FRAMING FRONTIERS: LANDSCAPE AND DISCOURSE IN BALTASAR DE OBREGÓN’S HISTORIA DE LOS DESCUBRIMIENTOS DE NUEVA ESPAÑA (1584) DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Rebecca Carte, M.A. ***** The Ohio State University 2008 Dissertation Committee: Professor Maureen Ahern, Advisor Professor Lúcia Costigan Approved by Professor Daniel T. Reff _________________________ Advisor, Professor Juan Zevallos-Aguilar Graduate Program in Spanish and Portuguese ABSTRACT This dissertation examines the discourses of landscape as they relate to the representation of indigenous peoples in Baltasar Obregón´s narrative report of exploration, Historia de los descubrimientos de Nueva España (1584). As it narrates the course of expeditions of exploration into the northern borderlands of New Spain between 1564 and 1584, the primary purpose of this text was not only to report to the crown and officials in New Spain the events that occurred during the expeditions, but also to report on the geography of the largely unknown territory beyond the northern frontier of New Spain, since no maps yet existed for it. Obregón, the narrating subject, then, made important decisions about what his anticipated readership would “see” of the region through what information he chose to present, and how he chose to present it. These decisions about how to frame the view of the landscape directly affected the representations that were created of these lands, and of their peoples. At the same time, Obregón’s narrative would have more than likely been influenced not only by what he saw as he traversed the territory, but also by the documentation, legend, and lore of the expeditions into North America that preceded his; in particular, the relaciones and rumors that had circulated about the journeys of Alvar Núnez Cabeza de Vaca (1528- 1536), Fray Marcos de Niza (1539) and Francisco Vázquez de Coronado (1540-1542). ii Just how the landscape and its peoples presented in the text were perceived by the anticipated readers would have hinged, to a great extent, on the representations provided by the narrating subject, a criollo, himself influenced by his very particular locus of enunciation, the frontier of New Spain in the late sixteenth century. I argue that it is in landscape description where the context of textual production, textual mapping and the textual projection of European institutions converge, and create a place, a textualscape, from which the human element cannot escape. iii Dedicated to my parents iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my sincere thanks to my dissertation advisor, Professor Maureen Ahern. In addition to sharing with me her photocopy of Obregón’s original manuscript held in the Archivo General de Indias, she has supported me, inspired me, and shared her wealth of knowledge with sincerity and generosity. She has been a wonderful role model and teacher and I will always value the time that I have studied under her guidance. I am grateful to Professor Lúcia Costigan for advising me in my coursework and for teaching classes that inspired me to pursue colonial studies. Muito obrigada. I am indebted to Professor Juan Zevallos-Aguilar, who has provided me with insightful comments and close readings of all my work. Muchas gracias. I also extend my heartfelt thanks to Professor Daniel Reff for sharing his knowledge and expertise with me, providing a copy of his unpublished article, and for taking the time to meet with me to discuss our mutual interest in Obregón’s text. Finally, I wish to acknowledge the many institutions and scholars who generously permitted the reproduction of their maps and photos: Daniel T. Reff, Johnathan Walker and Jonathan Leib, Cynthia Radding, Anthony Hopkins Durazo, Ricardo Padrón, David J. Weber, The Library of Congress, the Archivo General de Indias, and The Chicago v Museum of Art. I would also like to thank the Cabeza Prieta Natural History Association, Phillip James, Adriel Heisey Photography, the School for Advanced Research, and the Secretaria de la Educación Pública de México. vi VITA The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio ……………………….2003-present Graduate Teaching Associate and Lecturer Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois………………………2002 M.A. Spanish Ohio University, Athens, Ohio ……………………………………..1995 B.A. Spanish B.S. Business Marketing PUBLICATION Forthcoming: “Trickster, Traveler, Cultural Hero: Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara” in Studies in Latin American Popular Culture. 28 (2008): 1-17. FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Spanish and Portuguese Primary concentration: Latin American Colonial Literatures and Cultures Secondary concentration: Latin American Literature Modern and Postmodern Minor: Comparative Studies vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract …………………………………………………………………….