Religious Festivals and Authorities

Although municipal and royal authorities primarily concentrated their resources on civic displays, they also participated and partially funded a number of religious festivals. These included the feast of the patron saint of the village or, in the case of larger urban areas, a prominent citywide devotion such as the feast of the Immaculate Conception. The festival of Corpus Christi demonstrates how civil authorities could patronize and effectively affiliate themselves with and come to control even an ostensibly religious celebration. During the procession, participants reenacted the Second Coming of Christ. Dancers dressed as devils, giants, and big heads preceded a famous tarasca (dragon) representing sin. This was usually followed by decorated carts from which actors reenacted scenes from the lives of saints, extolling the spectators to follow their good Christian example. All confraternities and parishes, carrying their patron saints, and regular and secular clergy came next. Finally, the Sacred Host appeared accompanied by the archbishop and the viceroy; the city councilmen held the canopy over the displayed Eucharist. Corpus allowed civil authorities to show their piety and augment their prestige; after all, they walked in the most coveted location, next to the Eucharist. The fact that they funded all the outdoor aspects of the celebration such as plays and dances, which were very popular with the public, also added to their reputation as pious and powerful men. Officials in small towns also did the same in their communities, especially during times of floods, drought, or epidemics. Officials funded large portions of these events and held a prestigious place next to the statue of the saint in the procession. The ruling elite consistently associated themselves with the most important community symbols of piety, sanctity, and power.

The clear line between civic and religious ritual blurred when the government patronized religious festivals. This was also the case with the Autos de Fé, or public penitential trials of the Holy Office of the inquisition, events not immediately associated with civil authority. During this somber spectacle, inquisitors proclaimed the sins and punishment of each penitent before a large crowd. Those who had not recognized their errors and sought forgiveness were given one last opportunity to do so and, if they remained recalcitrant, were burned at the stake. Autos de Fé sought to anticipate the Last Judgment, placing the unrepentant to the left of the platform and the good Christian faithful to the right, as Christ would do according to the Bible. The viceroy, not a member of the Inquisition, had a prominent role to play before the crowd; he sat center stage and oversaw the event and symbolically took the place of the Christ. Thus, the governor, representing secular power, approved and officiated over the condemnations and the final sentences of the guilty.