Article
Arrivi, Francisco (1915–2007) By Stevens, Camilla
Article
Francisco Arriví was instrumental in developing a modern theater in Puerto Rico during the 1940s–1960s. A playwright, poet, essayist, and tireless promoter of Puerto Rican culture, Arriví authored dramatic scripts for the stage, radio, and television, founded theater groups, and supervised the theater wing of the Puerto Rican Culture Institute. Arriví wrote several major essays on Puerto Rican theater as well as plays ranging from poetic realism to absurdist fantasy and farce. His dramas employ anti-mimetic techniques to treat social themes from a psychological perspective. Vejigantes (Carnival Masks) (1958), his major play, is part of a trilogy that addresses Puerto Rican racial prejudice.