A conflicting relationship. Music, Power and the Inquisition in Vice-regnal Mexico City

Abstract

On 8 June 1536, the first trial of the Holy Inquisition in the New World took place in the episcopal palace in Mexico City. This trial, for which the judge was fray Juan de Zumárraga, recently appointed Bishop of Mexico City and Apostolic Inquisitor, involved two musicians, Juan Moreno and Cristóbal Barrera, who had refused to play in the foundation ceremony of the Tribunal if they were not paid in advance. For this act of contempt of court, the two trumpeters were imprisoned and condemned to a fine of six libras of wax for the benefit of Mexico cathedral. Inquisitorial archives have for many years furnished evidence for the reconstruction of the religious, social and cultural past, yet these sources have been little studied by musicologists up till now. This essay will show that the documentation of the Holy Office can also be considered a useful source for the study of music in a Spanish American city like Mexico. The files held at the Archivo General de la Nación relating to inquisitorial trials afford an idea of the music heard in the squares, streets and private houses of one of the largest, wealthiest and most densely populated cities on the American continent in the colonial period. In this essay, the possible contribution of this documentation to urban music history in approached from three different but complementary angles: the first section provides a glimpse into the musical activities that took place in the main urban spaces of the city - activities such as songs and dances that were persecuted by the Inquisition; the second presents examples of musicians who were denounced to the authorities; and the third focuses on the urban profile of the Inquisition as an institution and the involvement of music in its activities. These three sections are preceded by an introduction to the documentation used and to the urban spaces that form the backdrop to this study.