Centro Cultural de la Villa de Madrid, Theatre and cultural centre in Plaza de Colón, Madrid, Spain.
The Fernán Gómez Centro Cultural de la Villa is a theatre and cultural centre built underground beneath the Jardines del Descubrimiento, by the Plaza de Colón. It has three rooms: the Sala Guirau, seating 682, the Sala Jardiel Poncela, holding up to 175, and a 2,000-square-metre exhibition hall.
Inaugurated on 15 May 1977 beneath the Jardines del Descubrimiento, the venue opened with the Primer Festival Folklórico Hispanoamericano and hosted the 6th OTI Festival that November. In 2007 it took the name of actor and author Fernando Fernán Gómez, who died that year. A 2013 plan by Madrid's city council to privatise its management was dropped after protests from the cultural sector.
The centre's name honours actor and author Fernando Fernán Gómez, who died in 2007, the year the theatre took his name. Its programme has mixed classical and contemporary plays since 1977, from El caballero de Olmedo to La casa de Bernarda Alba (2005), alongside ballet, zarzuela and children's shows. The venue has also held the lying-in-state of artists such as Lola Flores (1995), Rocío Jurado (2006) and Tony Leblanc (2012).
The venue sits underground beneath the Jardines del Descubrimiento, off the Plaza de Colón, so visitors should look for the entrances in the gardens rather than a street facade. The Sala Guirau seats 682 and the Sala Jardiel Poncela 175, while the 2,000-square-metre exhibition hall can be visited separately from performances.
The theatre has hosted the funerals of celebrated Spanish artists: Lola Flores in 1995, Rocío Jurado in 2006 and Tony Leblanc in 2012. Its exhibition hall covers 2,000 square metres, and the main Sala Guirau seats 682 spectators.
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