 The land it was built on was donated for this purpose by Don Miguel Antonio Baralt, who had inherited it from his father, the patriarch of the influential Baralt family in Venezuela (Miguel's son was Rafael María Baralt).Don Miguel often leased his land at the intersection of Urdaneta and Venezuela streets, where the theatre still stands, for performances; a temporary stage was constructed at the site before he donated it to the city.The land had become colloquially known as "el Teatro de Baralt" (Baralt's theatre) from the early 1800s.