In a new column for the latest issue of the Spanish magazine Ópera Actual, Paulina Ricciardi, executive director of Ópera Latinoamérica (OLA), addresses specific cases that demonstrate how theaters are community spaces and agents of change that generate greater social cohesion. Drawing on initiatives promoted by the Theatro Municipal de São Paulo (Brazil) and the Centro Nacional de las Artes Delia Zapata Olivella and the Teatro Colón in Bogotá (Colombia), she explores the virtuous circle between cultural organizations and audiences for the exercise of cultural rights. “The purpose of these programs is not to train musicians or technicians, as one might think, but to give participants the opportunity to enjoy art, foster creativity, and be part of a community, in a virtuous circle that, in turn, develops audiences for the theaters,” she explains in her column.

The question of the role of cultural organizations generates a debate between those who believe that the main mission of theaters is to produce quality artistic works and those who, on the other hand, see them as social agents that must contribute to the environment in which they operate. At the center of this discussion is the concept of cultural rights, which has been gaining ground in Europe and Latin America since the 1970s.

On April 23, the Network of Educational Concert Organizers (ROCE) meeting entitled “We Have a Plan, Now What? Music as a Cultural Right” was held at the Tenerife Auditorium. Opera Latin America (OLA) presented specific initiatives that demonstrate the argument we have been developing for several years through this association: theaters are community spaces and agents of change that generate greater social cohesion in our countries. They are authentic laboratories of innovation that contribute to the rapid changes we are experiencing and foster fundamental skills for the development of individuals in a democratic society, such as critical thinking, autonomy, creativity, and teamwork.

Theatro Municipal de São Paulo (Brazil), for example, has the Young Creators, Researchers, and Monitors Program, which aims to encourage experimentation with skills and trades in the training of young people through work with teams of specialists, technicians, and theater artists, with the aim of guiding and facilitating their integration into the labor market.

Another example is the Delia Zapata Olivella National Arts Center and the Teatro Colón in Bogotá (Colombia), which promote the Juntanza Cultural program to strengthen the community through dialogue and active participation. Focused on the Black, Afro-Colombian, Raizal, and Palenquero populations, the program promotes the coordination of cultural initiatives and the consolidation of collaborative networks.

The purpose of these programs is not to train musicians or technicians, as one might think, but to give participants the opportunity to enjoy art, foster creativity, and be part of a community, in a virtuous cycle that, in turn, develops audiences for theaters. Opera even generates tools of resistance against the superficiality, immediacy, and individualism that characterizes our current times.

The key words in these particular cases are co-creation, that is, synergy between audiences and theaters, both in artistic creation and in other projects of the entities in processes that provide access to culture, contribute to a sense of belonging within a community, and foster creativity in individuals. In short, this virtuous cycle between theaters and audiences is what makes the exercise of cultural rights effective.