……….…….ii Dedication.………………………………….……………………………….……….…...iv Acknowledgments………………………….……………………………….…………….v Vita ………………………………….……………………………………….……...…..vii List of Figures……………………………………………………………………..………x Chapters: 1. Introduction: The Landscape of the Northern Frontier in Sixteenth Century New Spain……………………………………………………………………………………....1 History and Background…………………………………………………...……………...5 Review of the Literature ………………………………………………………..……...…9 La historia, relación and crónica.......................................................................................21 A criollo’s relación............................................................................................................30 Compliance and Competing Interests ……………………………………………..…….33 Mapping …………………………………………………………………………………36 Chapter Contents ……………………………………………………………………...…42 2. Methodology and Theoretical Framework ...…………………………….…………....46 Space and Place .................................................................................................................47 Landscape Theories ……………………………………………………...….……..……50 Projected Conclusions ……………………………………………………...……..……..62 3. Mapping an Occidental History…………………………………………...……….....64 Telling (His) Stories……………………………………………………………………...65 Legends, Gossip, Myth………………………………………………………………..…75 Intertextuality and the Itinerary……………………………………………….………....79 Naming ………………………………………………………………………………..…82 viii 4. Vestiges of Spanish Contact ……………………………………………………....…92 Indigenous Bodies ………………………………………………………….….……….102 Memories of Violence ………………………………...…………………………..……108 Multiple Expeditions Breed Multiple Landscapes …………………………………..…113 5. The Itinerary and the Landscape: “Lo que hay en esta tierra” ………………..........108 The Itinerary and the Textualscape…………………………………..…………………115 Topophilia vs. Topophobia ………………………………………………..………...…118 Chiametla ……………………………………………………………..……………......127 Humanscapes……………………………………………………………..……..…..….131 Fronteras .........................................................................................................……........133 Landscapes of Terror …………………………………………………………………..141 A Shifting Cultural Perception ………………………………...…………………….…151 6. Institutions and the Indigenous Other …………………………………..……..……154 The Spiritual Landscape………………………………………………………………..159 Paquimé…………………………………………………………………………………173 7. Conclusions ………………………………………………………………..……..…182 The Imperial Landscape……………………….……………………………..…………182 The Empire of Landscape and Identity…………………………………………..……..195 Return to Topia Road………………………………………………………………..….196 Subjects for Future Study……………………………………………………………….200 Bibliography ………………………………………………………………..………….205 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1.1 Ibarra’s route according to Armando Hopkins Durazo ……………………..…...10 1.2 The routes of Chamuscado Rodríguez and Antonio de Espejo. Modified from Weber……………………………………………………………11 1.3 Cabeza de Vaca’s route .........................................................................................12 1.4 The route of Fray Marcos de Niza and the partial route of Coronado …..………13 1.5 First page of Libro Primero in Historia de los descubrimientos de Nueva España (1584) ....................................................................................................................19 1.6 Final paragraph of the prologue to Historia de los descubrimientos de Nueva España (1584), signed by Baltasar Obregón..............................................20 1.7 Title page of text published by S.E.P. ……………………………………..…….23 1.8 López de Velasco’s 1570 map of the Indies …………………………………….38 2.1 A visual representation of the dialectical triad of space, place and landscape (Mitchell) and its parallels with Lefebvre’s conception of space and de Certeau’s conceptions of space and place .…………………………………………………51 3.1 World Map c.1544 by Agnese Battista ………...…………………….…………..84 3.2 The Spanish Frontier circa 1550-1600. Deborah Reade, Artist. School for Advanced Research (2004)....……………..........……..........................................89 4.1 The Topia Road: Tepehuanes, Durango, to Culiacán, Sinaloa ……….……...…96 4.2 The photograph comparison of Topia Road ………………………………..…...98 4.3 Key locations visited by the Ibarra expedition………………………………....100 5.1 El árbol ponzoñoso, Sapium Biloculare. Phillip James, photographer .…….....142 x 5.2 Sonora, place map drawn by Jason Casanova under the direction of Jane Dominer, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign……………………………...….…148 6.1 Aerial view of the southern portion of Paquimé. Adriel Heisey, photographer………………………………………………………..…...…..….175 6.2 Aerial view, looking southeast over the partially excavated site of Paquimé. Adriel Heisey, photographer………………………………...…………..….…..176