I acquired this play by Cuban American author Nilo Cruz (2003 Pulitzer Prize for Drama) after a recent visit to Tampa, Florida, where I discovered the fascinating history of the cigar manufacturing that flourished there after Spanish Vicente Mart\u00ednez Ybor founded Ybor City in 1885. The industry attracted thousands of Cuban, Spanish and Italian immigrants, and Jos\u00e9 Mart\u00ed delivered passionate speeches there that influenced US intervention in favor of Cuban Independence. In 1929, when Cruz\u2019s play takes place, 500,000,000 cigars were rolled in Ybor City by workers while they listened to lectores read from daily newspaper and great works of literature. The Anna of the title is none other than the protagonist of Tolstoy\u2019s Anna Karenina, with which a lector from Havana fills the imagination of the play\u2019s main characters. I cannot think of a more interesting context to reflect literature\u2019s capacity to touch people\u2019s hearts and minds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I acquired this play by Cuban American author Nilo Cruz (2003 Pulitzer Prize for Drama) after a recent visit to Tampa, Florida, where I discovered the fascinating history of the cigar manufacturing that flourished there after Spanish Vicente Mart\u00ednez Ybor founded Ybor City in 1885. The industry attracted thousands of Cuban, Spanish and Italian immigrants, … <\/p>\n