National Auditorium () is an entertainment center at

Paseo de la Reforma Paseo de la Reforma (literally "Promenade of La Reforma, the Reform") is a wide avenue that runs diagonally across the heart of Mexico City. It was designed at the behest of Maximilian of Mexico, Emperor Maximilian by Ferdinand von Rosenzweig d ...

#50,

Chapultepec Chapultepec, more commonly called the "Bosque de Chapultepec" (Chapultepec Forest) in Mexico City, is one of the largest Nature Value Area´s in Mexico, measuring in total just over . Centered on a rock formation called Chapultepec Hill, one of ...

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

. The National Auditorium is considered among the world's best venues by specialized media. It was designed by Mexican architects

Pedro Ramírez Vázquez Pedro Ramírez Vázquez (April 16, 1919 – April 16, 2013)
Retrieved 2013-04-16. was a

and Gonzalo Ramírez del Sordo, and remodeled by

Abraham Zabludovsky Abraham Zabludovsky (born Abraham Zabludowski Kraveski; June 14, 1924 – April 9, 2003) was a Mexican architect. He was the brother of the well known journalist Jacobo Zabludovsky. Abraham Zabludovsky was born in Białystok, Poland. He s ...

and

Teodoro González de León Teodoro González de León (May 29, 1926 – September 16, 2016) was a Mexican architect. Biography González de León studied at the Escuela Nacional de Arquitectura of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) from 1942 to 194 ...

. Concerts, art, theatre, dance, and more are hosted at the venue. It also has a small venue available for smaller events, called Auditorio Lunario. The auditorium's total

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

is currently 9,366, and it also has two levels of parking and a stage 23 meters high by 23 meters wide.

History

Constructed in 1952, it was used for

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

matches of the

1954 Central American and Caribbean Games The seventh Central American and Caribbean Games were held in Mexico City, the capital city of Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders ...

and had seen performances of the

San Francisco Ballet San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Fra ...

and

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...

in 1958. The auditorium was the venue for the gymnastics events at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

. Since the 1970s, it has been used primarily for international music, song, dance and film festivals, fairs and exhibitions. From 1988 to 1990, the auditorium went through an 18-months-long renovation, designed by architects Abraham Zaludovsky and Teodoro Gonzalez de Leon, which brought it to the current design. It hosted the

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

and

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international major beauty pageant that is run by a Thailand and Mexican-based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stree ...

pageants. On August 12, 1998, Barney, Baby Bop, BJ and their friends: Professor Tinkerputt & Mother Goose performed here during the Mexican tour for ''

Barney's Big Surprise Barney's Big Surprise (also known as La Gran Sorpresa de Barney in Latin America) was Barney the Dinosaur's first national tour. The show started in 1996 and played in 60 cities, with a program of 28 old and new Barney songs. Originally planned ...

''. In 2007, the American magazine ''

Pollstar ''Pollstar'' is a trade publication for the concert and live music industry. The publication was purchased by Oak View Group, a venue consultancy founded by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff, in July 2017. ''Pollstar'' holds an annual award ce ...

'' made the National Auditorium a nominee for International Theatre of the Year. In November 2007, the Auditorio Nacional won the ''Billboard'' Touring Award for best concert venue under 10,000 seats. Auditorio Nacional houses the largest

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

. In 2016, it hosted the premiere of the largely anticipated comic-book film, '' Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice''. In 2024, it hosted the world premiere of '' Dune: Part Two.''

References

1968 Summer Olympics official report.
Volume 2. Part 1. p. 77.

External links

* {{Authority control Event venues established in 1952 Sports venues in Mexico City Buildings and structures in Mexico City Venues of the 1968 Summer Olympics Olympic gymnastics venues Convention centers in Mexico Chapultepec Concert halls in Mexico Theatres in Mexico City Paseo de la Reforma 1952 establishments in Mexico *