Rationalist Route I - 04. Cine Cuyás

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria · Category: Routes · Subcategory: Rationalism route · Year: 1933 · Authors: Miguel Martín-Fernández de la Torre

In this place, since 1898 and at the initiative of entrepreneur Salvador Cuyás, a multitude of varied public spectacles have taken place. It was first a circus and cockfighting arena, then it hosted musicals, variety shows, zarzuelas, rallies, and much more; later, already in the 20th century, it became a cinema; and finally, today, it is a theatre. Therefore, the Cuyás has undoubtedly been a cultural reference in the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.  

From the apotheosis of sound cinema onwards, the old theatre-circus adopted a new dimension. The architect Miguel Martín Fernández de la Torre designed in 1931 a new space with a clear rationalist tendency, configured through four disparate elements: projection hall, cockfighting arena, large inner courtyard and a modern café.

The new architecture proposed by Miguel Martín showed for the first time to a large number of citizens the new avant-garde trends in the world of construction: regular lines, sober exterior decoration, attached volumes, use of glass, iron and industrial materials, appearance of canopies, setbacks, etc. All this new catalogue of modern elements is summarised in two key factors: formal simplicity and functionality of the structures.

Inside the new building, an extraordinary decoration was employed, suggested by Nestor Martín, the architect's brother, where the hall, bar, bathrooms and stairs stood out. Interesting solutions appeared such as black marble flooring, tubular steel furniture and very successful lighting effects. 

The new Cuyás venue was inaugurated in 1933. It was the first rationalist building for mass use and clearly influenced the transmission of modern culture to an audience admiring the new artistic currents of the time. 

The building maintained its appearance until 1966, when a major renovation was carried out by the architect Fermín Suárez Valido. Despite everything, the cinema remained active until 1987. Two years later, the Cabildo de Gran Canaria acquired the building and proceeded with its rehabilitation under a design by Luis Correa Suárez. In 1999 the building became the Teatro Cuyás, a space dedicated exclusively to the performing arts.

Today, after all these renovations, the exterior of the venue maintains, somewhat altered, the basic characteristics of the original rationalist typology.

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