Performance

A City of Spectacles

Esperanza Iris, the grand dame of Mexican operetta and the theater's namesake (fig. 1), felt nervous as she looked out over her audience while stagehands made the final preparations. On the night of its inauguration, the elegant theater was filled to the brim with the beau monde of Mexico City. The finest of families, celebrities, bon vivants, foreign dignitaries, reporters, and the top cadres of revolutionary leadership sat in the midst of the theater's refined grandeur. Velvet seats in the boxes, gold and marble ornamentation on the walls, sweeping staircases, and a sumptuous sculpted and warmly lit ceiling all added to the feel of a real coliseo befitting the capital city. The excitement of the public was palpable in the throng of voices. The theater was alive with socialites gossiping, families showing off debutantes, the new military elite displaying their stately finery, and young couples exchanging heated glances — a public engrossed in its own performance and spectacle. The revolution was over, and it was time for La Iris, who had but recently returned to Mexico, to conquer the hearts of the capitalinos once again.

The inauguration of the Teatro Esperanza Iris on May 25, 1818, was a crowning achievement for the diva. It was a festive occasion covered extensively by the press, with every last seat filled. Perhaps a full house was all but guaranteed due to publicity that had engulfed the theater since construction began. The commander of the revolutionary forces, Primer Jefe Don Venustiano Carranza — who sat in the best box in the house — attended along with high-ranking military officers, members of the diplomatic corps, and other well-known políticos. They listened to the national anthem and several acts of La Duquesa del Bal-Tabarín, the operetta that defined the career of the diva and earned her the title "La Emperatriz de Opereta." The ceremony ended with a concert sponsored by teatro cronistas (columnists) from the city's most important newspapers.

This performance in 1918 marked a crowning moment for Iris. In 1899 she had stepped onto the stage as fourteen-year-old María Rosalía Esperanza Bofill Ferrer from the state of Tabasco in her first role as a newspaper boy. From there she embarked on a long career as a stage and film actress, impresario, and celebrity. In 1919, a mere twenty years later, she and her adopted city had changed significantly. Iris had exchanged her provincial origins for the status of a mature, wealthy metropolitan actress who owned her own theater company and had built her own theater. With this she inserted herself into the built environment of the city, and was thus emblematic of larger changes in the city itself. Her rise from newspaper boy to Porfirian diva exemp