Lágrimas de la regia Azucena by Cayetano de Cabrera y Quintero.Burial mound of María Bárbara de Braganzasponsored by the Mexican Inquisition (1759)

Abstract

In 1759, the Holy Office of the Mexican Inquisition commissioned Cayetano Javier de Cabrera y Quintero, a prolific 18th-century author, to write a panegyric for the funeral celebrations in honor of María Bárbara de Braganza, queen consort of Spain and wife of Ferdinand VI. These laudatory texts adorned catafalques or burial mounds with emblems (with their nicknames and poems). One of their characteristics is that while they highlight the virtues of the royal figure, they inform the viewer about the structure of the ephemeral apparatus and the funeral ceremonies and, through a common thread of ideas, outline the biography of the person being honored. Unfortunately, not all of these works were fortunate enough to be published, although they did circulate in manuscript form, as is the case with the work presented here.