The prolog of the play begins with a curtain representing the Arab Arco de las Cucharas (Arch of the Spoons) (now rebuilt in the forest of the Alhambra) and with a perspective of the plaza Bibarrambla (Bibarrambla square). Some girls sing a romance then known and sung in Granada about Mariana Pineda: “¡Oh, qué día más triste en Granada, [Oh, what a sad day in Granada,] / que a las piedras hacía llorar [that made the stones cry] / al ver que Marianita se muere [to see that Marianita dies] / en cadalso por no declarar!” [by guillotine for not testifying!”]. The scene is later than the story told. The play is set in Granada in the 19th century. There are allusions to many places in the city: Bibarrambla square, the Albaicín, Alhambra, Darro river, Alpujarra, Alameda del Salón, Zacatín, Church of Santa Ana, Genil river, etc.
