The Spectacular City, Mexico, and Colonial Hispanic Literary Culture

Colonial Hispanic literary culture, particularly in Spanish American cities, is characterized by a complex interplay of moral, racial, and sexual coding that reflects both the imperial dream of order and the heterogeneous reality of urban spaces. Stephanie Merrim's study reveals how writers such as Hernán Cortés, Bernardo de Balbuena, and Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, among others, engaged with this duality through their depictions of cities like Mexico City, Potosí, and Lima, using classical, biblical, European, and Amerindian sources to craft their narratives. The research contrasts Renaissance and Baroque visions, demonstrating that creole writers sought to assert their cultural nationalism while navigating the complexities of colonial society. Merrim's analysis also highlights an epistemological aperture within Western-based texts, exemplified by Sor Juana's critical engagement with Athanasius Kircher's works, which underscores the limits of knowledge during this period.

Restrepo, L. F. (2012). The Spectacular City, Mexico, and Colonial Hispanic Literary Culture. Hispanic American Historical Review, 92(2), 359–360. https://doi.org/10.1215/00182168-1545845