The research on the play has been more beneficial lately than recent weeks. I was able to understand the play more after I researched the history of Cuba during the time period.
The powerpoint our group put together was better than I expected. We were able to get a lot of good information and present it well.
Overall, the research has been the same.
Thursday, December 4, 2014
Monday, December 1, 2014
Group Post #3
1. The time
period I plan to research is the Special Period in Cuba during the 1990s. This makes the beginning of the changes in
the economic model that gives the survival of socialism. It started with the
collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. This
meant that the Soviet Union would no longer exchange oil with Cuba, this is
reflected by Dulce saying, “The real problem isn’t with the Americans but
because we never had dinosaur. See, without
dinosaurs there’s no petroleum”. Cuba
was dependent on the Soviet Union for oil and food, so the collapse left Cuba
is disarray because they were entirely dependent on the fuel to operate their
society. This lead to many shortages,
such as the shortage of food reflected in Manteca. Cuba could not reach out for help because
America had an embargo on Cuba.
2. The social event that is happening at the
time this play was written was the difficulty of getting food. This has always been a problem for Cuba, but
increased during the special period because they could not receive or send
anything to the Soviet Union.
3. Fidel Castro was in power in Cuba during the Special
period, whom had been in power since 1959 after overthrowing Batista.
4. The playwright
is responding to the historical moment, the Special period, which was occurring
at this time. The difference between
responding to historical moments and calling for a change in history is that
calling for change want actions while responding wants people to be aware about
a situation. I believe he is responding
to the historical moment because he does not give any ways for his readers or
watchers to change things, he is simply showing how people live and the
struggle in Cuba.
5. MLA citations
of the information I found
Bobes, Velia
Cecilia. "Cuban Civil Society During And Beyond The Special
Period." International Journal Of Cuban Studies 5.2 (2013):
168-183. Academic Search Complete. Web. 25 Nov. 2014.
González,
Miguelangel, and Steve Tammelleo. The
Cuban Special Period : The Beginning Of Readjustment And Cultural
Transformation n.p.: 2012.,
2012. I-Share Catalog - CARLI. Web. 29 Nov. 2014.
Hernandez-Reguant,
Ariana. Cuba In The Special Period [Electronic
Resource] : Culture And Ideology In The 1990S. New York : Palgrave
Macmillan, 2009. Milner Library Web. 29 Nov. 2014.
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Individual Post #3
This week I have been thinking about the historical context
of the play, Manteca. From previous research,
I knew this play was written during the Special Period in Cuba. I learned that this meant the Soviet Union collapsed,
which Cuba relied heavily on. I discovered this week that once the Soviet Union
collapsed, Cuba had an even harder time than before with food shortages. While learning all of this I could see the reflection
of this part of history in the play. The
play obviously shows the struggle to have food, by the portioning of the food,
talking about planting a mango in the morning and eating it for dinner, and how
they want to get a plot of land to grow food, which would lead to no shortage
of food. I also noticed, the total
struggle of Cuba through them talking about the problem with Cuba was they did
not have dinosaurs so therefore had no petroleum. It seems that Cuba does not have many
resources of their own and rely on other countries, specifically the Soviet
Union, which hurt Cuba’s economy when the Soviet Union collapsed.
I consulted
Milner Library for the sources I used for this part of the projects research. The
roadblocks I came up with in my research was not finding anything during Google
searches. As I said earlier, I used
Milner Libraries Search engine to find books and academic articles to overcome
this roadblock. There I found plenty of
resources to use for the group blog.
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Group post #2
Use a PowerPoint to present the information
1. Torriente
was born on September 29, 1954, and he died June 5, 2005, due to liver
cirrhosis.
2. He
was born and died in Havana, Cuba. This
is where the play Manteca takes place
3. Torriente
acted and wrote plays.
4. He
went to The National Theatre School in Canada, he also taught in Spain, Canada,
and Venezuela.
5. I
could not find out if Torriente received any awards.
6. A
major works of Torriente other than Manteca was Tema Para Veronica, which was a
hit in the 1980’s.
7. Manteca
talks about the changes occurring in Cuba’s socioeconomic conditions. It’s main
objective was dialogue and Torriente wrote it in octosyllables, or meter that
comes close to it. Some main ideas he wants the readers to get is the struggle
for survival and search for food during this “special period”. This period began when the Soviets bloc
dissolved and Cuba was one of the only Communist countries left. Cuba had been fueled by trade with the
Soviets, but this ended with the Cold War.
America strengthened its embargo against Cuba, which left the country in
crisis. There was a struggle to get food, even for the rich.
8. MLA
format of sites used:
Carson, Margaret,
Diana Taylor, and Sarah J. Townsend. Stages Of Conflict : A Critical
Anthology Of Latin American Theater And Performance / Edited By Diana Taylor
And Sarah J. Townsend ; Translation Coordinator, Margaret Carson.: Ann Arbor :
University of Michigan Press, 2008. I-Share Catalog - CARLI. Web. 18 Nov.
