Learn Hardcore Spanish (Spain): Después de haber ido al teatro del barrio, me siento tranquilo. - After having gone to the neighborhood theater, I feel calm.

This form is called infinitivo compuesto in Spanish. It’s used to talk about an action that is completed before another action, in an infinitive structure (not a full conjugated verb).

So:

después de haber ido al teatro del barrio
= after having gone to the neighborhood theater
(the going to the theater is fully finished before the feeling calm starts)

Why is it después de haber ido and not just después de ir?

Both are possible, but there is a nuance:

Después de ir al teatro del barrio, me siento tranquilo.
Focuses on the action of going; it can sound a bit more general or habitual.
Después de haber ido al teatro del barrio, me siento tranquilo.
Emphasizes that the going is already completed before you feel calm. It can sound a bit more careful or formal, and very clearly marks the action as prior.

In everyday speech, especially in Spain, people would very often say después de ir.
Después de haber ido is correct and a bit more explicit and formal.

Could we say Después de que fui al teatro del barrio instead? Why or why not?

You can say Después de que fui al teatro del barrio, me siento tranquilo, but it sounds a bit awkward and less natural than the original.

More natural finite-clause options are:

Después de ir al teatro del barrio, me siento tranquilo.
Después de que voy al teatro del barrio, me siento tranquilo. (if it’s a usual, repeated situation)
Después de ir al teatro del barrio, me quedo muy tranquilo. (another common style)

The original sentence uses después de + infinitive, which is very common and avoids having to choose a tense like fui or voy.

When do you use después de with an infinitive instead of a full sentence with a verb like voy or fui?

Use después de + infinitive when:

The subject of both actions is the same:
- Después de comer, me ducho. (I eat, then I shower.)
- Después de estudiar, salgo con mis amigos.

Here, the subject I does both actions, so Spanish prefers the infinitive.

Use después de que + verb when:

The subject is different, or you particularly want a full clause:
- Después de que tú llegues, cenamos.
  (You arrive, then we have dinner.)

In your sentence, the subject is the same (I go to the theater; I feel calm), so después de haber ido (or después de ir) is the natural structure.

What is the difference between me siento tranquilo and estoy tranquilo?

Both can translate roughly as I feel calm / I’m calm, but there is a nuance:

me siento tranquilo:
- Uses the verb sentirse (to feel, in terms of emotional or physical state).
- Focuses on your subjective feeling.
- Literally: I feel calm.
- Slightly more explicit that this is your internal perception.
estoy tranquilo:
- Uses estar (to be in a state).
- Focuses more on the state itself, less explicitly on the experience of feeling.
- Literally: I am calm.

In this sentence, me siento tranquilo fits perfectly because we are describing how you feel as a result of going to the theater. In everyday speech, estoy tranquilo would also be possible and natural, but the nuance is a bit more neutral-state and less “I experience the feeling of calm”.

Why is it me siento and not just siento?

Spanish distinguishes:

sentir (non‑reflexive):
- Means to feel something, or to sense something, or to regret.
- Normally followed by a direct object (what you feel):
  - Siento frío. – I feel cold.
  - Siento tu dolor. – I feel your pain / I’m sorry for your pain.
  - Siento que llegues tarde. – I’m sorry you’re arriving late.
sentirse (reflexive):
- Means to feel (a certain way).
- Followed by an adjective or an adverb:
  - Me siento bien. – I feel well.
  - Me siento cansado. – I feel tired.
  - Me siento tranquilo. – I feel calm.

Because tranquilo is an adjective describing your state, Spanish needs the reflexive form: me siento tranquilo.

Why is it al teatro and del barrio? What do al and del mean?

al and del are contractions:

a + el = al
- Voy a el teatro → Voy al teatro (the only correct form)
- In your sentence: haber ido al teatro = having gone to the theater.
de + el = del
- el teatro del barrio = the neighborhood’s theater / the local theater.
- Literally: the theater of the neighborhood.

Spanish always contracts a + el and de + el to al and del when el is the masculine singular article.

Why is it del barrio and not en el barrio?

Both are possible, but the meaning changes slightly:

el teatro del barrio:
- Implies it is “the neighborhood’s theater” – the local theater associated with that neighborhood.
- Very natural in Spain to refer to a local, familiar theater.
el teatro en el barrio:
- Literally “the theater in the neighborhood”.
- Grammatically correct, but sounds more descriptive and less idiomatic as a fixed label.
- You’d use this more if you were just locating some theater physically in a neighborhood, not necessarily the local neighborhood theater everyone knows.

The original del barrio fits the idea of some familiar, local theater.

Does tranquilo change if the speaker is a woman?

Yes. Tranquilo agrees in gender and number with the subject (the person feeling calm):

A man speaking:
- me siento tranquilo → I feel calm.
A woman speaking:
- me siento tranquila.
A group of men / mixed group:
- nos sentimos tranquilos.
A group of only women:
- nos sentimos tranquilas.

In the sentence as written (tranquilo), we’d normally assume a male speaker, but in isolation it might just be a generic example.

Can I move the clause and say Me siento tranquilo después de haber ido al teatro del barrio?

Yes, completely natural.

Spanish word order is quite flexible with adverbial clauses. Both of these are fine:

Después de haber ido al teatro del barrio, me siento tranquilo.
Me siento tranquilo después de haber ido al teatro del barrio.

Putting the después de… part at the beginning often gives it a bit more emphasis in writing, but there is no grammatical difference.

Is there anything particularly “Spain Spanish” (español de España) about this sentence?

A few small points make it sound especially natural in Peninsular Spanish:

el teatro del barrio:
- In Spain, el barrio is very commonly used to mean your own neighborhood / area, often with a sense of local identity.
tranquilo:
- In Spain, estar tranquilo / sentirse tranquilo is very commonly used with the meaning to be relaxed, at ease, not worried.

However, all the grammar and vocabulary are standard and would be understood everywhere in the Spanish‑speaking world.

Could we use the subjunctive here, like después de que haya ido?

Not in the sentence exactly as it stands, because it’s talking about a real, completed action experienced by the speaker.

Subjunctive forms like después de que haya ido are used when:

The action is not yet completed or is hypothetical:
- Después de que haya ido al teatro, te llamaré.
  After I have gone to the theater, I’ll call you.

In your sentence, the action is already seen as a real fact that leads to a current feeling. So the infinitive (después de haber ido) or an indicative past (después de ir / después de que fui / después de que voy, depending on nuance) is the natural choice, not the subjunctive.