The lobby is graced by Carrara marble statues of Greek goddesses and the main hall ceiling bears paintings of the muses.

But soon it adopted the last name of Ambrosio de la Concepción Sauto, a patron of the arts who contributed much to its construction and splendour.

The Sauto attracted world famous performers such as French actress Sarah Bernhardt (in Camille in 1887), Russian dancer Anna Pavlova in 1945, Cuban composer José White Lafitte, Italian opera singer Enrico Caruso, and Spanish guitarist Andrés Segovia.

Considered the most elegant and functional of 19th-century Cuban theatres, it has become a symbol of the city, so much so that the great Mexican muralist Diego Rivera once said, "I recognize Matanzas by the Sauto."

The theatre was closed for renovations between 2010 and 2018.It forms, together with the Junco Palace of the Provincial Museum and the La Vigía building of the Provincial Council of Fine Arts, the Pedro Esquerré Gallery Museum, the Historical Ensemble of the Plaza de las Armas.