Monjas, cortesanos y plebeyos (Spanish Edition)

The Culture of a Multi-Ethnic Colony

---

Boys in Mexico City were enamored with war games. In the late colony, they staged mock battles with toy cannons until these were banned. They also used clay figures to imitate alardes or simulated equestrian battles that were held on the days of San Juan, San Pablo, and San Pedro. The residents of New Spain took great pleasure in the many entertainments and spectacles that were available informally in the streets and gathering places: Culture was both sporadic and spontaneous, but many events were meticulously choreographed and planned over long periods.

Many of these cultural happenings were connected; the informal celebrations borrowed the vocabulary of the formulaic events, and popular culture often bled into elite and sacred venues. Cultural events often took place in the streets. In Mexico City, both parks and canals were prime sites for gatherings that included food, music, and people watching Paseos were both a place and an activity; residents of New Spain enjoyed strolling about in beautiful surroundings, observing others, and being observed themselves.

Strolling afforded men and women the chance to flirt and court but also to show off their finery. In Mexico City, there were a number of places where residents congregated; the wealthy went to parks such as the Alameda and Chapultepec, whereas there was a more raucous, plebeian atmosphere alongside canals such as the Viga and Jamaica. Residents of means used carriages or rode on horseback around the wide alleyways.

Their courting was more subtle. The participants indulged in sweets and fruit waters as they dallied about. People both walked along the banks and also rode in small boats—all to the sound of music and singing. The streets were also the site of many more formal festivities that celebrated the established power of both the viceroy and the church.

Events such as the entry of the new viceroy and religious festivals prompted elaborate processions and ceremonies. Cities were festooned with ostentatious decorations—the wealthy draped their balconies with sumptuous tapestries, and city officials paid for triumphal arches as well as paintings and statues along the route and illuminations and fireworks at night. The viceroy wore a suit made with gold thread, while others donned clothes that symbolized their rank and position. In at least one viceregal entry, these women offered the new viceroy a higa —a black hand charm or amulet—which conferred upon the recipient fertility and protection from evil.

Processions brought together both high and low social groups—even those who could not participate were among the crowds of spectators along the procession routes. They commissioned impresarios to enhance the entertainments. These events drew crowds for the spectacle but also for the food stalls and atmosphere of release. Officials struggled to keep the semi-nude people from degrading the occasion and tried to curtail other raucous behavior.

See a Problem?

They reveled at the accompanying diversions such as cockfights, bullfights, and horse and rabbit races. Religious culture allowed for many outbursts that bordered on the profane and certainly lacked solemnity. There were many elements of social inversion as men and women donned masks and costumes. Frequently men dressed as women, sporting fans, spindles, and wigs; conversely, women donned male attire, including frock coats or jackets and swords or pistols.

During these periods, mockery of officials and other excesses were tolerated in this atmosphere of liberty. Life in the streets had a certain theatricality, but this flair for drama was also channeled into more formal presentations. Thus it was a tradition that was well ingrained within the cultural practices of the region. In the early colony, missionaries tapped into this theatrical predisposition to incorporate native peoples into the new religion. Much of the early theater was religious—there was acting out of biblical scenes or morality plays by the converts.

From these initial experiences, New Spain developed a vibrant culture of drama and music that infused spaces and activities both formal and informal. During their first encounters, Spanish clerics found that they could build upon many native traditions in order to attract converts and introduce them to Christian doctrine.

Before the conquest, native people often attended religious plays performed in various venues including inside or near temples and in their city plazas. In New Spain, the early missionary theater was not meant as an entertainment but rather to show the Nahuas and other indigenous peoples how they should worship within a tradition new to them. At times, the lessons were quite literal: This theatrical genre combined medieval Spanish traditions and indigenous ones to generate a new form: From the s to s, many scripts for these plays circulated within indigenous communities.

With translation, however, meanings varied from the original and deviated from the text. To a great extent, ecclesiastical personnel lost control of the plays. By the end of the 17th century, religious theater had become an intrinsic part of the cultural heritage of native communities. The plays were usually performed in open spaces such the central patio of buildings or even, at times, cemeteries.

Find a copy in the library

In a Tlaxcala performance, the producers built a representation of the Garden of Eden complete with rivers, mountains, and live animals—including two jaguars restrained only by ropes. At times, the stage setting included imitation palaces or houses. The loud bangs of fireworks marked actions such as devils taking a sinner into hell as well as the tolling of church bells and songs. Hymns and liturgical chants represented the majority of songs used in plays, which were often chanted in Latin; however, participants sometimes used Nahuatl pieces.

