Teatro Cine Marquez de Leon - A Promise Kept

A stop on Todos Santos: Pueblo Magico Walk, a free self-guided tour.

On the west side of the plaza stands the town's theater and old movie house, named for General Manuel Marquez de Leon, a nineteenth-century military leader and politician from Baja California Sur. Look at its classic facade and you are looking at a promise kept.

In the early 1940s, the territory's governor, General Francisco J. Mujica, saw what the town's young people could do and promised them a proper stage. The theater opened in 1944. Inside are a high vaulted ceiling, red seats and a balcony, room for a few hundred people.

For decades this was where Todos Santos watched movies, held school festivals and celebrated. It is still the heart of the town's cultural life, hosting concerts, dance performances and the Todos Santos Film Festival, which has shown Latin American films here for years. If there is a poster out front, it is worth checking what is on during your visit.

Getting here: From Calle Centenario, walk back to the plaza and cross to the theater on its west side.

Did you know?: The theater was built with thick adobe walls, the same traditional building method used for many of the oldest houses in town.

Photo op: Stand in the plaza across from the theater and fit the whole facade into the frame with the palms on either side.

Teatro Cine Marquez de Leon - A Promise Kept

Stops on this tour