Venezuelan puppet theatre created in 1985 in Barinas by Israel Morillo. In 1978, this actor and puppeteer collaborated with Eduardo Di Mauro and fellow puppeteers in the creation of the Teatro Barinés de Muñecos in Barinas, and later, in 1980, of the Teatro Estable de Muñecos del Estado de Portuguesa (TEMPO, Permanent Puppet Theatre of the State of Portuguesa) in Guanare, where Morillo worked for fifteen years as a puppeteer and technician.

In 1985, he founded his own company, Ancor, renamed seven years later La Maleta Mágica (The Magic Suitcase). A skilled manipulator of glove puppets, between 1980 and 1987 Morillo travelled and performed throughout Venezuela, after having performed in New York as part of the UNIMA World Puppet Festival held in 1980. In 1989, he made an extensive tour through South America, making his company well known in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile and Argentina. In 1991, he visited Spain, where he took part in festivals in Bilbao, Logroño, Cadíz and Saragossa, followed by a tour to Costa Rica in 1996.

The company’s repertoire includes works by Israel Morillo, such as El cazador (The Hunter) and El vendedor (The Vendor), as well as works by other authors, such as Aventuras de Juan Grillo (The Adventures of Juan Grillo) by Eduardo Di Mauro.

(See Venezuela.)