The performance of these plays not only marked special events but also represented a vital part of community pride and identity. Productions attracted not just a local audience but also spectators from nearby villages and thus increased sales for local merchants. In addition, villages took pride in a good production and valued the prestige associated with performances. At first, only male actors could take part; but by the end of the 17th century, women commonly acted as well. They became ritual occasions for which many in the audience and sometimes on stage imbibed alcohol to the point of inebriation.

In , the first Mexican Provincial Council set down rules for plays, and priests had to approve the scripts and songs. No plays could be performed in the early morning before mass. And finally, the adornments and costumes could not evoke the pre-conquest practices and beliefs.

Monjas, cortesanos y plebeyos : la vida cotidiana en la época de Sor Juana

In the 18th century, ecclesiastical officials continued to attempt to police the staging of Nahuatl Theater by enforcing these rules but especially by confiscating the scripts where possible. Although the first theater of New Spain was undoubtedly connected to conversion and religion, a secular and often rowdy theater followed shortly thereafter.

The initial representations were usually presented to commemorate important events such as the conquest.

These performances were not as serious as the missionizing plays; they were meant as distractions and amusements. At first, secular plays were acted out in haphazard settings: One of the earliest permanent theaters in Mexico City was located in the Hospital de los Naturales [Hospital for indigenous residents] as a fundraising exercise for the institution. Because these small locations were unofficial, they could put on racy shows. Many of these acts were highly satirical and poked fun at major figures in the colonial administration. They also frequently included magic tricks or machines that made dolls move.

Much of the content of entertainments in these informal venues is lost to historians except in the general sense that it was racy, ironic, and mocked establishment values. In more formal theatrical institutions, colonial officials could exert more control because the plays had to be presented for approval by the Holy Office and could be censored. Just like in the religious theater, the production values of the shows had to be impressive; spectators demanded luxurious decorations and ostentatious costumes and settings. Plays often included dance and song both within the action but also as interludes.

Despite the light fare, or perhaps because such amusements were so popular, people flocked to the Coliseo. Drawn by the posters advertising a show, the audiences gathered at the theater shortly after the last prayers and stayed well into the night. The cost of tickets did mean that many indigenous and Afro-Mexicans were less likely to attend, but the audiences were diverse nonetheless; even monks were often present. But despite these prohibitions, the public shouted at actors, ate sweets and other treats, talked among themselves especially when flirting threw garbage onto the lower seats, and smoked so much that the performances were engulfed in in haze.

Men fought over whether they should remove their hat, and vendors shouted out to customers hawking their products. Despite all these distractions, the acting troupes persevered. Maybe it is because of these conditions that there was a shortage of actors in New Spain; most came from Spain, Cuba, Peru, and even Italy. Elite men targeted actresses and dancers for seduction and frequently assumed that any woman involved in the theater was of dubious morality or a prostitute.

The theater became a focal point for scandal and entertainment but also provoked disapproval among many others. Inspired by Enlightenment ideals, officials condemned not so much the licentiousness associated with the theater in New Spain but rather its vulgarity and lack of educational purpose. Gradually, these reformers were able to promote plays that were more serious in nature and whose intention was to foster good morals and character among the population.

Missionaries introduced European-style music and musical instruments as part of the conversion process, and indigenous peoples adopted these novelties and integrated them into their own cultural practices. The Nahuas and other peoples welcomed the new forms of music. Both ecclesiastical and secular settlers in northern New Spain encouraged native music; for the religious personnel, chaste dances and music that did not re-create previous practices were acceptable, while Spanish residents believed that European-style music aided in transforming the indigenous population into good workers.

In Fray Pedro de Gante initiated instruction for Nahua singers in plainsong and polyphonic music; the students began to sing as an accompaniment to mass. The adoption of European musicianship among the indigenous was so successful that there was an oversupply for the number of positions available. Native musicians began to copy the choir books imported by Spanish clerics, and some also composed new music within the European genre: This type of music was part of many different cultural manifestations, ranging from processions, theater, festivals, marriages, funerals, and many other occasions.

Oaxaca was also known for wonderful music; its chapel master was originally from the Zapotec village of Zaapeche. He won the post over many other applicants for demonstrating an aptitude for playing the organ and having a sublime singing voice. Cathedrals and churches were important musical centers employing choirs, orchestras, and chapel masters. Two types of music were considered acceptable within ecclesiastical buildings: These musical genres were not only considered sacred but had long been connected to the church.

