In Search of the Peruvian: Santa Rosa del Perú by Agustín Moreto and Francisco Lanini

Abstract

Santa Rosa del Perú portrays the ascetic life of a maiden from Lima until the end of her days, emphasizing the sacrifices and virtues that make her the first saint of the Americas. Although the Peruvian origin of St. Rose is manifested in this play, her portrayal doesn’t correspond to the image of the typical Peruvian or American in the Golden Age, which is the reason I intend, with this contribution, to trace the marks of the Peruvian derived from the antagonism represented between the European and American.