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trasted with the permanent variety shows in big cities, this model explored non-urban social sectors and was characterized more by travelling and permanent touring than by stable theatrical seasons. That obligated the construction of a theatrical stage derived from the classical circus model, but with its own aesthetic, drawing on more opulent music hall precedents. In this case, the popular quality is measured using two entirely objective yardsticks: success in ticket sales, as a product; and content, i.e., variety theater or cabaret. Neither of those variables retains any similarity to the idea of popular meaning rooted in tradition, in ritual or classical form, but rather modern mass entertainment, with its immediacy and its fast electric messages intended for rapid consumption. In other words, it situates us firmly within the sphere of pop culture: Figure 88: Manolita Chen’s Chinese Theater, n/d. Courtesy of Juan José Montijano.
The tent was spacious and comfortable, designed to stand up to gusts of wind and storms, quite common during hot Spanish summers. The hall would fill up with audiences composed primarily of country dwellers and industrial workers. And the performance had nothing to do with China. It was simply a variety-style musical entertainment, only slightly more polished than other tent shows that were travelling the country around the same time.33 The theater was a standard rectangular steel construction with lightweight trusses, entirely covered by waterproof canvas on the roof and on three of the façades. Attached to the front façade was a decorative apparatus in the form of a marquee, displaying blown-up photographs on canvases (Figure 90). The troupe travelled in a bus, whereas Figure 89: Advertisement for Manolita Chen’s Chinese Theater, n/d. Courtesy of Juan José Montijano.
