AÑO 18 Nº 31. ENERO - DICIEMBRE 2023

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Revista Arbitrada de la Facultad Experimental de Arte

de la Universidad del Zulia

Maracaibo, Venezuela

Revista Arbitrada de la Facultad Experimental de Arte

de la Universidad del Zulia. Maracaibo, Venezuela

AÑO 18 N° 31. ENERO - DICIEMBRE 2023 ~ pp. 19-25

Antonio Llaca

University of Ottawa

Ottawa, Canada

antoniollaca@rogers.com

Recibido: 11-01-23

Aceptado: 26-02-23

The Villancico de Negrilla: Europe and Africa in

Seventeenth-Century Mexico

El villancico de negrilla: Europa y África en el México del

siglo XVII

Villancicos became an important musical genre in the

Spanish world and migrated with the conquest from the

Iberian Peninsula to the New World. Within the context of

highly racially mixed societies in the Americas, the genre

gained linguistic, thematic, and musical diversity. This

paper examines issues of social agency in the musical

depiction of African slaves through two compositions by

Gaspar Fernandes and Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla. The author

provides an analysis of texts through the lens of social

agency to show the European view of the African subject in

seventeenth-century Mexico. The study shows the varying

portrayals of the African subject in the villancico genre by

novo-Spanish composers of the time.

Keywords: Villancico, Negrilla, African Diaspora, Slavery,

Colonialism.

El villancico se convirtió en un género musical importante

en el mundo español y emigró con la conquista desde

la Península Ibérica al Nuevo Mundo. En el contexto de

sociedades racialmente muy mezcladas en las Américas,

el género ganó diversidad lingüística, temática y musical.

Este artículo examina cuestiones de agencia social en la

representación musical de los esclavos africanos a través de

dos composiciones de Gaspar Fernandes y Juan Gutiérrez

de Padilla. El autor proporciona un análisis de textos a través

del lente de la agencia social para mostrar la visión europea

del sujeto africano en el México del siglo XVII. El estudio

muestra las diversas representaciones del sujeto africano

en el género villancico por parte de los compositores novo-

españoles de la época.

Palabras clave: Villancico, negrilla, diáspora africana,

esclavitud, colonialismo.

Abstract Resumen

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Introduction

Following the Spanish arrival in the new world,

viceroyalties like that of New Spain would become a

melting pot of cultures. Early on during the conquest, the

Spanish crown had divided the newly discovered territories

into various administrative regions, amongst them were

the viceroyalty of Peru in the Andes and New Spain, which

occupies what is modern Mexico. Both of these were two of

the richest in the colonies. Unsurprisingly, the novo-Spanish

territory would see a steady increase in arts and literature

output in the early years of the conquest. This paper looks at

the European depiction of African slaves in two villancicos

by Gaspar Fernandes (1570-1629) and Juan Gutiérrez de

Padilla (1590-1664).

During the second half of the 16th century,

the conquistadores’ dominant class brought a plethora

of cultural traditions and a new language to an already

culturally diverse and language-rich territory. Amongst the

many languages spoken at the time in Mexico, some of them

still survive, were Nahuatl, Yucatec, Zapotec, Otomi, and

others (Lastra, 1992). Through a process of evangelization,

and acculturation in general, the indigenous peoples

of these territories would eventually also learn Castilian

Spanish and forcibly adopt the religion and costumes of the

conquistadors.

The conquest of New Spain brought with it the

demise of many of the peoples who inhabited this territory.

It is estimated that by the beginning of the conquest,

in 1519, approximately 25 million indigenous people

inhabited Mexico. This number plummeted to 6 million in

1548, and a further 1.5 million by 1600 (Richmond, 2001).

This rapid demise was caused amongst other things by

slavery and diseases brought from Europe.

To add to this ethnically rich society, from the

early days of the conquest, the Spanish colonizers brought

with them African slaves. The vast majority of them were

brought into New Spain via the Caribbean island of Cuba, a

colonial hub for slave trading in the Spanish world.

In addition, the Spanish crown also tapped into

the slave trade routes opened by the Portuguese crown.

