Some notes on the Comedia famosa de la Sagrada Aparición de la Virgen de Guadalupe

Abstract

This paper offers basic but original information on the play Comedia famosa de la Sagrada Aparición de la Virgen de Guadalupe. Since the text lacks sufficient critical studies, it is urgent to provide an account of its author, title, possible theatrical genre, characters, and representation space. First, we address some of the general characteristics of the play, particularly its versification. Afterward, we explore the most likely representation space: a comedy house in Mexico City. Then, we analyze the genre to which the play may have belonged. We propose that the Comedia famosa belongs to what is known as pastorela, which, at that time, was performed to celebrate Advent and Apparitions and was not entirely devotional or ritualistic. After this, we dwell on the play’s title. In this section, we argue that there are insufficient elements to propose a name different from the one it has today. Next, we will present arguments to link the text with some illustrious person close to Lorenzo Boturini’s circle of intellectuals, calling particular attention to the figure of Mariano Fernández de Echevarría y Veytia. Finally, we make a brief but precise analysis of the role of Idolatry, proposing that the author was inspired not by the topic of the good savage but by the goddesses described in the Codex of Teotenantzin.