Nonetheless, more secular musical forms crept into churches and cathedrals including tonadillas [ditties] and villancicos. In the Mexico City cathedral, some performers used maracas and drums—certainly not the instruments associated with the sacred but rather indicating an African influence. Many musical forms were ribald and disrespectful such as those ditties performed during theater interludes. Villancicos were originally secular and as such banned from church setting; but by the 17th century, they were allowed in the churches.

On the occasion of festivals, church choirs sang villancicos that were often based on poems written in Spanish. Many villancicos mentioned common activities such as playing cards or the ceremonial jousting that took place to commemorate military victories. Villancicos told stories in song form, and in one of her compositions, Sor Juana wrote about both native and Afro-Mexican dances.

The origin of the word and the music and dance were highly Africanized. These musical genres were indelibly associated with dance—but they were product of the mixing of musical influences that characterized the colony. Before the conquest, indigenous peoples wrote in pictographs; their writing was a form of painting, and thus the two traditions blended. Missionaries began to instruct young indigenous men in alphabetic writing shortly after the conquest; and along with these new skills, many produced documents that combined elements of both traditions with images that integrated European elements such as perspective.

It did not take long for mestizo and native chroniclers to emerge writing in their own language but in alphabetic text. Although there were small local schools scattered throughout New Spain, literacy was not widespread. It was mostly an attribute of the wealthy; but for these few, Mexico City and its viceregal court were a central point where local and foreign writers congregated. The capital also boasted many institutions of higher learning such as its university, colleges, and seminaries. This rich cultural and intellectual life encouraged writing of all types.

Printers produced large runs of books locally, some literary and others more prosaic and official. The book-buying public could support booksellers as well as presses. The capital was a big market for these presses, and both wealthy citizens and institutions often had large libraries—some of which were open to the public. Books in many languages and covering a wide array of topics were available. But novels sold the best. Because the taste for poetry was so prevalent, poetry tournaments were also fairly common—at times organized by guilds. Because rates of literacy were low in New Spain, many messages were imparted through the visual arts.

Within the processions described earlier, spectators learned from the decorations including paintings produced for the occasion. By the end of the 18th century, some of these workshops were sizeable—with workforces as large as five hundred. They produced not only ecclesiastical objects but also decorative objects for everyday use. Culture in New Spain was never one-dimensional; the life of the streets, processions, theater, and so many other diversions were marked by music, dramatic flourishes, and a lush panorama for the eye.

Even though it was a society that was highly hierarchical, the official culture could not escape influences from indigenous and African residents who, at the same time, adopted European genres in music, theater, and the arts and created new hybrid forms. Cultural events were ever present, sometimes inside the Cathedral or the Coliseo; but more often than not, they spilled out into the streets like so much of the daily life in New Spain. Create lists, bibliographies and reviews: Search WorldCat Find items in libraries near you. Advanced Search Find a Library.

Your list has reached the maximum number of items. Please create a new list with a new name; move some items to a new or existing list; or delete some items.

Your request to send this item has been completed. Citations are based on reference standards. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. The specific requirements or preferences of your reviewing publisher, classroom teacher, institution or organization should be applied. The E-mail Address es field is required.

Are You an Author?

Please enter recipient e-mail address es. The E-mail Address es you entered is are not in a valid format. Please re-enter recipient e-mail address es. You may send this item to up to five recipients. The name field is required. Please enter your name. The E-mail message field is required. Please enter the message. Please verify that you are not a robot. Would you also like to submit a review for this item? You already recently rated this item.

Monjas, cortesanos y plebeyos by Antonio Rubial García

Your rating has been recorded. Write a review Rate this item: Preview this item Preview this item. Monjas, cortesanos y plebeyos: Subjects Mexico City Mexico -- Social life and customs -- 17th century. Mexico City Mexico -- Intellectual life -- 17th century.

• Le Château des Plaisirs - Linitiation de Georges et Georgette (French Edition)
• AGE OF AQUARIUS (The Avatar God-man)
• The LEGO Build-It Book, Vol. 2: More Amazing Vehicles
• Sexy Challenge - The Date Is In The Mail (Sexy Challenges Book 42)
• A Passionate Life
• Die 7 Schriftrollen (German Edition)
• A Recipe for Success - Tonelades de helado y una forma pacífica de hacer negocios