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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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?

Manteca Stuff

the play isn't up so ya