Videos

media type="youtube" key="Hgn1NxJNtLg" height="385" width="640" =**Anna in the Tropics is one of the plays that have really captured the Cuban community in Tampa, Florida during the late 20s. The play takes place at a Cigar factory. The plot was inspired by Anna Karenina. One of the most crucial characters in the play is El Lector. He is a reader of books that goes into factory and reads to the cigar rollers. The play is cultural in that it takes one aspect of Cuban culture and goes deep into it. The authenticity of the rolled cigar speaks to the authenticity of the Cuban culture in Tampa and to the struggles that many cigar factories went through when machinery was created that could replace workers. **=

media type="youtube" key="6MPALmZUxqY" height="385" width="480" =**Nilo Cruz describes his writing and how he creates collages from images that relate to his play. He creates Joseph Cornell Boxes in order to conceptualize his work, and allows him to enter the world of the piece and its composition. There is a visual dimension to his writing process for every work. It is interesting that there is a visual element used during his writing process especially because most of his works are plays. It is as if he creates an essentialized snapshot of what he wants the play to capture and cultivates it to get the most out of his writing. **=