Rethinking the Revolution: Religion and Politics in Liuba Cid’s Afro-Cuban Adaptation of Fuenteovejuna

Abstract

This essay discusses the contributions of theater director Liuba Cid and Cuban theater company Mephisto Teatro, highlighting the group’s Afro-Caribbean adaptation of Fuenteovejuna (2009). Cid interweaves elements of Cuban culture into Lope de Vega’s baroque verse, incorporating the works of romantic poet José Martí, playwright Virgilio Piñera, and African-inspired religious rituals. More broadly, Cid’s play reflects ongoing social processes of transculturation. The theories of Linda Hutcheon, Diana Taylor, and José Quiroga all elucidate how Mephisto Teatro’s staging transforms Fuenteovejuna into a syncretic work of art that transcends national and regional boundaries as it brings to the fore transnational movements and global struggles involved in efforts to reverse processes of cultural destruction and social inequality.