slavery in Cuba. Zafira takes place in 16th century Mauritania in North Africa. The play follows Zafira, an Arabian princess, who mourns the loss of her husband and dreads the wedding with the Turkish pirate, Barbarroja, who wants to rule the coast. Her son, Selim, returns in disguise to reclaim the throne. He allies himself with the slave Noemi to challenge the reign of Barbarroja. Zafira references the Haitian revolution of 1791, and the republic established there in 1804. The revolt led wealthy landowners to flee to Cuba bringing stories of the rebellion. French slaves were not allowed in Cuba for fear of another revolt. There was a presence of Spanish soldiers to prevent another uprising. In the play, Selim possesses a mysterious letter. Zafira presents the letter to Barbarroja who responds to the letter with fear. This represents the Spanish and Cuban's fear of another uprising like the Haitian revolution. The themes are tyranny, exile, subjugation, slavery and rebellion in 19th-century Havana which indirectly challenged Spanish colonial rule. Manzano makes a subtle critique on personal and national sovereignty. His drama reflects the intellectual and political values of the enlightenment such as reason, order, justice and equality. Manzano may have found inspiration for Zafira from an earlier Spanish version entitled Tragedia. The Spanish hero in the original version was taken out in favor of the slave Noemi who represents Afro-Cuban slaves. In resistance writing, meaning is hidden in a symbol that appears harmless although it is full of complex double meanings. Manzano's play was about reaffirming African identity through the ideas of liberty and self-determination. Contemporary views of his work Literary critic Jose Antonio Portoundo's article "Toward a new history of Cuba", written shortly after the triumph of the Cuban revolution, says: "there is no history among us that did not study the rise and fall of the dominant hegemonic class: the island bourgeoisie." He recommends to include the exploited class and their struggles into Cuban history. Manzano's autobiography gave rise to testimonial literature which discovered and uncovered the ""History of a people without a history." References William Luis, Literary Bondage: Slavery in Cuban Narraive (1991) 1797 births 1853 deaths Cuban male writers People who wrote slave narratives People from Matanzas Cuban slaves