Around a hundred people have gathered this Wednesday in front of the main façade of the emblematic Emperador de León theater to demand that the administrations recover this cultural space for the residents of the city.
The meeting was attended by the president of the Friends of Historical Theaters (AMITE) association, Javier Galiacho, who highlighted, in statements to journalists, that the situation of the Emperador theater “is unsustainable after 16 years of abandonment and after episodes as sad as the public auction and that no one showed up”.
Galiacho added that the Emperor “is one of the most stately theaters in Spain, with a fruitful life from 1951 to 2006”.
“Faced with this blockade situation, it is necessary to intervene to return to the people of Leon, who are its legitimate owner, this considerable value from the historical, cultural and architectural point of view,” he added.
He has asked that this cultural space be dedicated to cinema, theater, opera, ballet and concerts, and has stressed that it is not incompatible with the fact that there is an auditorium in the city.
“The Emperor is a historical theater that is fully compatible with the cultural programming of the auditorium”, he added.
Galiacho has requested the involvement of the Board so that it goes hand in hand with the City Council and the State and with civil society.
The Government delegate in Castilla y León, Virginia Barcones, explained yesterday during a visit to León that the central Executive “continues to work intensely to find all possible options and solutions” for the emblematic Emperor theater in León.
Barcones pointed out that “the will of the Government of Spain for the recovery of this cultural space is firm and clear, as is that of the City Council”.
“We are exploring among the legal formulas the one that best suits the needs of the city,” he said.
The mayor of León also spoke yesterday on this matter and called for turning the Emperador theater into a cultural space for the 21st century, taking the example of the Matadero de Madrid in which “all kinds of shows can be held without losing their idiosyncrasies.”
Diez said that this is the proposal that has already been transferred to the Ministry of Culture and that it will be put on the table again at the meeting that he will hold with the Secretary of State for Culture in a month and in which the mayor has expressed hope that a “definitive solution” will be found due to the favorable disposition of the competent administration.
As on other occasions, Diez made it clear that they are willing to accept the transfer of the Emperador theater, as the Ministry of Culture has already transferred to them, provided that this cultural space is already remodeled or the funds are provided so that the City Council can face the necessary works to make this theater a modern space to offer the best cultural service to the city.
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