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Copyright by Frances Lourdes Ramos 2005 The Dissertation Committee for Frances Lourdes Ramos certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: The Politics of Ritual in Puebla de los Ángeles, Mexico, 1695-1775 Committee: ___________________________ Susan Deans-Smith, Supervisor ___________________________ James Boyden ___________________________ Virginia Burnett ___________________________ Sandra Lauderdale Graham ___________________________ Kenneth Mills ___________________________ Mauricio Tenorio The Politics of Ritual in Puebla de los Ángeles, Mexico, 1695-1775 by Frances Lourdes Ramos, B.A., M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin May 2005 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many people encouraged me throughout my graduate studies and the researching and writing of this dissertation. Friends and family members always believed in me and, for this, I thank them. As a young child, my mother, Lourdes Ramos Garrido, repeatedly told me, “You can be whatever you want to be when you grow up.” Little did she know then, I would choose to spend nearly a decade of my adult life in graduate school. Mom, thanks for your patience. On various occasions, my brother, Paul Ramos, offered me financial assistance. Although I rarely took him up on his offers, I took comfort in knowing he was there. I also thank my brother Pedro, my godmother, my stepfather, cousins, nieces, nephew, sister in-laws, and aunts, for their love and support. My late father, Pedro M. Ramos, loved history, and his memory continues to inspire me. My best friends, Michelle Piña and Melanie Johnson, provided needed support during the writing of my dissertation, one of the hardest periods of my life for both professional and personal reasons. Rene Leonard consoled me when down and celebrated all my accomplishments. Tony Ciccone became my rock during the last phase of writing. Thank you all. My Austin gal pals Tiffany Anderson and Chandra Jankowiak helped pull me away from the eighteenth century to the pleasures of the here and now. Fellow graduate students Lauren Apter, Ken Aslakson, Andrew Bush, Ann Cooper, Larry Gutman, Benita Heiskanen, Heather Peterson, and Anju Reejhsinghani all became great friends. Most academics love what they do and consequently, have a hard time separating work and iv play. In addition to stimulating me intellectually, these friends taught me about bringing balance to my life and enriched it immensely. I feel fortunate to have studied at the University of Texas at Austin, where graduate students support one another and are sincerely happy for the accomplishments of others. On that note, I also acknowledge José Barragán, Matt Childs, and Robert Smale for their collegiality. Special thanks are owed to Russell Lohse, my best friend and companion throughout my first six years of graduate school at UT. Russ’ intellectual curiosity provoked me to question many things and his discipline pushed me to work harder. At his side, I matured as a scholar. I researched and wrote my dissertation with the support of a Social Science Research Council International Predissertation Fellowship, a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship, and a Harrington Dissertation Fellowship. The SSRC funded a semester of graduate-level anthropology coursework at the Universidad de las Américas, Puebla, where I studied with Timothy Knabb, Eduardo Merlo, and Robert Shadow, and allowed me to undertake seven months of preliminary research. The Fulbright-Hays sponsored me while conducting archival research in Mexico City, Puebla, and Seville, and the Harrington provided crucial support during my most intensive year of writing. On behalf of myself and other fellows, I thank these foundations for making graduate research possible. I enjoyed researching this project and thank the staff of all the libraries and archives where I worked, and particularly those who nurture and maintain the Benson v Latin American Collection of the University of Texas at Austin and the Archivo General de la Nación, Mexico. Employees of the Biblioteca Nacional de Antropología e Historia in Mexico City also deserve special mention for their professionalism and for providing an invaluable resource. I also thank the Vicar General of Puebla for granting me limited access to the Cathedral Archive. While researching in Mexico, I made great friends who deserve thanks for their assistance and support. I conducted most of my research in the Municipal Archive of Puebla, where María Aurelia Hernández Yahuitl, Leticia López Gonzaga, and Felícitas Ocampo López provided invaluable assistance. There I met Manuel López Challini, who gave me a copy of one of my most important sources. Jaime Corona Montiel, my first friend in Puebla, helped me access the José María Lafragua Library at the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla. Fermín Campos and my dear friend, Marta Juárez Díaz, also