With a format closer to an eclectic gala than a conference, The Buenos Aires Ministry of Culture and the Buenos Aires Theater Complex presented the 2026 Season. The head of Government, Jorge Macri, the minister Gabriela Ricardes and the director Alberto Ligaluppiparticipated in the announcement that combined political definitions, live artistic advances and sought to mark a position in a context of national adjustment. “Culture is not an expense,” Macri stressed, with a phrase that he transformed into a workhorse of his management, while promising the reopening of the San Martín Cultural Center that continues with enhancement works. At the same time, it reinforced its commitment to public-private co-production and international projection, with strategic alliances such as the one announced with the Teatros del Canal in Madrid.
Ricardes defined the season as “a bet on the crossover of audiences and the associated work between teams”, and maintained that the challenge is to consolidate “a public theater that produces, circulates and is projected beyond its own theaters.”
Ligaluppi summarized the spirit of the new stage by pointing out that the objective is greater openness to co-production and international exchange. He highlighted the need to enhance the enormous technical and artistic capital of the Complex, articulating its rooms and casts with other institutions to expand audiences and strengthen the presence of the CTBA beyond the City.
2026 starts
The stage agenda opened in February with the revivals of “The Pillars of Society”, by Ibsen, directed by Jorge Suárez, “Baco Polaco”, by Mauricio Kartun, and “La gaviota”, by Antón Chekhov, directed by Rubén Szuchmacher.
During the meeting with the media, two members of the Contemporary Ballet danced a fragment of “The Consecration of Tango”one of the three choreographies of the tribute “Stekelman in three times” that also include “Dancing in the Darkness” and the duet “Romance del diablo”, all belonging to the talented and innovative choreographer Ana María Stekelman, founder of the aforementioned company, in 1977. In parallel, in the Hall of the Martín Coronado Hall, the exhibition “Stekelman: Memory in motion”, which pays tribute to the career of the creator, through a selection of costume pieces from some of her most emblematic works.
The programming that covers the six rooms of the CTBA, the Leopoldo Lugones, the Photo Gallery and training areasexhibits notable names such as Elena Roger in the musical “Invasiones I. Do not bomb Buenos Aires”, written and directed by Ricardo Hornos, with an extensive cast of more than thirty artists. “We are going to narrate what happened in 1806, when the colonies of the Viceroyalty of the Río de La Plata were left defenseless and the first of the English invasions took place. We will tell it through the eyes of a lamplighter that Elena will perform and it will be with the music and lyrics of Charly García integrated throughout the work,” summarized Hornos.
This month marks Arturo Puig’s return to the stage with the one-man show “Buenas Palabras”, with dramaturgy and direction by Rita Terranova. This is a selection of texts that includes song lyrics, theater fragments, poems, short stories, letters from great personalities and speeches from great films, such as the final monologue of Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator.”
Joaquín Furriel will take “The true story of Richard III” on tour through the interior of the countrydirected by Calixto Bieito. This successful 2025 proposal will be part of the opening of the Grec Festival in Barcelona and will reach distant Shanghai. The impressive production was filmed by a team directed by film director Marcelo Piñeyro and will be screened at the Malaga Festival.
Another long-awaited return, this time twice, will be that of Marilú Marinithe Argentine actress based in Paris. He will perform in “Manifiestum”, a performative conference on gender and sexual diversity, and will direct “The Rain of Fire”, an unpublished theatrical piece in Spanish, written by Silvina Ocampo and Juan José Hernández.
Other notable proposals are “Shakespeare Unplugged”, with dramaturgy and direction by Willy Landin and performances by Luis Luque, Antonio Grimau, Mario Alarcón and María Rosa Fugazot; “Mefisto”, starring Luis Machin guided by Daniel Veronese; and “A Streetcar Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams with Camila Sosa Villada, to name just a few.
The Photo Gallery celebrated 40 years of its inauguration in 2025 and has scheduled a series of exhibitions that are proposed as a significant option. There will be a tribute to Jorge Lavelli with records of their performances in the San Martín, and the closing will be dedicated to Alicia D’Amico, a key figure in Argentine photography, with historical and unpublished works.
Strategic alliances
After reading a text by the legendary Spanish performer María Casares by Leonor Manso, the director of the Teatros del Canal in Madrid, Ruperto Merino, expanded on the artistic link that allowed the tour of Buenos Aires productions such as “The True Story of Richard III”, “Samson of the Islands” and “Measure for Measure”. Likewise, he announced the continuity of the artistic collaboration with the Buenos Aires premiere of “Numancia” by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, directed by José Luis Alonso de Santos, to which two dance pieces are added. The Spanish Ballet of the Community of Madrid will present “Viaje al amor brujo”, with choreography by Olga Pericet, and “Boys in the sand” by Adi Schwarz Dance Project.
Starting in March it will begin “Jazz Buenos Aires/Jazz at Lincoln Center”with monthly performances on Tuesday nights, at the Martín Coronado. It will be a milestone for the region since, for the first time, the prestigious American cultural center establishes an articulation in South America, which will allow the arrival of international references of the genre. This cooperation, unprecedented for the country, will make it possible for the public, month after month, to access concerts by figures such as Gerald Clayton, Sarah Hanahan, and Shenel Johnsamong others. in a program that reinforces the global profile of this new year.
The synergy spreads to the agreement between the CTBA and the Teatro Colón so that the Chamber Opera of our first coliseum offers in the Presidente Alvear the “Story of a Soldier”, by Igor Stravinsky, with a setting by Pompeyo Audivert; “The Three Cent Opera”, by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht, directed by the Uruguayan Gabriel Calderón; and “The Turn of the Screw”, by Benjamin Britten, with regie by Rita Cosentino.
It will also come “Waiting for Godot”, by Beckett, directed by Helena Pimentawho was present, visibly moved to participate.
Thus, between revisited classics, established figures, emerging Argentines and alliances that cross borders, the CTBA is betting that this is not just another season, but a declaration of identity in uncertain times.
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