About the Play:

HARD TO FIND BOOK, only a very limited number of copies are still available.

Rich with culture and full of lively characters and clever plots, Plays from Hispanic Tales will delight young actors and audiences. The scripts are based on traditional Hispanic stories, legends, and folktales, and feature familiar themes – clever tricksters triumph; honest characters are rewarded; and the foolish and the lazy are punished.

The plays are enlivened by such special characters as Pedro de Urdemalas, a quick-witted mischief maker; Senorita Curaracha, who is eager to find a husband; a magical horse who grants a young man three wishes; a kind tinker, who helps a ghost find peace in The Ghost of El Castillo; and a burro given the power of speech in time for Las Posadas Christmas celebration. The legend of Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl, two famous Mexican volcanoes, is dramatized in an appropriately frightening manner, while another fascinating play, The Deer Dance, brings to life and ancient Mayan hunting ceremony.

An informative introduction is provided for each play to help the young actors, teachers, drama directors, and the audience gain an appreciation of the rich heritage of Latin American culture. Production notes follow each play to offer suggestions for simple staging, costumes, settings, and properties. Finally, a glossary of over 100 Spanish words and phrases used in the plays is provided in the Appendix.

What people say:

"The introductions [to the plays] help to conceptualize each story ... You've put together a set of plays that are fun, full of humor and tricks." — Dr. Guadalupe M. Friaz, Chicano Studies Program, University of Washington

About the Playwright:

Barbara Winther (1926-2018) was an American author of several novels, plays and nonfiction books. Many of her works are concerned with Native American art history and indigenous cultures in Africa and South America, with settings as far-flung as Peru, the Serengeti and Japan. For over twenty years, she was a member of the South American Explorers Club. In 2002, she was elected to the prestigious Society of Woman Geographers.