Negotiations with power: indigenous presence in three 17th century scenic actions in the Royal Audiencia of Quito

Abstract

This article analyzes the presence and symbolic function of the indigenous groups in three scenic actions developed in the Royal Court of Quito during the 17th century: the celebrations for the birth of the infants María Eugenia (1627) and Baltasar Carlos (1631), and the reception given to the mayor Alonso Florencia Inca (between 1666 and 1667). Based on a methodology of historical-discursive analysis based on the review of festive relations, chronicles and historiographic studies, the work examines how indigenous groups and, especially, their elites, actively participated in the devices of public theatricality characteristic of colonial society. The study proposes that these scenic actions functioned as spaces for symbolic negotiation with colonial power, as they allowed certain indigenous actors to build forms of prestige, legitimacy and representation within the Hispanic hierarchical order. From a cultural history approach and studies on baroque theatricality, the article shows that public festivals not only served to reaffirm colonial hegemony, but also to open margins of symbolic intervention to subordinate sectors.