The Previously Unknown Casa de Comedias in Estella at the Beginning of the XVIIth Century, and Graciana de Alemán, its First Owner

Abstract

In the early XVII century corrales de comedias were built in every major Spanish city. One such theater was built in Estella, a small city in the Kingdom of Navarre. This article brings to light a series of judicial documents that contain interesting data about the short life of a casa de comedias in the city of Estella from 1613 to 1624. The manager and owner of such performance venue was a woman, Graciana (or Gracia, or Graciosa, depending on the document) Alemán, who inherited the property as part of her dowry in 1615. This not very large corral de comedias was designed as a multipurpose space: it was used not only as a theater but also as a space for juego de pelota and juego de argollas.