HISTORY 101. Teatro Malhabour opened at the corner of Calle Quiñones (now Mabini) and Calle Concepcion (now Ledesma) in Iloilo City on July 3, 1908.
It was owned by Felix Malhabour, a policeman and a member of the board of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente.
Since Malhabour belonged to the IFI, the teatro staged zarzuelas with anti-friar themes (McCoy, Philippine Studies: Culture and Consciousness in a Philippine City, 1982:171).
Teatro Malhabour started as a simple structure with walls of woven bamboo (Fernandez, The Iloilo Zarzuela: 1903-1930, 1978:135).
It was inaugurated with the benefit performance of Nating, a play written by Valente Cristobal, known as the prince of zarzuela in Iloilo (McCoy, ibid).
Proceeds of the play were donated to the IFI, reason why Cristobal and Malhabour were elected to the IFI board.
It was also at Teatro Malhabour where Union Obrera de Iloilo held its first meeting in April 1914.
Eventually, the theater evolved into a tall two-story art deco building.
When movies came to Iloilo City that triggered the birth of theaters like Cine Eagle and Cine Palace, Teatro Malhabour became Cine Lyric (Fernandez, ibid).
Over the years and with new owners taking over, Lyric became King Theater, then renamed Empire Theater and eventually Dennis Theater.
The area where the theater once stood is now the front parking area of Robinson's Place Iloilo.
