The Joventut cinema was one of many cinemas in L'Hospitalet, like the Alhambra in Pubilla Casas, the Victòria in Santa Eulàlia, the Stàdium in Sant Josep, the Oliveras in the Centre... The Joventut was the cinema of La Torrassa. Older people have fond memories of those times, of the films, the actors and actresses, the long continuous showings, in the dark, with eyes focused on the immense screen. Cinema - along with football - was one of the greatest mass spectacles, the seventh art. But then came the invasion of the Seat 600s and on weekends the roads filled up and the cinema queues got shorter. Soon television began to compete strongly with cinemas: you didn't have to pay to watch yet. And cinemas began a sharp decline. It was said that television would kill cinema. Some cinemas had to close, others modernized with enormous cinemascope screens, others became specialized "art house" cinemas, a few more were transformed into multiplexes... What remains of those neighborhood cinemas, of those queues, of those large dark halls, of those super screens, of the technicolor films?
The Joventut cinema grew old: it was one of those that closed. One day the marquees no longer advertised any films and the ticket booths no longer opened their windows to sell tickets. Only the sign for Cine Juventud remained, presiding over a dusty facade. And the square on the street with the same name as the cinema.
One fine day, the City Council decided to buy it and transform it into a theatre. The old Joventut cinema, renovated and properly adapted, would become the theatre of the municipality of L'Hospitalet. The same building, the same architectural style created by Ramon Puig i Gairalt, but as good as new. Now it will be a theatre. with a stage instead of a screen, with dressing rooms, spotlights, acoustics... all the technical conditions required nowadays for top-quality performances. The Joventut, a theatre. truly one of the main cultural facilities in L'Hospitalet.
On May 8, 1991, the new Teatre Joventut raised its curtain for the first time. It was with the premiere of the play "El cántaro roto," by a company from Madrid. Since then, many and varied plays have been performed there, hundreds of actors and actresses have trod its stage, and thousands of spectators have enjoyed them