facilitated my use of the collection. I enjoy recalling our late afternoon coffee breaks and dancing with Marta and Jaime in the middle of what had been the Colegio del Espíritu Santo. Marta hosted me during two short research trips to Puebla in 2002 and 2003, and I will always remember her hospitality and the special moments we shared with Jaime. During my first trip to Puebla in 1999, I had the good fortune of staying with one of the greatest women I have ever had the privilege of knowing– “La Abuela,” Cristina Pino de Orts. My Cuban mother, worried about me staying in a hotel “all by myself,” had the good fortune of meeting Cristina’s granddaughter in Key West, Florida. After vi hearing of my “plight,” she arranged for me to stay with “La Abuela” in Puebla. When I returned as an SSRC Fellow, I lived with Cristina. She cooked for me, cared for me when I got ill, and helped me feel like part of her large and interesting family. Special thanks are owed to Cristina and to her daughter Rosy. Gustavo Luna became my closest friend at the UDLA and helped accustom me to Puebla; he holds a special place in my heart. His brother Alejandro Vaquier and I spent wonderful times together, enjoying long talks as we walked through the city-center. My compadres Delfina and Luis Ramírez and their beautiful daughters Elizabeth, Ana Karen, and Brenda invited me along on several outings, and I also thank them for their hospitality and friendship. Poblano historian Francisco Cervantes Bello’s door was always open to me, and I enjoyed our conversations. Three Mexicans scholars deserve special mention and gratitude for their help and support. Historian Gustavo Alfaro Ramírez advised me and accompanied me on several research trips to Mexico City. I thank him sincerely for his extraordinary work on the eighteenth-century cabildo of Puebla, for his suggestions, and for his loyal friendship. The talented art historian Patricia Díaz Cayeros became one of my dearest friends and an important interlocutor. We shared sources, laughed and learned from one another, and provided mutual support. Historian Juan Carlos Ruíz Guadalajara of the Colegio de San Luis Potosí encouraged me to publish in Mexico and also became a dear friend. My experience as an undergraduate and master’s student at Florida International University provided a strong foundation. I thank my first professor of history, Felice vii Lifshitz, for teaching me that the study of history is not limited to the “big” event and for passing along her enthusiasm. Joseph Patrouch helped focus my attention on the early modern period, and Mark Szuchman “broke me in” with his historical methods course. Victor Uribe introduced me to the history of Mexico and has always acted as one of my staunchest supporters. My master’s thesis advisor, Noble David Cook, merits special mention for mentoring me even after I moved to Austin. I also thank his wife and historian in her own right, Alexandra Parma Cook, for encouraging me throughout the years. I thank the staff and faculty at the University of Texas at Austin’s history department, and the two women who essentially ran the graduate program during my years of study: Mary Helen Quinn and Marilyn Lehman. Neil Kamil always displayed great faith in my abilities and helped nominate me for the Harrington Fellowship. Richard Graham read drafts of my article “Succession and Death,” which helped me to develop my dissertation project. I matured tremendously as a scholar at the University of Texas at Austin and thank all the professors and graduate students who played a role in my intellectual development. Finally, I thank my dissertation committee. My advisor, Susan Deans-Smith, inspired and challenged me. While encouraging my love of cultural history, she warned me to keep my feet firmly on the ground. Her seminars on the historiography of colonial Spanish America and Spanish American independence helped me to think more critically; together with my peers, we challenged the logic and methodologies of many viii contemporary works, and this experience trained me to think like a historian. Her professionalism and respect for empiricism are qualities that I will emulate throughout my career. Virginia Burnett helped cement my interest in religious ritual and new ideas often emerged from our lively discussions. I thank her for standing by me. Mauricio Tenorio’s creativity always impressed me, and his comments on this project were extremely helpful. As a visiting scholar at the University of Texas at Austin, James Boyden of Tulane University shared bibliographic citations with me, read drafts of my first article, and provided useful commentary. Somewhat of a late addition to my committee, Kenneth Mills of the University of Toronto became a trusted advisor. He traveled to Austin for my defense and provided thoughtful criticism. His comments pushed my work in unforeseen directions and, for all this, I thank him.

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