple was forced to auction the institution, which was purchased by the Argentine government. They then returned to Madrid, where Guerrero died in 1928, at the age of 60. The Teatro de la Princesa was purchased by the Spanish government following her death and in 1931, it was renamed the ''

Teatro María Guerrero Teatro may refer to: * Theatre * Teatro (band) Teatro, Italian for "theatre", is a vocal group signed to the Sony BMG music label. The members of Teatro are Jeremiah James, Andrew Alexander, Simon Bailey and Stephen Rahman-Hughes. Band member ...

''. Among her grandchildren were the well-known Spanish actor,

Fernando Fernán Gómez Fernando Fernández Gómez (28 August 1921 – 21 November 2007) better known as Fernando Fernán Gómez was a Spanish actor, screenwriter, film director, theater director and member of the Royal Spanish Academy for seven years. He was born i ...

References

External links

Teatro María Guerrero
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guerrero, Maria 1867 births 1928 deaths 19th-century Spanish actresses 20th-century Spanish actresses Argentine theatre directors Argentine women theatre directors Spanish stage actresses Spanish theatre directors 20th-century Spanish businesswomen 20th-century Spanish businesspeople Actresses from Madrid 19th-century Spanish businesswomen 19th-century Spanish businesspeople