the afrocubanismo zarzuelas of Ernesto Lecuona (María la O; El cafetal), Eliseo Grenet (La virgen morena) and Gonzalo Roig (Cecilia Valdés, based on Cirilo Villaverde's classic novel) represent a brief golden age of political and cultural importance. These and other works centred on the plight of the mulata woman and other black underclasses in Cuban society. The outstanding star of many of these productions was Rita Montaner. Mexico likewise had its own zarzuela traditions. One example is Carlo Curti's La cuarta plana, starring Esperanza Iris. Zarzuela in the Philippines In the Philippines, the Zarzuela Musical Theatre has been widely adapted by Filipinos in their native cultures, notably in urban areas. The theatre was only introduced by the Spanish in 1878, despite being part of the Spanish Empire since the middle of the 16th century. During this time, the plays were performed only by Spanish people. By 1880, majority of the performers and writers were Filipinos, notably Philippine national hero, José Rizal, who was fond of the play. Afterwards, local languages, instead of Spanish, were used to perform the complex theatre, with additions from multiple cultures throughout the archipelago. When the Philippines was colonized by the Americans in the early 20th century, the humor from the moro-moro play was added into the Philippine zarzuela, while moving away from the traditional Spanish zarzuela. The theatre afterwards was used by Filipinos to express freedom from discrimination and colonial rule, depicting the Filipino people triumphant against the Spanish and Americans by the end of each play. The revolutionary overtones of the play prompted the American colonialists to arrest various performers and writers of the Philippine zarzuela, to the extent of forcefully shutting down entire zarzuela companies in the Philippines. In the 1920s, due to the introduction of the cinema, the zarzuela became widely popular in the rural areas, disabling the Americans from stopping the plays from spreading. The Philippine zarzuela evolved into a kind of comedy of manners distinct to the Filipino taste. In 2011, the performing art was cited by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts as one of the intangible cultural heritage of the Philippines under the performing arts category that the government may nominate in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists. In 2012, through a partnership with UNESCO, the Philippine government established the documents needed for the safeguarding of the Philippine zarzuela. UNESCO has cited the Philippine zarzuela as