Teatro Independencia

The initiative, enacted by the reformist Governor Carlos Washington Lencinas in 1922, led to the opening of the Plaza Hotel, in 1924, and subsequently to a contract for the construction of the first opera house in Mendoza Province.

The contract was awarded to Faustino and Mauricio da Rosa, who at the time managed the renowned Teatro Colón of Buenos Aires by concession.

Its façade included a Neoclassical frontis featuring four Corinthian columns on a green marble base, a rococo frieze, the provincial escutcheon in bas-relief, and a balustrade above.

[2] The design for the interiors was based on those prevailing in Italian opera houses, and the formal vestibule is overlooked by grand marble steps leading to the concert hall.

Following a pre-inaugural festival organized by the Ladies' Brigade of the right-wing Argentine Patriotic League, the Independenicia was inaugurated on November 18, 1925, with the premiere of La Emigrada (The Emigrée), an opera by Argentine librettist Vicente Martínez Cuitiño; the work was performed by the Compañía Argentina de Dramas y Comedias, and featured Camila Quiroga (one of the leading opera performers in Argentina, at the time).