The Teatro La Perla (English: The Pearl Theater) is a historic theater in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Inaugurated in 1864, it is the second oldest theater of its kind in Puerto Rico, but "the largest and most historic in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean." The theater was named La Perla in honor of the Virgin of Montserrat (Spanish: La Virgen de Montserrat), known as "The Pearl of the Mediterranean." It is located in barrio Tercero.
The theater was designed by Juan Bertoli Calderoni (an Italian resident of the city) in the 1860's and it bears a neoclassical structure with an impressive six-column entrance. The building was badly damaged by the 1918 earthquake. However, it was rebuilt in 1940 using the original plans and reopened in 1941 with better acoustics technology. It closed in 2006 for renovations and reopened on March 14, 2008.
The theater served as a stage not only to give life to the theatrical artistic culture in the region, but it also served as a place of assembly for those who were dedicated to the social issues in Ponce and in Puerto Rico as a whole. It served this function both at the end of the Spanish regime and in Puerto Rico’s early years as a United States territory.
The theatre has a seating capacity of 1,047 and it is now a regular venue for concerts, opera, plays, and various civic and educational activities such as school graduations. The lobby of the theater has a small museum dedicated to the history of the building and past shows.