The decline of the indigenous population accelerated the

need for labor in today’s Mexico. Data of the time points

to approximately 60,000 African slaves arriving in Mexico

during the 16th century, as noted by chronicler Lopez de

Velasco. Most African slaves were brought into the territory

to work in the mining industries. In addition, the sugar

boom during this period also increased the need for slaves

in countries like Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico,

and Mexico. African slaves, however, were brought to the

new world with various intentions, they were expected to

serve in almost every aspect of life. They were involved in

households, plantations, and many other aspects of daily

life including that of musicians.

The villancico in the Americas

Just like the indigenous populations of Mexico

and the newly arrived conquistadors, the incoming peoples

from Africa brought with them their cultural heritage and

language. They were also subject to evangelization eorts

and expected to convert to Christianity and master Castilian

Spanish. It is within this context of a highly racially mixed

society that hybrid cultural forms began to appear.

The imposition and dominance of Spanish

Castilian as a language came alongside other cultural forms

being brought in by the European colonizers. Musical forms

and dances from Spain made their way into the newly

colonized society. Some of these however would morph

in order to t the new society and reect the new ethnic

composition of the territory

One such case is that of the villancico, a literary

and musical form brought from Spain. The term villancico

has suered various changes over the history of Spanish

culture. It was rst applied in the late 15th century to a

vernacular poetic form. The form remains a simple one

to this day, several stanzas (coplas) frame by a refrain

(estribillo). The number of stanzas can be variable, and

they are generally framed by the refrain. Villancicos in

Spain during the 15th century were often associated

with mundane rustic or popular themes in secular music.

Composers of the time such as Juan del Encina (1468-1529)

created a strong corpus of this type of music preserved

in the Cancionero de Palacio. Thus, it remained a popular

form of music in the 15th and early 16th century. Royalty

and common folk alike had developed a taste for villancicos

during the Spanish Renaissance.

The second half of the 16th century would see the

villancico incorporate devotional and religious themes. The

genre would gain popularity as part of religious ceremonies.

These compositions, in the vernacular language, would be

introduced following the liturgy on special feasts and dates

of the Christian calendar. By the 17th century, villancicos

had become more important than the Latin motet in

the Hispanic world. While it would see a rapid decline in

stylistic composition and general output in the 18th and

19th centuries, villancicos remind popular as the term now

denotes ‘Christmas Carol’ in the Hispanic world, particularly

so in Latin America.

Villancico writing in Latin America was at its

height In the 16th and 17th centuries. the great cathedrals

of the Spanish new world would go to great lengths to

have villancicos composed for special occasions. This was

the case of cathedrals such as Santiago de Cuba which

would carry this tradition well into the 18th century. Cuban

1 There is a certain amount of scholarly debate on the gures

provided by Lopez de Velasco. The estimated numbers

by other researchers point are a larger number of slaves

arriving in the 16th century. See Richmond, D. (2001). The

Legacy of African Slavery in Colonial Mexico, 1519–1810.

Journal of Popular Culture, 35(2) (Fall): 1–16.

The Villancico de Negrilla : Europe and Africa in Seventeenth-Century Mexico

Antonio Llaca

composer Esteban Salas y Castro (1725-1803) is well known

for his output of approximately 31 villancicos composed in

a unique style proper to Cuban 18th century music, even as

the genre was starting to show some decline. Predecessors

of Salas, however, would set the stage in 17th-century

Mexico for the villancico to ourish throughout the Hispanic

world. The tradition of villancicos demonstrates the

heterogeneity of the musical tradition in 17th-century Latin

America, all major cathedrals of the continent developed

their own villancicos.

The cathedrals of Mexico City, Puebla, Lima,

and others, would see a steady output of villancico

writing throughout their histories. This is the case of the

Mexican cathedral of Oaxaca for instance, which preserved

manuscripts of over 250 of these pieces composed in

vernacular texts by Gaspar Fernandes during his tenure as

Maestro de Capilla (Chapelmaster) from 1609 to 1620 (Laird,

2001).

It should not be surprising that, with such a

large output of villancicos, the fact that their literary text

in its origins reects daily life and the highly mixed ethnic

nature of Mexican society in the 17th century, various

ethnic groups would make an appearance in the texts and

stories of Mexican villancicos of the time. Often this ethnic

richness in villancicos is portrayed by depicting dierent

ways of articulating Castilian Spanish or delving into ethnic

stereotypes. Composers would often choose to morph the

Spanish language in their compositions to phonetically

show the characteristics in pronunciation of someone

whose rst language is not Spanish.

