Address Tegucigalpa, Honduras | Phone +504 2235-1614 | |
Similar National School of Arts Bello, Museo Para La Identidad, Centro Cultural de España e, Novacentro, National Pedagogi University | ||
Manuel Bonilla National Theater is a cultural center situated in the city of Tegucigalpa, M.D.C. Capital of the republic of Honduras.
Contents
In 1905, several tegucigalpan intellectuals lovers of the letters and the art, included Rómulo Ernesto Durón, Luis Landa Escober, Froylán Turcios, Esteban Guardiola, Augusto C. Coello, formed a committee to commemorate the three hundred years of the work Don Quijote de la Mancha of Miguel de Cervantes, requested to the president of Honduras Manuel Bonilla the construction of a National Theatre in honour to the Spanish writer.
They requested a decree for the construction of a coliseum for performing arts that would carry the name of "Theatre Cervantes", more than a theatre, a coliseum, where the capitalinos could witness theatre, opera, zarzuela and dance to the European style. The decree of construction issued the day 4 April 1905, from the same year began the construction, the theatre built in 10 years, with an only model in Centroamérica.
Inauguration
This theater was inaugurated with a dance on 15 September 1915 with the presidential period of Francisco Bertrand the one who support the termination of already said theater two years after Manuel Bonillas death.
Design
French engineer M. Bourgueois was in charge of the design of the building, its nterior was based in the theatre "Athénee Comique" of Paris, the construction was to charge of the Catalan architect Cristóbal Prats Fonellosa and the painting to charge of the Honduran painter Carlos Zúñiga Figueroa, both attendants of the decoration.
It is conformed by several living rooms; platea, loges, gallery, foyer, hall, café, closet, decoration of murales, situated in the historical center of Tegucigalpa, near of the National Museum of Villa Roy.
The external part is enchapada with pink stone, with design renacentista, his living rooms have reasons of Honduran landscapes, with lateral medallions in the loges, the columns that had in 1930 changed him in his first restoration. Besides it has 18 lamps for flat and 14 lanterns of foot around the ralings.
Of the ceiling of plate hang five lovely decorative spiders, lamps of glass of Murano stress the abstemiousness of the main room. In a start included the painting of an enormous mural on the mouth of the stage with allegory of the discovery of America, but in one of these crimes that commit against the art gave him a layer of painting doing it disappear.
Restorations
It has been restored in four occasions, in the last restoration invested 2.350.000 lempiras to keep the in shape optimum theatre, during the celebration of reopening several groups of national theatre performed acts on the streets and the square Francisco Morazán, while inside the diverse theater theatrical groups, musical bands and painters celebrated the event.
Presentations
In the Manuel Bonilla National Theater had been made more than 10 000 musical presentations, theatrical, operas, in presentations that make daily in several functions during the day and the night. Besides they make other special events during the year.
National prizes of Science, Arts and Literature
Every September is delivered the national prizes of Science, Arts and Literature in the National Theatre Manuel Bonilla of the city of Tegucigalpa, M.D.C. That correspond to the National Prize of Science José Cecilio of the Valley, the National Prize of Literature Ramón Rosa, The prizes ARE and the National Prize of Art Pablo Zelaya Sierra. The prizes are favoured by the Unit of Civic Projects and of Education for Emergencies of the Office of Public Education of Honduras, Honduras Presidential House and the Office of Culture, Arts and Sports of Honduras.