Teatro Politeama Argentino opened its doors in Buenos Aires on July 16, 1879. In the photo below we can see a costume dance at The Argentine Politeama Theater in 1938. On a banner up high on the left, to the right of a clown face caricature, is a stereotypical black-face caricature (racism in Argentina is just as bad as all western cultures built on slavery).

It is difficult to make out the details of the orchestra. There are six bandoneon players in the front row, six violin players, two bass players, one piano player, and a singer. The piano player looks like he may be wearing round sunglasses, so this might be Di Sarli’s orchestra. There are a mix of embraces among the dancers, but most are in some form of body-on-body close-embrace.

The photo below shows the Art Deco façade of Teatro Politeama Argentino as it was in 1936.

The word “Politema” comes from Greek, meaning a multi-purpose theater.