Introduction: Spectacle in Colonial Mexico

Abstract

he great festival, religious or civic, in many respects dominated the urban landscape of colonial Mexico and invariably was affiliated with secular or religious authorities. 1 The Spaniard in the sixteenth century faced a newly conquered territory and-even with the demographic disaster-a kingdom composed of linguistically and ethnically diverse peoples. The initial goal of recreating or perfecting Europe in the New World gave way to the real complexity of colonial society. 2 Though called New Spain, Mexico would not be Spain. Consequently, from a purely political perspective control was a pivotal consideration of the Spanish, and institutions such as the labor draft, slavery, tribute, the reduction of Native villages, and the caste system, all sought to establish and maintain control just as much as local militia. This quest to maintain stability (i.e., the status quo) extended to the grand fete. Large-scale spectacle, already a feature of Late Medieval and Early Modern European life, crossed the Atlantic. In the Old World, these festivals served a myriad of functions. For example, they were hegemonic tools of the State, they articulated or sustained community or group identity, and they defined human-divine relations. In the New World, Spanish colonists 1 Festivals such as feasts of community patron saints, also were an integral part of village or rural life. However, the essays here define the elaborate, costly, and extraordinarily sumptuous rituals only possible in colonial cities and larger towns. 2 This transition is seen most clearly with the evangelization program of the sixteenth century. See

Re-reading the acclamation of John IV of Portugal in Cochin 1641 as urban spectacle and literary text

“…6 On the use of these models about royal portraits and festive spectacle see Roe, 2019, p. 35;2020a, p. 667). 7 A range of studies have explored the portrayal of the king in the context of Spain's Latin American territories (Curcio-Nagy, 1996a;1996b;Fee, 1996;Flinchpaugh, 1996;Osorio, 2017). To date, I am unaware of any studies concerning the performance of the king's presence.…”