Staging Habla de Negros

Staging Habla de Negros: Radical Performances of the African Diaspora in Early Modern Spain is a scholarly examination of African influence in Spanish theater from the 1500s to the 1700s. This volume 1 study focuses on the use of habla de negros, or black speech, within the works of authors like Lope de Rueda and Calderón de la Barca. By analyzing performative poetry and Golden Age drama, the text explores how white appropriations of African voices functioned within early modern Iberia.

This work of history and literature challenges the notion that these representations were merely racist stereotypes. Instead, it utilizes African diaspora in literature studies to show how black characters exercised agency and resistance through song and speech. The book provides a sophisticated analysis of identity building and race, illustrating how African cultural retentions remained visible in the theater and literature of the period.