Oh, my forgotten and tremendously contradictory Valencia. Capital of the state where I have lived my entire life and where I reside. Cradle of the Liberty of my country, and one of the cities with the greatest diversity and opportunities in Venezuela... However, in terms of culture and its promotion, sadly I must say that it is not at all similar to what it should be given its importance as a gigantic and significant city... And even so, there it stands, imposing, beautiful, historic: the Teatro Municipal de Valencia. That bourgeois little piece of Napoleonic France in my city, in the middle of 2025.
The last time I had attended this beautiful place, I was in my second semester of university. I went there to seek inspiration in the art contained in its façade. Of neoclassical, baroque and gothic architecture, its beauty strikes you like lightning as you walk through the century old streets of downtown Valencia. Let us remember that all the countries in America that speak Spanish, at some point had a close relationship with the Spain. That means that most of our cities were formed from the historic downtown outward.
The Teatro Municipal de Valencia is located in the geographic, historic, economic and social heart of the city of the same name. It has more than 100 years since its construction in 1894, and it was an express request of former president Antonio Guzman Blanco, who was an admirer of French art. Especially of theater, opera and the spectacle that Paris has always represented from the perspective of a foreigner. For that reason, in my city we see this work that has survived dictatorships, democratic periods, revolutions and even neglect; yet it still stands there... Imposing, beautiful, with an aura of loftiness that is epic.
As much as the symphony orchestra that rehearses within its perimeter. Richard Wagner, Ludwig van Beethoven, Frederic Chopin, Vincenzo Bellini, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart among many classical composers can be heard in its surroundings. The power of such grandeur gives you goosebumps, you know? By way of confession I must tell you that it has been a beautiful surprise to return as a visitor in one of the guided and free tours offered by the Mayor’s Office of Valencia in this tourist and artistic emblem of the region. A World and National Heritage site, the Theater is in itself the very representation of magnificence and of the beautiful habit of loving the arts.
For a little over an hour, I was able to walk through all the facilities of the venue. From its entrances, lobby, dressing rooms, backstage rooms, both general and principal, to the Great Hall, where theatrical art happens. We had the exceptional luck of witnessing a brief live performance of The Phantom of the Opera, just for us, fewer than 100 people on the guided tour, and it was simply splendid. Perhaps in our time we have forgotten a bit the strength that exists in the performing arts and the epic quality that emanates from them, but it is moving to return, at my 32 years of age, to be a privileged spectator of this beauty. I stand up and applaud. Long live the Theater.
