Ana+In+The+Tropics

= = =I **n 2002, he wrote his most famous work, Anna in the Tropics. This work has been a great success. After learning that he had won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Cruz said, “By honoring my play //Anna in the Tropics //, the first Latino play to earn the Pulitzer Prize in Drama, the Pulitzer Prize Board is not only embracing my work as an artist, but is actually acknowledging and securing a place for Latino plays in the North American theater" (Quoted in an article in the New Theatre). After winning this award, it was nominated for a Tony Award in 2004. ** = =//Anna in the Tropics// is set in the late 20s and tells the story of a family of cigar workers. Their lives are drastically changed by the arrival of a new lector. Marela, one of the daughters of Santiago and Ofelia, dreams of adventure. On the other hand, Conchita is bound to a marriage with Palomo that is lacking passion. Cheche, Santiago’s illegitimate brother, embraces the idea of progress in the factory as he to hides from past failures. =



=As the new lector, Juan Julian, reads //Anna Karenina// to the workers. The play raises the dichotomy of a time when the sound of a human voice reading poetry is about to be replaced by the percussive sound of a factory full of machines. =

=I strongly believe that this also applies to the invention of new technologies. In an interview, Cruz states that he has been resistant to technology and hates it. He has had to adjust to using computers and other technologies. What laptops are today, is what the machines were in the 30s. They replaced human workers and today, laptops replace pen and paper. =

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