Iris, born María Esperanza Bonfil, was an operetta singer from the state of Tabasco active in the early 20th century.

The architects were Capetillo Servín and Federico Mariscal [es] who based the work on the La Scala opera house in Milan, Italy.

[1] Despite the ongoing war in Mexico, Iris manage to attract a number of international stars to the theatre, including Enrico Caruso and Anna Pavlova.

[1] In 1976, the theater became the property of the city to use for the promotion of cultural events, changing the name to the Teatro de la Ciudad.

Some of these include Pablo Milanés, Ballet Nacional de Cuba, Betsy Pecdanins, Lila Downs and Alberto Cortez.

[2] In May 2010, the theater's 92nd anniversary was celebrated with Mexico's traditional birthday song, "Las Mañanitas", music by the Barandela Big Band, and members of the theatrical community and the public.