Darío Lopérfido, an Argentine cultural policymaker known for senior roles in Buenos Aires arts institutions and government, died Feb. 27, 2026, in Madrid. He was 61. He had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, and was diagnosed in July 2024.
Lopérfido held a prominent national post during President Fernando de la Rúa’s administration, serving as Argentina’s secretary of culture and media from 1999 to 2001. In that role, he became a public face of debates over cultural policy and the state’s support for the arts and public media.
He later led one of Argentina’s best-known cultural institutions as general and artistic director of Buenos Aires’ Teatro Colón, serving from February to December 2015. Soon after, he served for about six months as the city of Buenos Aires’ minister of culture during Mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta’s administration.
Across those posts, Lopérfido was closely identified with efforts to build cultural initiatives that extended beyond a single season or political cycle. He was associated with the Festival Internacional de Buenos Aires and the city’s broader festival circuit, work that helped bring theater and contemporary performance to wider audiences and gave recurring events a larger place in Buenos Aires’ cultural calendar.
In his later years he lived in Madrid, continuing to write and publish commentary as ALS progressively affected his voice and mobility. His legacy remains tied to strengthening major institutions such as the Teatro Colón and promoting festivals that became durable fixtures of the city’s cultural life.