The Great Festivals of Colonial Mexico City: Performing Power and Identity (review)

Drawing on an extensive bibliography of printed primary sources and festival descriptions, as well as more recent works on public performance and ritual, Linda Curcio-Nagy argues that changes in the structure and goals of colonial festivals in Mexico City mirrored differing styles of government under Hapsburg and Bourbon monarchs. Festivals, especially the ceremony surrounding the jura, or the oath taken by a new Viceroy, and the oath of obedience colonial subjects made to a new king, presented a microcosm of an ideal ordering of colonial life, according to the directions of the viceregal authorities and ruling classes. Curcio-Nagy argues that festival rhetoric and display were efforts to create cultural hegemony and a sense of colonial identity, strengthen social and religious hierarchies, distract subjects from their arduous daily life and make a show of unity among the subjects of Spain's extensive empire and the legitimacy of Spanish rule.

Each chapter begins with a lively description of various public ceremonies, from the entrances of Viceroys, including the marquis of Cerralvo in 1624 and the marquis of Villena in 1640, to the 1747 celebration of the ascension of Ferdinand VI, and the oath of loyalty to Charles III in 1760. The details of these royal demonstrations are fascinating, such as the thousands of candles and ornate silver panels displayed by the silversmiths in 1760 to show their obedience to Charles III and descriptions of a dance performance involving woman of African descent in 1640, along with the erotic references in the poem that would have been read during the dance.

Curcio-Nagy does not focus on non-elite reception of the celebrations, and this weakness is seen especially in the sections dealing with Indian participation. Although Indians played an active role in Hapsburg juras, it is difficult to argue that "the parallels between pre-Colombian and colonial rituals of statecraft would have been evident" (p. 47) to Nahuas who survived the conquest, especially when Curcio-Nagy also argues that "[a] great deal of Native historical memory would have been lost due to the passage of time" (Ibid.). However, Indian elite participation in Hapsburg juras was crucial in demonstrating loyalty to the new government, ensuring status within the Indian community and recognizing their Aztec heritage, since these leaders "probably had retained substantial knowledge of the history and past rituals of their communities" (p. 52).

While the treatment of non-Spanish participation in colonial ceremonies is superficial, Curcio-Nagy achieves her main goal of connecting public festivals to changing visions of the colonial polity under the Hapsburgs and Bourbons. Under the Hapsburgs, Mexico City councilmen and colonial civil and religious authorities spent tens of thousands of pesos to stage festivals emphasizing the importance of the viceroy's personal virtues, not only as a representative of the king, but as an ideal Christian prince himself, who would usher in a great era for colonial subjects, especially through his connection to the Church. Under the Bourbons, the viceroy's position was downgraded; he no longer entered the city under a canopy, clad in lavish official robes. Admission was charged to attend bullfights, and the profits funded elite celebrations. Royal officials also co-opted the image of the Virgin of Remedies, emphasizing her role in the conquest, instead of as an intercessor aiding the viceregal capital. Bourbon ceremonies no longer included native leaders, but instead guilds funded lavish displays. Festivals, especially those celebrated by Indian religious brotherhoods, were now viewed as wasteful and unedifying. Carnival was banned in the central city, and the celebrations were made more sedate, often requiring an admission ticket. The Bourbons, unsuccessfully it turns out, depended on education and public works to gain the loyalty previously sought through popular public ceremonies.

Although the final chapter of the book presents some intriguing satirical festivals organized by students critical of the government, the theme of publicly enacted government ceremonies...