The Baralt Theater is a National Monument in Maracaibo. The building, designed by the Cuban engineer Manuel de Obando, was opened on July 24, 1883. The debut was the production of the zarzuela "Choza y Palacio", and the date chosen for the premiere was timed to the centenary of the birth of the national liberation hero, Simon Bolivar. The hall at the time of opening could accommodate 400 spectators.

The building has become the cultural center of Maracaibo. A series of concerts, operettas, and zarzuelas have been supplemented by screenings of the first films from 1896. The theater was named in honor of the outstanding historian, journalist, poet, philologist, and critic Raphael Maria Baralt, who was born in Maracaibo in 1810.

In 1928, the first theater building was demolished by the order of the President of the state of Zulia, General Vicencio Perez Soto. The local ruler wanted to modernize the theater and give it a look that would correspond to the improvement of the city's welfare - this was due to the successful development of the oil industry in the region. The new project was designed by the Belgian architect Leon Jerome Hoet. Construction began in 1930, and the theater was opened in December 1932.

In the mid-1950s, the management of the theater passed to the University of Zulia. That was the time for a historical and iconographic study of the theater, which has preserved the works of famous artists.
Artists such as Teresa Carreño in 1896, Carlos Gardel in 1935, and Mario Moreno Cantinflas in 1943 worked there.

In November 1981, the theater was declared a National Historic Monument. And in mid-1985, the building and its movable property began to be restored according to the project of the architect Paolo D'onghia, together with the Rafael Urdaneta Center, the society for the restoration of the historical heritage of Maracaibo. The renovated theater was opened in July 1998.

One of its main attractions is located at the top of the auditorium. This is an Art Deco ceiling: mural created by local artist Antonio Angulo on 1,875 cardboard sheets with a total area of 540 square meters. This work is considered the first abstract art painting in Latin America.

The interior is also stylistically enhanced by other elements: a large central lamp by the artist Arturo Angulo; an impressive curtain painted by the Spanish artist César Bulbena and donated by the Spanish government for the opening of the theater in 1932; the floor in the lower hall "Sergio Antillano" designed by the master of plastic arts Francisco Paco Hung.