Comedia Texts as Political Propaganda in Castro's Cuba

This essay documents and explicates an interesting case of the propagandistic use of a little-known anthology of Lope de Vega's plays published in Cuba in 1977. The selection of works included reveals a constant preoccupation with a strong leader who pays benevolent attention to the problems of his subjects. The analogy between the conduct of the monarchs in Lope's dramas and that of Castro in Cuba cannot be accidental, we believe. Given that the six plays included in the anthology do not constitute a truly representative sample of Lope's dramatic output, we believe that we have shown that this anthological work starts from a clearly propagandistic premise. We cite pertinent bibliography in support of our argument. (CBK and SDK)