Mexican theatre dates from back to the pre-Columbian period. Early Spanish missionaries witnessed the first traces of Mexican theater with the Aztecs, who included music and dance. Although there is no recorded written works of Aztec theatre, early missionaries documented seeing them perform. Spanish invaders viewed these presentations as the “fruits of a pagan culture” and discouraged them. Performances were forbidden and manuscripts were destroyed.
After the invasion by Spain, theatre developed rapidly and still had cultural ties to Spain and its traditions. With the 19th century, theatre started a decline in Mexico due to the war. With the early 1900s came a boom in Mexican theatre. There was an increasing demand for theatrical performances and plenty of training and talent available to support this. The Gran Teatro de Opera was build around this time. Carpas (tent shows) were comedies that were the perfect opportunities for new actors.
The Spanish influence continued and remained dominant until the end of the Mexican Revolution when playwrights started writing scripts in Mexican Spanish. Experimental theatre was developed followed by realism, which lead to popular pieces written by Mexican playwrights. Today, theatre in Mexico is relatively common and reflects Mexican culture as well as remnants from Spanish tradition. It has many forms including street theatre, theatre in ancient languages like Aztec and Mayan, and international theatre.
Sources cited:
The Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute. Yale New Haven Teacher Institute. (1983, September 1). Retrieved May 8, 2022, from https://teachersinstitute.yale.edu/curriculum/units/1983/5/83.05.06/3
Mexico Theatre. (n.d.). Retrieved May 8, 2022, from https://www.whatlatinamerica.com/latin-theatre/mexico-theatre.html
Greechie, S. (2019, January 10). History of mexican theatre. Our Pastimes. Retrieved May 8, 2022, from https://ourpastimes.com/history-of-mexican-theatre-12232501.html
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