Essays on Anna in the Tropics

Anna in the Tropics by Nilo Cruz is a play set in 1929 in a Cuban-American cigar factory. The factory owner, Don Victor, has hired a new lector, or reader, to entertain the workers while they hand-roll cigars. The lector reads Anna Karenina, and the workers become enthralled by the story. However, the factory owner’s wife, Ofelia, is not pleased with the lector’s choice of book, as it includes a love triangle that closely mirrors her own life.The play focuses on the workers in the factory and how the story of Anna Karenina affects them. Some of the workers, like Conchita, become caught up in the romance of the book and begin to fantasize about their own lives. Others, like Marela, view the book as a way to escape the drudgery of their lives. Still others, like Palomo, see the book as a way to understand the women in their lives. Ultimately, the story of Anna Karenina becomes a lens through which the workers view their own lives, and the choices they make.