Teatro Sergio Magaña

The Teatro Sergio Magaña is a beloved neighborhood theater that’s increasingly welcomed a City-wide following. The program includes frequent musical recitals and concerts and acclaimed theatrical works.

At the end of the 19th century, the site was known as the Quinta San Miguel on the northern edge of the Ribera de San Cosme. As the neighborhood was divided into residential lots, a small convent was constructed here. By the turn of the century, it housed the giant Temple of Our Lady of Health (Nuestra Señora de la Salud), the church that we see today.

During the administration of President Lázaro Cárdenas, the property was nationalized and later turned into an education center and auditorium for farm workers. It provided temporary housing, and some other benefits for the workers. But during this period it was lavishly decorated with murals. These were painted by Michoacn painter, Jorge Vicario Román. These works are in line with many others completed for the agricultural   a The  administration of and during the Cardenist era it became an educational center that later was transformed into the House of the Agrarian. It was in 1991 when the building was remodeled and recognized as a theater, taking its name from one of the most important playwrights and theater critics of the 20th century.

• Sergio Magaña (1924-1990) was an important Mexican playwright, theater critic, columnist and writer. He participated in the student theater group Atenea in 1946, within the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of the UNAM. There he participated in various activities with Emilio Carballido, Luisa Josefina Hernández, Miguel Guardia. He received classes from Rodolfo Usigli and Seki Sano, among others.

The precinct preserves the eight murals that the Michoacan painter Jorge Vicario Román painted in 1936, in which he depicted the history of our country. There is also an extra mural by an anonymous author.

“At the end of the 19th century, the property where the theater is currently located was known as Quinta San Miguel. In 1887, Manuela Chillarón bought the property and in 1901 ordered the construction of the Temple of Our Lady of Health of the Convent of the Servants of Mary, an order headed by Mother Purificación.

In 1935, General Lázaro Cárdenas del Río, President of the Republic, decreed the withdrawal of the Catholic cult from this property and it became administered by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit with the objective of converting it into an educational center, some time later it was transformed into the Casa del Agrarista (Agrarian House).

The Michoacan painter Jorge Vicario Román painted eight murals inside the building in 1936, in which he depicted the history of our country. There is also an extra mural by an anonymous artist. In the eighties, the space was administered by the Compañía Nacional de Subsistencias Populares (Conasupo), which named the space Roberto Amoros Auditorium.

In the early nineties, the building was remodeled and inaugurated as a theater (July 26, 1991). It took its present name (Teatro Sergio Magaña) in order to recognize one of the greatest playwrights and theater critics of the twentieth century. The first performance was Santísima, directed by Martha Luna, scenography by Arturo Nava and performances by Ernesto Laguardia, Alma Muriel, Claudia Guzmán and Óscar Narváez.

In September 2005 the venue underwent a general remodeling process, including the gallery in its two halls, and was reopened to the public on January 25, 2006.

It has recently hosted performances by Jaime Chaubaud, Marco Antonio Silva, Fernando Bonilla, Alejandro Ricaño, Alberto Villareal, José Rivera Moya, José Caballero, Antonio Zúñiga, Martín Acosta, Boris Schoemann, Alberto Lomnitz, Hilda Valencia and groups such as Seña y verbo and the Compañía Nacional de Teatro”.

Information obtained from the Sergio Magaña Theater website.

Box office hours: Tuesday to Sunday from 12:00 to 14:00 and 15:00.