Mestizo's Ballade Essay

During the Colonial era in Latin America, many Hispanic Americans were educated in Spain before traveling to the new world. As a result, many poets of this period, particularly those of the 15th and 16th centuries, followed what was trending in European literature, such as romantic ballads and satire. Significantly, early Latin American poet Mateo Rosas de Oquendo would embrace both of these literary genres with his seminal piece, “The Mestizo’s Ballade.” As evident by the poem's title, the speaker is a mestizo, a man of mixed race, especially one of Spanish or indigenous descent. He is motivated to create this ballad by Juana, a noblewoman he has his heart set upon. While who the speaker is and his intentions for producing this ballad are

The speaker, who is later referred to as Juan de Diego, is characterized as a “poor mestizo” (2), while “Fair Lady Juana,” is a noblewoman. In being addressed as poor, the mestizo man represents a lower rank in society while pure Spanish blood would be considered superior. Accordingly, his pursuit of a noblewoman is futile, and de Diego finds himself needing to argue his Spanish nobility to Juana. The speaker explains: “For shabby as my semblance seems, / I’m still a landed nobleman / Whose parents both descended from / The brave conquistadors of Spain” (5-8). Although he claims nobility, it is meaningless as a mestizo, concluding that he would need to force any Spaniard to admit to this

/ Good Lord, I’ll end up raving mad / If you, fond Mistress, can't prescribe / The antidote for this malaise” (29-32). Although the speaker seems subdued by his love for Juana, Rosas de Oquendo is not writing as to be a nobleman or cavalier. Rather, he is mocking the voice that was coming to be associated with the modern love poem. He continues this mockery in the next stanza: “Juanita, dear Juanita mine, / Fresh blossoms grace your lovely face” (33-34). Continuing to mock the conventions of love poetry, Rosas de Oquendo employs overtly baroque language and refers to the speaker as a “wild coyote” (36) in his meaningless dedication to