2014.
Martínez Tabares,
Vivian, and Nancy Westrate. "Theater As Conspiracy: An Interview With
Alberto Pedro." South Atlantic Quarterly96.1 (1997): 53-63. Web. 18
Nov. 2014.
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Individual Post 2
1. After continued research, I have found a site that summarized and went into greater depth about the play. http://books.google.com/books?id=RFEhcqpu5OgC&pg=PA301&lpg=PA301&dq=alberto+pedro+torriente+manteca&source=bl&ots=vELCNHHUYC&sig=BE3p_Z3_dXJ1JSWX89FMzFFkjqE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Td1rVKjMEtOoyASHy4DQDA&ved=0CCQQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=alberto%20pedro%20torriente%20manteca&f=false
2. I learned that the play has no change in setting throughout the duration of the play. The play takes place during the time that Cuba became one of the only remaining communist countries.
3. I am still leaning toward doing a powerpoint for our presentation
Monday, November 17, 2014
Individual Post #2
In terms of research it has been difficult because whenever
I google the author, Alberto Pedro Torriente, the little information found is
in Spanish. I used the online catalog for Milner library and found an interview
of him which talks about the play Manteca.
As I looked harder, I found more information.
Through my research,
I have found out that Torriente was an actor with the Cubana d Acero and Teatro
Politico Bertolt Brecht, two different companies. His first play was Tema para Veronica, which
was a hit in the early 1980’s. The play
Manteca premiered in 1993, it dealt with changes occurring with Cuba’s socioeconomic
conditions. The main objective was dialogue, he wrote the play in octo-syllables,
or meters that comes close to it.
The main
roadblocks with the research is that much of the information found is in
Spanish. Considering the few sites I
find on Torriente and Manteca, I do not believe that he is well known, at least
to Americans.
Individual post #1
At the beginning of Manteca, I was confused on what was
going on in the play. While I continued
reading, I looked for themes and meanings of the play. I came to realize the themes were the
struggle for survival and the lack of food in Cuba. Once I figured out the food theme, I used my
knowledge of Spanish and recalled that Dulce, the name of the sister, means
candy or sweet. Therefore, I thought
that the other characters names might refer to food, so I looked them up. I found the few definitions Merriam-Webster
Spanish Central website, Pucho meant waste or residue, or youngest child, and
Celestino can mean heavenly. I do not
know if these have any meaning, but I will keep them in mind while I analyze
the play throughout this project. I thought the end of the play was odd because
they kept talking about qualities they wanted in the new pig they were going to
buy, but I realized the qualities other than the pigs feet were probably
important to supply them food.
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Individual Post 1
1. Finding good and reliable information on our author has been very difficult. Usually the only information on the author we find is in spanish.
2. Research on this play has been scarce. The author is not as well known as I expected so its difficult to find out in depth details on him. The resources I have been using is called Cuban Theater Digital Archive. It has little information but it has more than other places. I found it by searching Alberto Pedro Torriente.
3. The roadblocks are not having any usable information on the author or play.
2. Research on this play has been scarce. The author is not as well known as I expected so its difficult to find out in depth details on him. The resources I have been using is called Cuban Theater Digital Archive. It has little information but it has more than other places. I found it by searching Alberto Pedro Torriente.
3. The roadblocks are not having any usable information on the author or play.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Group Post 1
1. The name of the play we are reading is Manteca by Alberto Pedro Torriente.
2. The characters in the play are three siblings. Pucho and Celistino
are the brothers, and Dulce is the sister.
3. The play is about the issue of food, which the title Manteca,
meaning Lard. The three are cramped in the living room of their
apartment with tightly shut windows in Havana, Cuba. It appears that
their work is leading them nowhere, but their conversations cover a
lot of material. They talk about German tanks, Russian meat, their
families, dinosaurs, and getting land.
4. The most predominate theme in this play that I found was concerning
the lack of food in Cuba. Another theme that is closely related is
the struggle for survival.
5. The question is what the characters mean when they say, Should we do it?
2. The characters in the play are three siblings. Pucho and Celistino
are the brothers, and Dulce is the sister.
3. The play is about the issue of food, which the title Manteca,
meaning Lard. The three are cramped in the living room of their
apartment with tightly shut windows in Havana, Cuba. It appears that
their work is leading them nowhere, but their conversations cover a
lot of material. They talk about German tanks, Russian meat, their
families, dinosaurs, and getting land.
4. The most predominate theme in this play that I found was concerning
the lack of food in Cuba. Another theme that is closely related is
the struggle for survival.
5. The question is what the characters mean when they say, Should we do it?
Monday, November 10, 2014
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)