Music, liturgy and devotional piety in new spain

Music, Liturgy, and Devotional Piety in New Spain: Baroque Religious Culture and the Re-evaluation of Religious Reform during the 18th Century
Jesus A. Ramos-Kittrell
Latin American Music Review, Volume 31, Number 1, Spring/Summer 2010, pp. 79-100 (Article)
Published by University of Texas Press DOI: 10.1353/lat.2010.0010

J ES US A . R A MO S - K I T T R EL L

Music, Liturgy, andDevotional Piety in New Spain: Baroque Religious Culture and the Re-evaluation of Religious Reform during the 18th Century
■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

A BSTR AC T:

Studies of religious culture in New Spain have considered the excess and financial ostentation of ritual and ceremony as initial catalysts of the Bourbon social and economic reforms of the 18th century. In this regard, scholarsobserve that the overwhelming proliferation of lay endowments was indicative of a fascination with excess and ostentation in ritual, which the crown aimed to curb. However, such studies stress that reform policies did not halt the establishment of lay endowments, a fact attributed to an alleged secular reaction against royal policies. This speculation has yet to reconcile the fact that, whileendowments remained consistent throughout the 18th century, this was largely due to the benefit that they provided to the church during harsh financial times. Given the difficulties faced by the cathedral of Mexico during this period, this paper scrutinizes upheld notions of ritual ostentation, ultimately problematizing the relationship between the church and the crown in regard to reform policy, andemphasizing the role of lay devotion as pivotal to this institutional tension.
■ ■ ■

keywords: religion, ritual, music, New Spain, Bourbon reforms
RE SUM E N:

Estudios sobre cultura religiosa en la Nueva España consideran que la ostentación y esplendor ceremonial—características asumidas de facto—dieron orígen a las reformas sociales y económicas de la corona borbona. Dichos trabajos señalan quela proliferación de fundaciones y aniversarios es indicador de una fascinación con un esplendor excesivo en el ritual barroco, el cual la corona se preocupaba por disminuir. Por otro lado, estos estudios recalcan la imposibilidad por parte de la corona de controlar el establecimiento de fundaciones y aniversarios, hecho que se atribuye a una supuesta protesta civil en contra de la políticareformista. Sin embargo, esta especulación debe tomar en cuenta el que la proliferación de fundaciones y aniversarios se debía en gran manera al beneficio que la iglesia recibía de estos ingresos. Dadas las dificultades económicas que afectaron a la catedral de Méxco durante el siglo de luces, este ensayo interroga la asumida noción de esplendor en el ritual catedralicio. Este análisis invita aproblematizar la relación entre la iglesia y la corona en cuanto a la implementación de la política reformista borbona, y enfatiza la importancia del patrocinio secular como agente central en esta relación institucional.
■ ■ ■

palabras clave: religión, ritual, música, Nueva España, reformas borbónicas Latin American Music Review, Volume 31, Number 1, Spring/Summer 2010 © 2010 by the University of TexasPress, P.O. Box 7819, Austin, TX 78713-7819

80

■

J ESU S A. RAMOS- KI TTRE L L

Social studies of religious life in New Spain have emphasized the importance of religious practices in colonial society, as well as the excess and elaboration permeating ritual performance.1 Indeed, the metropolitan cathedral of Mexico—perhaps the most prominent ecclesiastical center in New Spain—constantlysought to gather the attention of lay society on the observance of religious ceremonies as primordial social activities. In this regard, the proliferation of lay acts of devotional piety is perhaps an indicator of the prominent place that religious culture had in Neo-Hispanic society. As a primordially performative religious culture, the practice of liturgical piety was an important component of...