Few buildings prevail in the memory of the people of Zacatecas as the Calderón Theatre, unmistakable reference in the center of the city. Titan among titans, it stands proud facing the González Ortega market, adjacent to the Cathedral, perpetuating the particular sheltering feel and strength befitting the city. The Theater has become a meeting (and disagreement) place among the people of Zacatecas, who frequently meet at the stairs to ponder at the gentle and pulsating life of the city for a while, or simply, for those who look for a meeting point. The Calderón Theatre lives in the memory of all those who walk by and gaze at it. This building is part of Zacatecas and its people, where it serves as the most important organ of cultural life.
The path of the Calderón Theatre, from its beginnings to our days, has not been easy. Its first construction begins in 1832, to answer to the growing need of the people of having a compound in which to harbor the cultural events in the city. The chosen place to edify it is a wide section of the center of the city, where a prison had stood. One year later, in 1833, the city theatre opens its doors to the people, producing great flutter and expectancy.
Back then, the complex was known as the Coliseum. In 1850, some years after the death of the famous author from Jalisco, it receives the name of Teatro Fernando Calderón y Beltrán. However, unlike the building we see today, it did not possess the distinctive frontage or the magnificence it portrays. Even the size of the ground is smaller, this because after