SOURCE: "La carreta: Virtual Space and Broken Rhythm," in Critica Hispánica, Vol. VII, No. 1, 1985, pp. 75-83.

In the following essay, Reynolds examines the temporal movement, tempo, and use of lighting and scenery to create illusory space in La carreta.

La carreta was the first of René Marqués' dramatic creations to bring him enthusiastic critical acclaim. Indeed, the well-respected critic María Teresa Babín has said that this play "is worthy of figuring among the best works of all of Latin American theatre." The fact that La carreta is one of the most-often performed of Marqués' works, speaks to its dramatic appeal and universality. The three-act play depicts the story of a rural Puerto Rican family, who, at the insistence of the older son, leaves the traditional way of life to search for better social and economic conditions in the mechanized, industrial life of the...