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We've compiled the best of the best in Mexico - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
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.
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.
Facing Plaza Gertrúdis Bocanegra (aka Plaza Chica) is a lovely old theater recently restored to its original glory and now showing art films from Wednesday through Sunday at super-bargain prices. Films are in their original language with English or Spanish subtitles.
With a Diego Rivera mural covering 5,920 square feet of space above its entrance, this 1,000-seat theater intrigues from its stately location along Insurgentes Avenue. Opened in 1953, it regularly hosts theatrical works, concerts, and even the occasional sporting event. Even if you don’t get a chance to see a performance in this historic theater, even just glimpsing it from the street invites its own fair share of drama as the Rivera mural represents the theatrics of Mexico, from Mexica rituals to scenes of the Mexican Revolution and 20th-century film stars. Check the website for upcoming shows.
Even when it's not festival season, Guanajuato still has drama, dance, and musical performances at Teatro Juárez as well as at several other theaters, museums, and restaurants throughout the city. Pick up a pamphlet called Guanajuato Programa de Eventos to see what's happening.
The Teatro Mérida, also known as the Teatro Armando Manzanero, opened as a movie theater in 1949. Today it hosts mostly live performances which range from classical and even some experimental acts to more family-friendly dance spectacles.
Check the website of this small theater space with a cute Mexican restaurant (La Callejera Condesa) to see what's on. The options include a wide range of performances like modern dance, experimental theater, spoken word, and other generally incisive and often funny material.
Pop into the university's main building to check the bulletin boards just inside the entrance for upcoming cultural events. The Ballet Folklórico de la Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán presents a combination of music, dance, and theater performances (think Mexico City's famous Ballet Folklórico de México, but on a smaller scale). The shows are typically free, though the schedule is inconsistent.
