Methods of Persuasion for Religious Donations in Comedia de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe y sus milagros

On September 10, 1601, a Spanish Jeronymite by the name of Diego de Ocaña, from the monastery Extremeño de Guadalupe, stood in Potosí Bolivia’s plaza 10 de Noviembre. He watched his own play titled Comedia de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe y sus milagros be performed for the first time in front of thousands of Spaniards, creoles, mestizos, and indigenous peoples. The play, which incorporated one of Ocaña’s Virgin of Guadalupe paintings, highlighted the historical and miraculous moments of the original painting in various individual scenes. Modern critics have tried to explain the play’s meaning and symbolism, as well as Ocaña’s personal interests and intentions. Over time, Comedia de Nuestra Señora has generally and briefly been recognized as a propagandistic play fueled by Ocaña’s economic motives. This article aims to avoid generalities by providing examples that demonstrate how Ocaña employed persuasive methods to obtain religious donations. Some of the ways he achieved his goal were by utilizing varied poetic verses, exemplary characters, and promises of divine assistance. Similarly, he took advantage of the preestablished celebratory and religious ambience, described in Viaje por el Nuevo Mundo, which consequently allowed theatrical spaces to enter religious spaces. This confused the two, making the theatrical more believable and “real.” Finally, Ocaña knew that his performance would take place in Potosí, where reciprocity was an active political and social tradition. Every kind gesture and offering he made to the Potosí residents would have required compensation. I argue that these tactics were used by Ocaña in order to guarantee that participants and spectators would make donations to the Jeronymite monastery and never forget the importance and divine power of the Virgin of Guadalupe. (NG)