Cultura cortesana, mecenazgo y figuración femenina. Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz y los condes de Galve

Abstract

The American viceroys tried to imitate the courtly customs of the metropolis. This transplanted nobility preserved their class habits, such as patronage, which became a powerful weapon to affirm their image, publicize their achievements and establish agreements with the Creole sectors. In this work I will focus on speeches to reaffirm the viceregal power in works by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz dedicated to the Counts of Galve. On the one hand, the epinicio, consecrated to the viceroy, written in the tradition of the song to the hero and the commemoration of warlike events; on the other, the pieces for the viceroy’s wife, built according to the guidelines of homage poetry. I propose that the Mexican nun rewrote these speeches, while problematizing the representations of authority, authorship, and gender.