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By age 15 Juana Inés de la Cruz was known as the most learned woman in Colonial Mexico. Born to a Spanish father and a Creole mother, Juana experienced the rigidity of the Mexican casta system. When her mother said no to letting Juana dress as a boy and go to Mexico City to study, she turned to her grandfather's library to satisfy her voracious love of reading. During her teenage years, she became a lady in waiting for the Marchioness of Mancera and was put in front of forty-some men to test her knowledge.

Sor Juana Inés entered the convent of San Jerónimo by 16, letting her pursue writing and creative pursuits without leaving her life in the hands of men in colonial society. crafting religious and secular poetry, plays, essays, and scholarly research. She often called out the hypocrisies in colonial society between men and women, most famously in her poem Redondillas.

After writing a scathing critique of a sermon by a famous Jesuit priest, Sor Juana was ostracized for her opinions in colonial Mexico while praised in Spain. Believing the fault lay in herself, she sold away nearly all of her books, mathematical equipment, and musical instruments. She died in 1695 while nursing her fellow nuns while sick with an unidentified plague.

Come along with us as we explore the enigmatic life of Sor Juana Inés, her writings, and the dichotomies in colonial Mexico through history and astrology in our celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month!

Sources:

Books:

• Feminist Perspectives on Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz edited by Stephanie Merrim
• Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz: Poems, Protest, and a Dream: Selected Writings, Translated by Margaret Sayers Peden
• A Woman of Genius: The Intellectual Autobiography of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Translated and Introduction by Margaret Sayers Peden

Digital Media:

• "The Works of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz with Paloma Celis Carbajal" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_k9zqeg-as4)
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Primary Sources:

• Redondillas by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (https://www.poemas-del-alma.com/sor-juana-ines-de-la-cruz-redondillas.htm)

Websites:

• “About Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz” (https://poets.org/poet/sor-juana-ines-de-la-cruz)
• "Claustro de Sor Juana / San Jerónimo Convent" (https://mexicocity.cdmx.gob.mx/venues/claustro-de-sor-juana/?lang=en)
• “Creoles and Peninsulares: Imperial Hierarchy” (https://historiamundum.com/political-hierarchy-spanish-empire)
• "Museo de Sitio Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz" (https://sic.gob.mx/ficha.php?table=museo&table_id=2490)
• “Sor Juana (1648-1695)” (https://projectvox.org/sor-juana-1648-1695/)
• “On Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz” by Ada Limón (https://poetrysociety.org/poems-essays/old-school/on-sor-juana-in%C3%A9s-de-la-cruz)
• “Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz” (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/sor-juana)
• “Teaching Women’s History: Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Feminist Poet of New Spain” by The New York Historical (https://www.nyhistory.org/blogs/juana-ines-de-la-cruz-feminist-poet-of-new-spain)
• “Understanding the Mexican Casta System: A Historical and Cultural Perspective” (https://www.indigenousmexico.org/articles/understanding-the-mexican-casta-system-a-historical-and-cultural-perspective)

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