Zafra

 

Zafra: A Tribute to Afro-Puerto Rican Heritage 2026 vs. 1983

 

Cast: Margarita "Tata" Sanchez Cepeda, Bárbara Liz Ortiz Sánchez, Deelores Escalera, Mía Sánchez, Eliam Sánchez, Brenda Cepeda, Margarita Caridad Sánchez Martínez, Emmanuel Martínez, Laura, Raúl Sánchez, Alexis R. Velázquez, Héctor García, William Miranda, Jonás Martínez, Brendan, Daniela Vargas Calvo, Bayou, Amarylis, Lannaya, Anna Maria, Maggie Febo, Wilfredo Alexis Laurent, Alberto Sánchez, Joshua Guerrero Sanchez, Thalia Guerrero Sánchez, Karla Cortijo, Nja, "Pepe" 

 

About

Zafra: A Tribute to Afro-Puerto Rican Heritage 2026 rehearsals had two public performances presented at the Dr. Phillips Center in Orlando, Florida, on February 14 at 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Zafra (2026) constitutes a contemporary re‑staging of the original 1983 production Zafra: Fusión Cepeda, first performed at the Centro de Bellas Artes in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The 2026 production received support from the New England Foundation for the Arts. 

 

 

 Zafra tells the story of the legacy of La Familia Cepeda, discusses Puerto Rico's tri-ethnic heritage, discusses significant autochthonous music genres (e.g., plena, bomba). In 1983, Petra Cepeda and Don Rafael Cepeda Atiles performed in the live music-dance production, in 2026 his great-granddaughter Barbara directed a re-staging of the musical.  

Barbara Liz Ortiz Sanchez de Cepeda, daughter of "Tata" Cepeda also made some additional updates to the show that were not present in the 1983 production. 

Note: this AVannotate project only displays the (1983) recording, it will be updated soon to include the 2026 showing.  

Some of these changes that Barbara made included adding additional dialogue to contextualize outdating sections of the show. For instance, in the 1983 show, the narrator only mentioned the tri-ethnic heritage of present-day Puerto Ricans, but in the 2026 version, Barbara added that we now know there were other immigrants that contributed to the cultural heritage and ancestry of Puerto Ricans including the French, Dutch, and various ethnic groups from the continent of Africa. She also invited a contemporary African-diasporic dance group based in Austin, Lanaaya, to be involved in the 2026 show.  

The other changes she made included adding a prologue between her daughter Mia and her mother Tata, asking about her family legacy. They also used different songs then in the 1983 version of the show and included a section showing the different Cepeda family members below playing separately and then together.