La Cubana premieres 'L'amor venia amb taxi' at the Romea Theater in Barcelona
After 45 years of making theater a popular festival, La Cubana returns to Barcelona with a new show filled with humor, color, and, as always, a generous dose of playfulness. Their new production, "L'amor venia amb taxi", premieres at the Teatre Romea with the aim of paying homage to one of the cornerstones of Catalan theatrical culture: amateur theater.
The title may sound like a light comedy, and in part it is. But this new show by La Cubana is much more than a simple comedy: it's a love letter to theater made with passion, from neighborhood organizations, parishes, athenaeums, and civic centers. It's a tribute to those who make theater out of vocation, not wanting to make a living from it but giving it their lives. And as it could not be otherwise, they've wrapped it in their magic formula: a musical "made in Cuba" and done "in the Catalan style."
A symbolic premiere at the Teatre Romea
The first public performance will be on Wednesday, September 17, at 8:00 p.m. However, the official premiere will take place on Tuesday, September 30, at an event packed with well-known faces and authorities, which will make the Romea a meeting point for the Catalan theater world.
The Romea Theatre was not a randomly chosen venue. Jordi Milán, the company's director, recalls that this was the first indoor theater they performed in, after years of street productions. Furthermore, the Romea Theatre is part of a neighborhood historically linked to theater: just a few meters away were the Salvador brothers' studio, the Peris dressing room, the Damaret hair salon, and the Millà Bookstore, icons of a Barcelona that lived and breathed theater.
A show with popular origins
'L'amor venia amb taxi' (Love Came with a Taxi) takes as its starting point a light comedy written by Rafael Anglada and premiered in 1959 at this very theater. That play became a classic of the Catalan amateur repertoire and was performed by dozens of amateur groups throughout the country. But little of the original text remains. Cubana has taken only the title as an excuse to construct a new story: a musical with a script by Jordi Milán, Toni Sans, and Rubén Montaña, which blends new and old musical themes with the company's signature dramaturgy.
According to Milan, the goal isn't nostalgia, but rather to raise awareness of a reality that often remains in the shadow of professional theater. Amateur theater, far from being minor, has been a breeding ground for actors, directors, and technicians who have gone on to pursue careers on the biggest stages. But it has also been a school of life for thousands of people who have learned the value of effort, teamwork, and collective creativity.
What will we find?
This new show is an explosive combination of comedy, music, parody, and audience participation. As we've become accustomed to, La Cubana offers an experience that goes beyond the stage. The play breaks the fourth wall, plays with the audience's complicity, and transforms its performance into a grand theatrical game. Furthermore, as is customary, the cast is made up of performers who play multiple roles, change registers with agility, and maintain a frantic pace throughout the nearly two-and-a-half-hour performance (without intermission).
The set design, costumes, and artistic direction spare no detail or color. Even yellow, traditionally considered cursed in the theater, has a presence. Josep Maria Pou, director of the Romea, shared an anecdote during the presentation: yellow was first used in a play in 1973 by Adolfo Marsillach, and after some tragic events following the premiere, superstition was fueled. However, Milan is not afraid and has wanted to revive it as a symbol of courage.
End of a stage, beginning of a new cycle
With "L'amor venia amb taxi," La Cubana brings its 45th anniversary celebrations to a close. A year that began with a retrospective exhibition at the Palau Robert and now culminates, once again, where it all began: on stage. But as they themselves say: "a clean slate." Far from looking back, the company continues to create and innovate, true to its style but always open to surprise.
The show is recommended for all ages and, according to critics, promises to be an unforgettable experience for theater lovers—professional, amateur, or street. Because if there's one thing La Cubana has always championed, it's that theater isn't just what happens on stage, but everything that surrounds the experience of sharing a story live with other people in a shared space.
