Research and Curation

Last updated on Nov. 17, 1999 (Juana de Asbaje y Ramírez; ¿1648?-1695) Soneto CXLVII A una rosa En que da moral censura a una rosa, y en ella a sus semejantes Rosa divina que en gentil cultura eres, con tu fragante sutileza, magisterio purpúreo en la belleza, enseñanza nevada a la hermosura.

In this distinguished contribution to Latin American colonial history, Douglas Cope draws upon a wide variety of sources-including Inquisition and court cases, notarial records and parish registers-to challenge the traditional view of castas (members of the caste system created by Spanish overlords) as rootless, alienated, and dominated by a desire to improve their racial status.

Satire, the use of criticism cloaked in wit, has been employed since classical times to challenge the established order of society. In colonial Spanish America during the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries, many writers used satire to resist Spanish-imposed social and literary forms and find an authentic Latin American voice.

This innovative work of cultural history examines the function of public rituals in colonial Mexico City. Festivals were a defining characteristic of life in the capital. For most of the colonial period, inhabitants could witness as many as 100 religious and civil celebrations in a year.

Palace intrigues and clientelism drove politics at the viceregal court of colonial Mexico. By carefully reconstructing social networks in the court of Viceroy Duke of Alburquerque (1702-1710), Christoph Rosenmüller reveals that the Duke presided over one of the most corrupt viceregal terms in Mexican history.Alburquerque was appointed by Spain's King Philip V at a time when expanding state power was beginning to meet with opposition in colonial Mexico.

A contemporary of Columbus noted "those crazy Spaniards have more regard for a bit of honor than for a thousand lives." This obsession flourished in the New World, where status, privilege, and rank became cornerstones of the colonial social order. Honor had many faces.

Pete Soderman is a published author and lecturer, with a background in computer engineering and sales. He had a 26-year drinking career that began the day before the assassination of President Kennedy, and ended in 1990.

The national literatures of the Spanish-speaking countries of the Western Hemisphere. Historically, it also includes the literary expression of the highly developed American Indian...

The bubonic plague (Black Death) devastated Europe resulting in demographic and economic disasters inciting a collective fear of dying. Death became the great equalizer despite social and economic position. This terror reached the Spanish colonies creating several cultural developments. The Danse Macabre, death in art, religious relics, and the iconic use of calaveras (skulls) were some.

A war that started under questionable pretexts. A president who is convinced of his country's might and right. A military and political stalemate with United States troops occupying a foreign land against a stubborn and deadly insurgency.The time is the 1840s. The enemy is Mexico.

Mexican fiddle If there is one symbol of Mexico more enduring than tequila, the fiesta and the mustachioed bandito, it must surely be the Mariachi musicians, dressed in the outrageous finery of their sombreros and Charro suits, playing and singing endless songs of love and passion.

Prepared by Guillermo Náñez Falcón January 1999. Last updated: March 20, 2003. Tulane University's Latin American Library houses one of the finest collections in the United States of primary and secondary materials relating to Mexico.

Curated by the Education Department From 1891 to 1913 José Guadalupe Posada (México, 1852-1913) created metal engravings that illustrated Mexico City's stories and scandals. Printed on humble broadsides and booklets that sold for a few cents each, his illustrations of Calaveras (skulls) and satirical depictions of public figures appealed to illiterate peasants and middle class housewives, alike.

Honoring relatives by tending graves, building altars, and cooking festive meals has been an honored tradition among Latin Americans for centuries.

"From Leonardo's drawings of grotesque heads to contemporary prints lampooning American politicians, The Metropolitan Museum of Art has a vast but largely unknown collection of caricatures and other satirical works. This handsome book offers 165 examples, dating from about 1500 to the present, that reflect the age-old tradition of using exaggeration and humor to convey personal, social, or political meaning.

This dissertation analyzes 20th century representations and discursive constructions of the Mexican im/migrant body through an eclectic variety of cultural texts produced during three "Hispanophobic" moments in American history.

Until 1700 the Viceroyalty of New Spain included not only what is now Mexico and its northern territories which became the states of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas but also Central America to Panama and the Spanish Caribbean possessions of Cuba, Hispanola, Puerto Rico and what is now the state of Florida and also the Philippine Islands.