National Theatre of Cuba


The Teatro Nacional de Cuba is a theatre building and associated theatre company in Havana, Cuba, on Plaza de la Revolución.

History

The company Teatro Nacional de Cuba was created for propaganda and arts purposes in the early years of the revolution, 1953, six years before the overthrow of the Battista regime in 1959. The revolutionary "National Theatre" also had a department of folklore with ajournal Actas del folklore. Prior to the new building the old Gran Teatro de La Habana, renamed the Teatro García Lorca after the completion of the Cuban revolution, 1959, was regarded as the National Theatre of Cuba.

Building

Work on the current building started in 1951 but was not opened until 1979. The 3 September 1979 opening hosted a gala for the delegations to the 6th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement celebrated in Havana in that year. The theatre is housed in a large modern building, decorated with works by :category:Cuban painters|Cuban artists. There are two main theatre stages, the Avellaneda Hall, and the Covarrubias Hall, as well as a smaller theatre workshop space on the ninth floor.