Tropical baroque : four Manileño theatricals / Nick Joaquin ; introduction by Rody Vera.

Introduction -- A portrait of the artist as Filipino: an elegy in three scenes -- Tatarin: a witches' sabbath in three acts -- Fathers and sons: a melodrama in three reels -- The beatas: a hymn in three stanzas.

"Tropical Baroque: Four Manileño Theatricals celebrates the dept hand the vibrancy of National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin's dramatic output.
Set in old Manila, A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino revolves around two spinster sisters, Paula and Candida Marasigan, who fight for all the things precious to their family. This play has gone on to be adapted as a major motion picture.
In Tatarin, Doña Lupe stands firm on her ideas on feminism. She joins the three-day fertility ritual where women wildly dance around the balite tree, giving her the perfect opportunity to boldly demand respect and admiration from her husband, Don Paeng.
In Fathers and Sons, Bessie fights back against the shadows cast by her past as an abandoned child sold and bought into the life of prostitution.
The Beatas illustrates modern views and actions of Antonia Ezguerra and Sebastiana de Santa Maria, along with their fellow beatas, as they stand their ground despite the challenge from the patriarchy of the Holy Church to shut down the first beaterio in Manila"-- Back cover.