Opera Theater and Ateneo de Maracay Theater

For me it is very exciting to continue sharing with you renowned structures and spaces of my hometown. I feel with this I am creating a kind of tourist guide with which you can have direct references of the places that you can visit in case you are someday on these roads, in fact, in the two previous posts, as well as in this one, are the links to the locations on Google Maps, these can serve you to get there in a more direct and uncomplicated way.

In this post I will share two places which are the main protagonists of the city as far as plays and art are concerned, I would say that they are the artistic backbone of Maracay and hereinafter you will see why. The Teatro de la Ópera and the Teatro Ateneo de Maracay are the largest and most important theaters in the city, there are a couple more, but they are not very important in the local scene.

I will begin by showing you the Teatro de la Ópera de Maracay, located on Avenida Miranda very close to Plaza Bolívar. It is the largest theater in the city and enjoys national fame since practically all the renowned artists of the country have performed there. It has undergone a couple of refurbishments in previous years which I have witnessed myself and I must say that the difference is remarkable compared to what it was like before.

This theater can seat 837 people and has been a national historic monument since 1994. I had the opportunity to enter there in 2017 to attend a tribute to The Beatles and I must say that I was shocked with how beautiful it is inside. Unfortunately I was denied access to take pictures of the inside as I had to have a request approved and signed by the corresponding authority, that seemed totally unfair, but at least I was able to take several pictures of the outside.

The first impression I get is that the structure is quite square, but I think it has an interesting air of modernity taking into account that it was built decades ago, I guess that the renovations that have been made had the intention of a more updated look, in fact, in the internal part you can see that technologically nothing is missing, that I will try to show you later if I get to get access.

As you could see in the photos, the Maracay Opera House is in perfect condition, it is clean, with the green areas well cared for and with plenty of space in the outside areas which are decorated with a very nice ceramic. In particular I feel very proud to know that this place is in my city.

On the other hand, I would like to share with you briefly the Ateneo Theater of Maracay, a much smaller place than the previous one, but also a very important cultural space in the city. Compared to the Teatro de la Ópera, this one architecturally has a more colonial air since it has several columns and a very striking balcony.

An element that I find very interesting and distinctive of the structure, is the large number of wooden windows that it has, these make an excellent contrast with the doors that are also made of wood and with the beautiful blue color of the walls. It is worth mentioning that the white columns also contrast with the wooden elements.

The Ateneo Theater of Maracay looks like a small and simple place, but from my point of view it has angles and characteristics that make it look very good. I think it decorates in a great way the center of the city and undoubtedly arouses the interest of those who cross its path. It was a pleasure to share. Best regards!