Precedents for these characteristics appeared

early on in the cathedrals of the Iberian Peninsula. The

Spanish peninsula already hosted a multi-ethnic society,

where some Afro-Iberians, Jewish, and Mozarabic peoples

lived. Archives in the Madrid National Library can shed

some light as to how often, and what languages were

chosen in the Iberian Peninsula to depict this ethnically

rich environment. In the index of villancico’s languages and

jargon that of “black” or “Guinean” show 265 references,

much ahead of others such as Galician (144) Portuguese

(134) gypsy (117)… (Pujoll-Coll, 2021).

This tradition from the Iberian Peninsula would

make its way into the new world alongside the villancico

genre. Already in Spain itself, we see an interest in what is

called a villancico of blacks, a guineo or a negrilla (as I will

refer to it forward). Beyond that, the available literature has

shown how the depiction of dierent ethnic groups was a

common occurrence in villancico writing of the 16th and

17th centuries. Researcher on this topic Morales Abril (2013)

has referred to this phenomenon as a mocking villancico.

Such mocking villancicos are often characterized by the

decient mastery of Castilian Spanish by the various ethnic

groups being portrayed in the composition.

Morales Abril enumerates the various

stereotypical characters often portrayed in novo-Spanish

villancicos. As such, the French are often portrayed as

braggarts and deceivers, the Portuguese as proud of their

nation, the indigenous peoples as an example of simplicity,

poverty, and aection, Galicians and Asturians as peasants

(Morales Abril, 2013). For the purpose of this study, I will be

looking at the characterization of the African slave in the

villancico of negrilla. Of special interest will be the portrayal

of the African slave through text and the morphing of

Castilian Spanish and issues related to the portrayal of

social agency

in the texts examined.

The Negrilla in New Spain

Researcher Claudio Ramirez Uribe describes

how African descendants in the new world were seen as

caught between two visions, one day out of the authorities,

whether for religious or civil who saw them with a certain

amount of fear, and the other one represented by theatre

and comedy that sees them as unruly, talkative, irrational

and dance lovers (Uribe, 2022). It is within this context that

we will examine the text of Gaspar Fernandes’s villancico

de negrilla a 5

“Ese rigor e repente” composed in Puebla

in 1615. The text portrays various interactions of African

slaves with the infant Jesus in a novo-Spanish context. The

villancico is closely related to the Christmas celebration.

Portuguese composer and organist Gaspar

Fernandes was active in Central America during the rst half

of the 17th century. He held positions in his native Portugal

(Evora) before traveling to Central America. In 1599 moved

to Guatemala where he became Chapelmaster, he worked

there until 12 July 1606 when he moved to Puebla, Mexico.

It is there where he developed most of his compositions.

Fernandes was appointed chapel master of the Puebla

Cathedral on 15 September 1606. The chapel of music

under him was regarded as one of the better ones in the

New World. (Stevenson, 2001)

In his negrilla Ese rigor e repente, Fernandes

follows the stereotypical images dened in the theatrical

vision of the black subject in the new world. In the text

below from the villancico one can see a depiction of an

African slave who is happy and playful. In addition, we see

the distorted Castilian Spanish being used to depict the

African slave in the refrain of the composition.

2 Social agency involves an eort to understand and organise

one’s relations, in ways that cause the actualisation of

preferred forms of collective society, such as those that

might be characterised as postcolonial. (Bingall, 2010)

3 The annotation a 5 shows the number of voices used in the

composition. It was customary for choral composers in the

17th century in the New World to indicate this within the

title of the composition.

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Original Text

Castilian

Spanish

English

translation

Estribillo:

Sarabanda, tenge

que tenge,

Sarabanda, tenge

que tenge.

Sumbacasú,

cucumbé

sumbacasú

cucumbé

cucumbé.

Estribillo:

Sarabanda, tenge

que tenge,

Sarabanda, tenge

que tenge.

Sumbacasú,

cucumbé

sumbacasú

cucumbé

cucumbé.

Refrain:

N/A

¡Esse noche

branco seremo!

¡O, Jesú! ¡Que risa

tenemo!

¡O, Jesú! ¡Que risa

tenemo!

¡O, que risa, santo

Tomé!

