Centennial Theater Halls in San Juan, Argentina: Between Lyrical Typology and Alternative Spaces

Abstract

This article provides original results about theaters in San Juan, Argentina. The unpublished research was exploratory and focused on a repeated event in San Juan. It was agreed to build an important theater for the city to celebrate the country's centenary. In 1910, the Coliseo was going to become the most important stage. Its construction, though, was cut short and was never finished. However, one hundred years later, the Bicentennial Theater was inaugurated. In the intervening period, these two state-led projects have evident divergences and curiously noteworthy similarities that motivate us to discuss the theoretical aspects of the typology. In both cases, the article investigates local theater activity, which remained active for over a century, relying on cinemas and other alternative buildings (clubs, libraries, schools, homes), which were not identified with a traditional theater image. Thus, two architectonic forms, part of the cultural and material heritage of the art of urban theater, are presented.