There’s a changing of the guard coming for one of La Laguna’s best-established theatre traditions. This Saturday, 31 October, Armando Jerez will play the young Don Juan for the final time after more than 25 years in the role.
The performance of José Zorrilla’s classic Don Juan Tenorio takes place at Teatro Leal at 8pm, as part of the annual Finados programme. Timaginas Teatro has kept this tradition going in La Laguna for 18 years, and this year’s single performance is already close to selling out.
The big change comes in 2027, when Armando will hand the role of the younger Don Juan to his son, Miguel Ángel Jerez, who is also part of the company. Armando won’t be leaving the production, though. He’ll continue playing Don Juan in the second part of the story, when the character has grown older.
It’s a family handover that gives the production a new chapter without losing the actor who has helped define it for more than two decades.
A familiar cast and an ambitious production
Armando Jerez will once again share the stage with María Rodríguez, who returns as Brígida and also co-directs the production with him. The pair first performed the play together in Madrid in 1999.
Timaginas Teatro says it was offered the opportunity to take Don Juan Tenorio to mainland Spain this year, but turned it down because the dates clashed with Finados. The company chose to keep its annual appointment with audiences in the Canary Islands.
The production features around 20 actors and extras, period scenery and seven scene changes. Carmen Rodríguez, the company’s art director, is responsible for the costumes.
The cast also includes Andreas Figueiredo Trujillo as Don Luis Mejía, Sandra Hernández de León as Doña Inés and Angelo Olivier as the Comendador.
The story follows Don Juan’s challenge to Don Luis Mejía and his abduction of Doña Inés, before love forces him to reconsider the path he has chosen.
For audiences, this Saturday’s performance is a chance to see Armando Jerez in a role he has played for more than half his life. Next year, the character passes to the next generation, but the tradition itself looks set to continue.