Dolores Prida: 1943—: Playwright, Journalist, Poet Biography

Dolores Prida: 1943—: Playwright, journalist, poet.

Cuban-American playwright Dolores Prida began her writing career while working for a restaurant chain, and went on to write more than a dozen plays and musicals that achieved critical acclaim. Her plays are known for their frank portrayal of the difficul-ties faced by immigrants who try to embrace a new culture without losing their old one. Prida's work has reflected her own experiences; while still a teenager she left her old life in her native Cuba and had to build a new one in the United States. Her writings have explored the prejudices that face immigrants, and often focus on the sexism that exists within immigrant communities. What sets Prida's work apart is her adept use of humor to help confront these issues, and this has allowed her to develop characters with more humanity and depth. Humor can also make difficult topics more approachable to people who may carry around their own stereotypes; laughter can be a disarmingly effective means of getting people to open their minds.

Dolores Prida was born in the small town of Cabairíen, Cuba, on September 5, 1943, the first of three children of Manuel and Dolores Prieta Prida. Manuel Prida was a salesman who provided adequately for his family, but he was also a womanizer who had difficulty putting down roots. This was a subject that his daughter would later tackle in her plays. Young Dolores took business courses in high school, but she also wrote poems and short stories, most of which she kept to herself.