Tomás Terry Theatre, Neoclassical theatre in Cienfuegos, Cuba

Tomás Terry Theatre is an eclectic-style theatre on Parque Martí in Cienfuegos, inaugurated in 1890. Its ochre facade carries the inscription "TEATRO TOMAS TERRY" beneath three arched mosaics from the Salviati workshop of Venice, showing the masks of tragedy and comedy flanking Terpsichore, muse of dance. Inside, the horseshoe-shaped Italian-style hall seats 950 spectators on four levels.

Tomás Terry, a Cienfuegos businessman enriched by the slave trade and sugar plantations, offered 50,000 pesos in 1863 for a grand theatre, but the project failed. After his death in Paris in 1886, his heirs funded it with 115,000 pesos; the first stone was laid on 19 December 1887 on the site of the old Isabel II theatre, and the theatre opened on 12 February 1890.

The theatre is named after Tomás Terry, a Cienfuegos businessman who made his fortune in the slave trade and sugar plantations and died in Paris in 1886, before his heirs funded the building. Its ceiling frescoes are by the Spanish-Filipino painter Camilo Selaya, and the central fresco is flanked by portraits of the Cuban poet Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda and the Cuban composer Gaspar Villate.

The building is located at Avenida 56 number 270 between streets 27 and 29 in the city center. Visitors should allow time to explore the interior fully and appreciate the decorative details throughout.

The three mosaics above the "TEATRO TOMAS TERRY" inscription were made by the Salviati workshop of Venice; they show the masks of tragedy and comedy flanking Terpsichore, muse of dance. The ceiling frescoes of the main hall are by the Spanish-Filipino painter Camilo Selaya, with portraits of the Cuban poet Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda and the composer Gaspar Villate.