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Welcome to the blog number one, here you can find outstanding poems and biography of Juana Inés de la Cruz

“One can perfectly well philosophize while cooking supper.”

—Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

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Jesus Adrian Ek Xool
Karen Mejia
Roger Manzanero
Mariana Sosa

INTRODUCTION

Born circa November 12, 1651, in San Miguel Nepantla, Tepetlixpa, Mexico, Juana Inés de la Cruz's intelligence and scholarship became known throughout the country during her teen years. She began her life as a nun in 1667 so that she could study at will. After taking her vows, Sor Juana read tirelessly and wrote plays and poetry, often challenging societal values and becoming an early proponent of women's rights. Sor Juana is heralded for herRespuesta a Sor Filotea, which defends women's rights to educational access, and is credited as the first published feminist of the New World. She died in Mexico in 1695.

Death and Legacy

Today, Sor Juana continues to be studied and her prolific writings continue to inspire others as witnessed by the late Nobel Prize winner Octavio Paz' book on Sor Juana's life, 'Sor Juana Or, the Traps of Faith'. Each year in Mexico a festival is held in her honor that is sponsored by the National Museum of Mexican Art. There is also a corresponding achievement award which celebrates women of Mexican descent who have made noteworthy accomplishments in the arts and cultural disciplines

Writing Development

Juana began to write her own poetry. She proved to be no ordinary scribe, indeed her works proved to be both brilliant and highly controversial. Juana wrote several pieces that were revolutionary, especially for the time period in which she found herself in.

Juana didn't limit her writings to topics related to religious matters. On the contrary, many of her works were love poems and plays of passion. This was quite unusual for a woman altogether but for a nun, her choice of subject matter aroused the wrath of many who were in power. As well, Juana was known to comment on matters theological, which in turn, incited those in authority to condemn her audacity. Women in Colonial Mexico were not culturally supported to express their own opinions. It wasn't long before her words and her personage incited an angry response.

MAIN LITERARY PIECES

One of Juana's famous literary pieces entitled 'Hombres Necios' (Foolish Men) is a classic work. Within its scope it addresses the inherent rights of all women and the hypocrisy of those who judge others, namely in regards to prostitution. Juana sheds light on the matter by poising the question of who is more to blame, the one who commits the act for money or the one who pays for it.

Another hallmark work of Juana's is a letter she wrote in response to a critique. This famous letter, 'Respuesta a Sor Filotea' (Response to Sister Filotea) was prompted by an angry letter she received where a supposed colleague criticized her secular leanings, admonished her to abandon her writings and commit herself solely to religion. In truth, the author was the Bishop of Puebla who disguised his true identity. This bishop was a supposed friend of Juana's and thus the betrayal was double.

Defending Women's Rights

With Sor Juana's growing renown, however, came disapproval from the church: In November 1690, the bishop of Puebla published (under the pseudonym of a nun) without her consent Sor Juana's critique of a 40-year-old sermon by a Portuguese Jesuit preacher, and admonished Sor Juana to focus on religious studies instead of secular studies.

Sor Juana responded with stunning self-defense. She defended the right of all women to attain knowledge and famously wrote (echoing a poet and a Catholic saint), "One can perfectly well philosophize while cooking supper," justifying her study of secular topics as necessary to understanding theology.

Early Years

Juana Inés de la Cruz was born out of wedlock in San Miguel Nepantla, Tepetlixpa—now called Nepantla de Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz in her honor—near Mexico City, circa November 12, 1651, when Mexico was still a Spanish territory.

In 1667, owing to her desire "to have no fixed occupation which might curtail my freedom to study," Sor Juana began her life as a nun. She moved in 1669 to the Convent of San Geronimo (St. Jerome) in Mexico City, where she remained cloistered for the rest of her life.

Juana had plenty of time to study and write in the convent, and she amassed a large library. She also gained the patronage of the viceroy and vicereine of New Spain, and they supported her and had her works published in Spain.

Biography

Juana Ines de Asbaje and Ramirez de Santillana, known as Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz (San Miguel Nepantla, November 12, 1651 - Mexico, April 17, 1695) was a religious of the Order of St. Jerome and novohispana writer, exponent Golden Age of Spanish literature. He cultivated the lyric, the sacramental and theater and prose. Because of the importance of his work, he received the nickname "the Phoenix of America", "The Tenth Muse" or "the Tenth Musa Mexican."

At an early age he learned to read and write. It belonged to the court of Antonio Sebastián de Toledo, Marquess of Mancera and 25th Viceroy of New Spain. In 1669, by desire for knowledge, he entered the monastic life. His most important patrons were the viceroys De Mancera, Viceroy Archbishop Payo Enríquez de Rivera and the Marquis of Laguna de Camero Viejo, also viceroys of New Spain, who published the first two volumes of his works in mainland Spain. He died of an epidemic on April 17, 1695.

Juana Inés de la Cruz held, along with Juan Ruiz de Alarcon and Carlos de Siguenza, a prominent place in the literature novohispana.1 In the field of opera, his work adheres to the guidelines of the Spanish baroque in its stage late. The lyrical production of Sor Juana, which represents half of his work, is a melting pot where converge the culture of New Spain in height, culteranismo Gongora and Quevedo conceptista work and Calderón.2

The drama of Sor Juana is from the religious to the profane. His most notable works in this genre are Love is more labyrinth, Pawns of a house and a series of religious plays designed to represent themselves in court.