Definition of Hispanic American Baroque

What movementartistic, the Baroque emerged in Italy in the late seventeenth century and soon reached Spain and then Latin America. This current developed basically in two creative spheres: the literature and the architecture.

In literature

Skepticism and pessimism are the two main features of the Baroque. In this sense, in literary works life is conceived as a permanent struggle and as a lie. An adjective and allegorical language is used and by a frequent use of figures rhetoric, especially metaphor.

Likewise, the different vernacular languages ​​are the vehicle of communication by excellence. These characteristics were assumed by Spanish-American writers and will remain in force until the 18th century. Baroque literature in America must be understood within the framework of colonial society and in the consequent cultural miscegenation and, at the same time, without forgetting the role of the Church in the whole of the society.

Among the most prominent creators it is worth mentioning Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, in whose poetic and theatrical work the influences of the Spanish Baroque and the American indigenous culture are appreciated. The baroque poets of Latin America cultivated the stanzas of European origin (the sonnet, the triplet or the redondilla) adapted to the culture of the Mayans and the Aztecs.

In architecture

The baroque in Latin America is fundamentally ornamental and with a religious spirit. In this sense, it is common to decorate the facades of churches through altarpieces, the use of intense colors and the use of polychrome wood combined with tiles.

It was in Mexico where Baroque architecture reached its highest levels of splendor. In the churches it is possible to appreciate how the influence of Spanish architects (for example, the Churrigeresque style) was adapted to the tradition of pre-Columbian America. In this sense, the Spanish architect Jerónimo de Balbás symbolizes the union of the two traditions, since they formed with his teacher Churriguera and in the Mexican capital began his masterpiece, the Retablo de los Reyes de la Cathedral.

Most of the baroque churches of the Andean region built in the 18th century were built from the inspiration of the Spanish missionaries, especially the Jesuits and the Franciscans. However, Baroque architecture is a movement eclectic that incorporated elements of the Guaraní tradition and the religious values ​​of the conquerors.

Photos: Fotolia - Fergregory / NoraDoa