Teatro del Pueblo, Independent theater in Almagro, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Teatro del Pueblo occupies the basement at Lavalle 3636 in Abasto and has two rooms. The Sala Carlos Somigliana, named in 1996, seats 105 spectators, with a proscenium opening 8.75 m wide and a stage 16 m deep. The Sala Teatro Abierto, built the same year, is a non-conventional space of 10 by 12 m holding up to 80 spectators depending on seating and stage layout.

Founded in late November 1930 by Leónidas Barletta, two months after the coup that overthrew Hipólito Yrigoyen, Teatro del Pueblo became Argentina's first independent theater and the model for the movement across Latin America. Barletta conceived it as a workers' theater and a means of artistic resistance to fascism. After his death in 1975 the venue closed, and in 1987 directors linked to Teatro Abierto reopened it.

The name comes from Romain Rolland's book Le Théâtre du peuple, which Leónidas Barletta took as a model for a theatre aimed at workers. Roberto Arlt premiered Trescientos millones here in 1932 and later Saverio, el cruel. Since 1996 the second hall has been called Sala Teatro Abierto, after the movement born in 1981.

The building sits in a residential neighborhood with good street connections and is easy to reach. Visitors should check in advance what performances are scheduled and gather information, since programs change throughout the performance season.

The second hall, built in 1996, is named Sala Teatro Abierto after the movement that began in 1981; it is a non-conventional stage of 10 by 12 metres holding up to 80 spectators depending on seating and stage layout.