"Little Theatre" of the Casa de Serrano

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Memory · Subcategory: Historic sites · Year: 1809

In a building located on Calle del Castillo known as the Casa de Serrano, a series of varied artistic and entertainment shows were held between 1809 and 1810, as well as carnival dances, which enlivened the monotonous social life of Santa Cruz at that time. The place was popularly known as the "Little Theatre of the Casa de Serrano."  

The lower part of this building was nothing more than a large warehouse that was adapted with a small stage and just over a dozen chandeliers for its lighting. The space could accommodate about a hundred spectators eager to enjoy the various Spanish or foreign artists who arrived in the city, generally passing through to America. We know, at least, of the existence of three curious shows that were held there on those dates:

The first took place on Sunday, 12 November 1809. According to Juan Primo de Guerra, who witnessed it, it was: a theatre of a Spanish puppeteer and sleight-of-hand artist. The entertainment was limited to balancing acts and sleight of hand, according to the master, who, wearing a golden paper cap and a jacket with shiny decorations, danced among eggs without breaking them. He spun a hoop without spilling the glasses of wine placed on it. He balanced a pointed sword on his beard and then a bunch of lit candles. He appeared to transmute coins, which he handed over wrapped in handkerchiefs, and pretended to catch a pistol bullet on the tip of a sword that he made fire. There was violin and guitar music, and they performed puppet or Punch and Judy shows. The entrance fee was two reales . It seems the circus show performed that night was worth it.

The second occurred two months later, on 28 January 1810. On this occasion, another entertainment was presented, this time by the Italian Vicente Bois, apparently much more refined than the previous one. One had to pay a tostón, and for that price, on a stage with red curtains, the artist performed card tricks with playing cards that moved from side to side without apparent intervention, cards named by the audience that appeared stuck in a column, and other feats of prestidigitation. The "show" ended with the master playing six instruments at once (organ, triangle, bass drum, castanets, horn, and a zither) and singing a patriotic song against the French, which provoked an enthusiastic ovation, as Spain was at that time invaded by Napoleon's troops during the War of Independence.  

The third show held at the Casa de Serrano was performed by the same artist, Vicente Bois, one month later, on 23 February 1810. This time it was a performance of marked terrifying character in which all the lights were extinguished and on a canvas, in the middle of the theatre, several figures appeared successively, which only had illumination and were painted in colours. There were sovereigns, ladies, a skeleton, heads, and figures in various costumes. The figures increased or decreased in size, always keeping their proportions. Some were of horrendous grotesque faces, and as everything was dark, when they grew larger it seemed they approached the spectators…

What the audience saw that afternoon at the Casa de Serrano was a phantasmagoria performance, an art that emerged during the 18th century consisting of the representation of figures by means of optical illusions. For a time it functioned as a true theatre of terror that, among other techniques, used portable magic lanterns to project horrendous images of skeletons, demons, and ghosts, all enhanced with the use of spooky decoration, total darkness, and auto-suggestive verbal presentation with sound effects. All this caused great commotion among the attendees. We must realise that during the early 19th century there was an obsession with the strange and supernatural. We are in full Romanticism, a period characterised by the attraction to irrational elements that gave rise, among other artistic works, to the Gothic novel. The popular interest in such themes explains the great success of these shows.

28.46694, -16.25002