El Salvador's National Theater was opened in 1903. A competition was held to choose a design for the theatre. The prizes for the first two places were 8,000 and 4,000
Francs each. The entries were reviewed by a commission composed of the
engineers José E. Alcaine, Luis Fleury, and Aurelio Fuentes. The 12 plans submitted were from the following countries: 5 from
France, 2 from the
United States, 1 from the Principality of
Monaco, 1 from
Italy, and 3 from El Salvador. The winning project was "Melpemone" by the French Architect
Daniel Beylard. The construction contract was awarded to the
Salvadoran firm Ferracutti y Cía.
José María Peralta Lagos was the head engineer during construction. After 59 years of constant activity, in 1976, a process of remodeling was begun under the direction of the Salvadoran architect, Ricardo Jiménez Castillo. Funds were provided by the
Salvadoran government. Castillo hired a select group of contributors: Roberto Salomón, to establish the requirements of the contemporary stage; Simón Magaña, for the decoration; Carlos Cañas, for the elaboration of murals; and Margarita Álvarez de Martínez, for the masterful copper artwork that would adorn the doors to the theatre boxes. Afterwards
artisans of Ilobasco joined the team and students of the then
Bachillerato en Artes led by the master artisan Carlos Cañas. Multiple architectural styles were enriched in the fusion of the construction of the National Theatre including:
Versailles Style,
Rococo,
Romanticism, and
Art Nouveau, with regional touches. Some of the furniture was elaborated in the shop of the theatre, the rest of the furniture, rugs, carpets, armchairs, and lecterns, were imported from the United States. The drop curtains of the stage and the lights of the boxes and halls, were brought from
Austria. In 1977, the master artisan Carlos Cañas painted the
cupola of the great hall with the
fresco entitled "El mestizaje cultural", "The Cultural Convergence", that occupies an area of approximately. Thanks to this work, the ambiance reminds you of the great hall of
Palais Garnier, decorated with
Chagall artwork. The reinauguration of the National Theatre took place November 5, 1978 with the presentation of the National Award of Culture, which was given to the great Antonio Salazar, and Dr. Julio Fausto Hernández. The following year, on February 16, 1979, it was declared a National Monument by the
Legislative Assembly. Since then, it has maintained in constant activity with theatre, music, dance, recitals, conferences, and acts of great importance in the political and cultural life of El Salvador. In 1992, the government of Japan presented a modern sound and light system to the theatre. ==References==