Written by Migdia Chinea

Inspired by a real historical figure, this is the allegory of Yarini, a mysterious and powerful pimp who dominates Havana in 1910, a time when Halley’s Comet is passing through.   When Yarini falls for the President’s wife, his childhood sweetheart, Manto, a mulatta who loves him, uses Afro-Cuban religion Santeria to get him back.  But she is warned that she can’t call on the African saints to do harm because doing so can have bad consequences.   When Manto’s plan backfires, she changes the course of events.

In 1910, Havana flourished as the new frontier for the European elite. Its harbor was “La Llave,” the key port of entry to the New World.

Drawn to its natural splendor, and unlimited resources, nobility, industrialists and people “with a past” come to its shores, seeking new opportunities or to reinvent themselves.  The settlers, French, British and mostly Spanish colonialists imbued the city with all the creature comforts from their native homes.

But there was another element that set this world apart from theirs and that was the influx of Africans.  Unlike North America, something different occurred in Havana.  African culture with its wonderfully earth-bound rituals and unusual rhythms slowly infiltrated the upper echelons of society, until it was embraced, almost unconsciously.  During this time, one man rose to great power.  His name was Yarini, “the Pimp of San Isidro.”  During his ten-year reign, he brought inexorable joy to many, but to others he presented a great threat.  In a story based on the myth of the man, Yarini, the women he loved, and the beautiful city of Havana.

With the passing of Yarini also passed the end of a great era. 

“Old Havana and the Great Pimp of San Isidro”.