10 Best Performing Arts Venues in Mexico

A sprawling campus of exceptional museums, art spaces, and performance halls in the heart of Ciudad Universitaria, UNAM's cultural center is an excellent place to see concerts by the superb Orquesta Filarmónica de la UNAM (OFUNAM), which take place in the acoustically renowned Sala Nezahualcóyotl. Neighboring venues include the Centro Universitario de Teatro (CUT), Foro Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, Teatro Juan Ruiz de Alarcón, Sala Carlos Chavez, and Filmoteca UNAM–Sala Miguel Covarrubias. Among these beautifully designed modern buildings, there's virtually always some sort of interesting performance (or several) taking place (except during occasional school breaks), including ballet, modern dance, choral, film, lecture, and theater. Tickets to performances are very reasonably priced. 

Three or four indie and foreign films show daily at this terrific little arthouse cinema in Roma Sur. The space also contains myriad places to hang out before or after your movie, including a roof terrace with occasional live music or stand-up comedy, a bookstore, and a café with good pizzas, burgers, and other casual pub fare.

On a quiet street in the northwestern corner of the neighborhood, this highly regarded performing arts nonprofit presents dozens of plays and other kinds of shows—film, music, dance—throughout the year. Although the name may have you expecting classic Elizabethan fare, Foro Shakespeare is devoted to diversity and social impact, and often presents edgy and provocative material. The organization collaborates with a number of noteworthy partners, including La Compañía de Teatro Penitenciario, which aims to help inmates reintegrate through art and culture. The theater also has an inviting all-day restaurant, La Bambalina, and a great little bookstore, Libreria Paso de Gato.

If you'd like to learn a few local steps, the Instituto Veracruzano de la Cultura provides danzón classes.

From the creators of Cirque du Soleil, this whimsical show follows the adventures of a rebellious teenage girl swept away to a mysterious jungle. Several ticket packages are available.

The biggest cultural center in Puerto Vallarta, Teatro Vallarta is in a modern building with an outstanding sound system that qualifies it to screen New York Met operas. It offers a bit of everything: national theater companies that are happy to include this beach town in their yearly circuit; sporadic international ballet performances or touring musicians; local conferences; dance contests; and all kinds of other events.