Teatro de los Insurgentes () is a

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

located on

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

Avenida de los Insurgentes Avenida de los Insurgentes (), sometimes known simply as Insurgentes, is the longest avenue in Mexico City, with a length of on a north-south axis across the city. Insurgentes has its origins in what was during the early 20th century known as ...

. Opened in 1953, the theater seats 959 spectators.

History

The construction of Teatro de los Insurgentes was funded by José María Dávila in 1953 as part of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Miguel Alemán's program of

urban renewal Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...

. Architect Alejandro Prieto, chosen by Dávila, was in charge of designing the theater. Dávila commissioned

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

ist

Diego Rivera Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957) was a Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the Mexican muralism, mural movement in Mexican art, Mexican and international art. Between 1922 and 1953, Rivera painted mural ...

to paint ''La historia del teatro'', a visual history of the

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

on the building's façade. The

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

artist placed the character of

Cantinflas Mario Fortino Alfonso Moreno Reyes (12 August 1911 – 20 April 1993), known by the stage name Cantinflas (), was a Mexican comedian, actor, and filmmaker. He is considered to have been the most widely accomplished Mexican comedian and is well ...

in the center of the mural in the form of a

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...

figure, distributing the wealth of the rich to the poor. The mural also references Mexican historical characters like

Miguel Hidalgo Don Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla Gallaga Mandarte y Villaseñor (8 May 1753 – 30 July 1811), commonly known as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or simply Miguel Hidalgo (), was a Catholic priest, leader of the Mexican Wa ...

José María Morelos José María Teclo Morelos Pérez y Pavón () (30 September 1765 – 22 December 1815) was a Mexican Priesthood in the Catholic Church, Catholic priest, statesman and military leader who led the Mexican War of Independence movement, assuming it ...

. The theater's inaugural performance was Cantinflas' elaborate return to the stage after considerable success in

films A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of Visual arts, visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are gen ...

. The work, ''Yo, Colón'', placed Cantinflas in the role of the

Paseo de la Reforma Paseo de la Reforma (literally "Promenade of La Reforma, the Reform") is a wide avenue that runs diagonally across the heart of Mexico City. It was designed at the behest of Maximilian of Mexico, Emperor Maximilian by Ferdinand von Rosenzweig d ...

statue of

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

, who came to life and made candid "discoveries" about contemporary Mexican society. The play was written by Alfredo Robledo and Carlos León, Federico Ruiz was the music composer and Guillermo Keys-Arenas was in charge of choreographing the show. In 2005, Rivera's mural was restored, funded by

Televisa Grupo Televisa, S.A.B., simply known as Televisa, is a Mexican telecommunications and broadcasting company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content. In April ...

, owner of the theater.

Events

Theater

In 1974, '' Pippin'' made its Spanish-language debut at the theater. It was produced by Mexican pop singer

Julissa Julissa (born Julia Isabel de Llano Macedo; 8 April 1944) is a Mexican actress, producer and singer. She is the daughter of radio and television personality Luis de Llano Palmer and actress Rita Macedo. Her children are: Benny Ibarra (a singe ...

, who also played Catherine. Also in the cast were Burt Rodríguez as Leading Player, Héctor Ortiz as Pippin, Guillermo Rivas as Charles,

Anita Blanch Anita Blanch (26 July 1910 – 23 April 1983) was a Spanish-born, Mexican actress, who worked in the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. She was nominated for an Ariel Award from the Mexican Academy of Film three times and won the Best Supporting Actr ...

as Berthe, and

Jacqueline Voltaire Jacqueline Voltaire (6 November 1948 – 8 April 2008) was a British-born Mexican actress, model and singer, known for her successful career in telenovelas, especially on Televisa. Voltaire also appeared in Mexican and international films, incl ...

as Fastrada. In 1975 a version of ''

Sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

'' was produced in the theater. It starred the singer

Enrique Guzmán Enrique Guzmán (born February 1, 1943) is a Venezuelan-born Mexican singer and actor. He is one of the pioneers of Rock & Roll in Mexico, along with César Costa, Angélica María, Johnny Laboriel and Alberto Vasquez, among others. He is also ...

and the actors

Héctor Bonilla Héctor Hermilo Bonilla Rebentun (14 March 1939 – 25 November 2022) was a Mexican actor and director known for his movies Meridiano 100 and Rojo Amanecer. Bonilla died on 25 November 2022, at the age of 83. Filmography Film Television ...

Chabelo Xavier López Rodríguez (17 February 1935 – 25 March 2023), known professionally as Chabelo, was a Mexican actor, comedian, television presenter and children's music singer. In addition to his television career, Chabelo appeared in more tha ...

and

Sylvia Pasquel Sylvia Banquells Pinal (born 13 October 1950), known professionally as Sylvia Pasquel, is a Mexican actress. Career 1960s At the age of nineteen, Pasquel did her first movie, ''El Despertar del Lobo'' (''The Wolf's Awakening''). That movie wa ...

. In 2022, the Mexican production of ''

Network Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...

'', featuring

Daniel Giménez Cacho Daniel Giménez Cacho (born May 15, 1961) is a Spanish-born Mexican actor. He is known for portraying Tito the Coroner in '' Cronos'' (1993) and '' We Are What We Are'' (2010). Early life Daniel Giménez Cacho was born on May 15, 1961 in Mad ...

Zuria Vega Zuria Vega (, born Zuria Valeria Vega Sisto; January 10, 1989) is a Mexican actress and singer. Early life Vega was born and raised in Mexico City to Mexican actor Gonzalo Vega and a Spanish mother, Leonora Sisto. Her older sister is actress M ...

and

Arturo Ríos Arturo Ríos is a Mexican actor. Career Rios is largely a theatrical actor, but has also starred in films and on television. He won the Ariel Award for Best Actor for his performance in the movie ''Fairy Tales for Sleeping Crocodiles'', taking ...

, debuted in the theater.

Sports

Teatro de los Insurgentes was one of the venues of the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

, hosting the

weightlifting Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...

competitions. In order to host the Olympics, some modifications were made to the theater: a gym was built inside the theater as well as bathrooms, a sauna room and individual locker rooms for the competitors. A giant sculpture of a weightlifter, nicknamed "Judas", was placed on the Avenida de los Insurgentes in front of the venue.

Music

American

Latin rock Latin Rock is a term to describe a subgenre blending traditional sounds and elements of Latin American and Hispanic Caribbean folk with rock music. However, it is widely used in the English-language media to refer any kind of rock music featurin ...

band

Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer * Sailboat designs by W. D. Schock Corp ** Santana 20 ** Santan ...

played in the theater on 24 September 1973, as a part of their Caravanserai Tour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Teatro De Los Insurgentes 1953 establishments in Mexico Venues of the 1968 Summer Olympics Olympic weightlifting venues Theatres in Mexico City