The Teatro Tacón opened in 1838 in Havana, Cuba. Its auditorium contained 2,750 seats. It was built by Pancho Martí, a businessman from Barcelona who moved to Havana, and named after Miguel Tacón y Rosique, Governor of Cuba from 1834 to 1838. In 1847 Bottesini's opera Cristoforo Colombo premiered there. By 1855, so many people attended events that the city issued parking regulations for carriages on performance nights.
Teatro Tacón, Havana, 1900
Teatro Tacón
Gran Teatro de La Habana
Back of the original theatre at Calles San Rafael and Consulado
Gran Teatro de La Habana is a theater in Havana, Cuba, home to the Cuban National Ballet. It was designed by the Belgian architect Paul Belau and built by Purdy and Henderson, Engineers in 1914 at the site of the former Teatro Tacón. Its construction was paid for by the Galician immigrants of Havana to serve as a community-social center. Located in the Paseo del Prado, its facilities include theatres, a concert hall, conference rooms, a video screening room, as well as an art gallery, a choral center and several rehearsal halls for dance companies. It hosts the International Ballet Festival of Havana every two years since 1960.
Gran Teatro de La Habana
Detail showing the architectural connection of the Centro Gallego to the new stone facing of 1838 Teatro Tacon on Calle San Rafael.
Teatro Tacón, Havana, 1900
Illustration of a banquet held in the Teatro Tacón