¡O, que risa, santo

Tomé!

¡Esta noche

blanco seremos!

¡O, Jesús! ¡Que

risa tenemos!

¡O, Jesús! ¡Que

risa tenemos!

¡O, que risa, santo

Tomás!

¡O, que risa, santo

Tomás!

Tonight we will

be white!

Oh Jesus, how

much we are

laughing!

Oh Saint

Thomas, how

much we are

laughing!

Figure 1

Refrain of Ese rigor e repente by Gaspar Fernandes.

As one can see in Fig. 1, the rst part of that refrain

shows an onomatopoeic device in the text that captures the

rhythmic nature associated with the African slaves. In the

second part of the refrain, one sees the altering of Castilian

Spanish in order to depict the accent of the African slave.

As a characteristic in this passage, we see the nal letter

S in certain words disappear such is the case of the word

tenemos (we have) which is morphed into tenemo. In a

similar manner, the proper name Jesús is morphed into

Jesú. Further morphing of the language takes place with

the word Tomás which is written in the score as Tomé,

further changing the orthography of the original Castilian

word to in a way mock the accent of the slave. This particular

alteration further alludes to the African island of Sao Tomé

e Principe, which was a hub for the Portuguese slave trade.

The portrayal of an African slave who is happy

and dances is shown in the general mood and references

to laughter. Additionally, the onomatopoeic references in

the earlier part of the refrain make clear the dancing nature

after the refrain as a characterization of the villancico de

negrilla. The onomatopoeia is also used as an allusion to

African languages and expressions that the Europeans

would not have been able to comprehend.

4 Modern spelling provided by the authr.

5 English translation provided by the author.

6 This material is of an onomatopoeic nature.

Original Text

Castilian

Spanish

English t

ranslation

Queremo que

niño vea

negro pulizo y

galano, que,

como as nosso

hermano,

tenemo ya

fantasía.

Toca viyano y

folía.

Queremos que el

niño vea

Negro pulido y

galan que

Que como

nuestros

hermanos

Tenemos ya

fantasia

Tocar Villano y

fulias.

We want the

baby to see

A clean and

elegant black

man

Just like our

brothers

We have a

fantasy

To play villancico

and fulias.

Figure 2

Stanzas of Ese rigor e repente by Gaspar Fernandes.

Additional examples are present throughout the

stanzas as well, Fig. 2, shows an excerpt from the stanzas

where the stereotypical African slaves subject his portrait.

In this case, one can see further morphing of

the language. Signicant changes in the speech appear in

words such as nuestros (ours) which is changed to nosso,

making it much harder to decipher the meaning of what's

being said by the subject. Just like in the refrain the letter S

at the end of words is dropped. In addition to modications

of the language and orthography, there is the mention of

villanos and fulias both dances coming from Europe which

the African slaves portray as their fantasy.

It is important to mention two aspects with

regards to the text presented in this section: 1) the mention

of European dances by African slaves as something

desirable and notionally unattainable since they (the

Africans) referred to it as a fantasy; and 2) the lack of social

agency in this text, where the subject (the African slave)

does not seem able to freely determine his/her actions.

On the rst topic, it is crucial to ask the question:

why African slaves would not refer to dances as proper to

their culture, but rather, fantasize about European dances?

The European vision slips into the psyche of the ctional

African slave in this text. European dances are seen as an

object of renement and superiority within the social

context, perhaps something that the slaves would not

attain to experience due to the color of their skin, their

role, and their standing within society. Given this, European

dances and other aspects of life are portrayed as something

of a fantasy for African slaves. This is reinforced as well in

Fig. 1 where the text of the refrain quotes the exclamation:

Tonight we will be white! sung by the African subjects.

This is again an example of the Euro-centred vision of the

African slave, making it a source of joy to change the color

of their skin to white only if for one night.

On the second topic, we see the African subject as

7 Modern spelling provided by the author.

8 English translation provided by the author.

The Villancico de Negrilla : Europe and Africa in Seventeenth-Century Mexico

Antonio Llaca

a passive element of the story, yet, it is the African subject

who is telling the story. We want the baby to see / A clean

and elegant black man, this phrase shows submission by

the African slave. While it may be argued that in the context

of devotion, a similar phrase could have been attributed

to a white European subject, what is particular about this

villancico and its text consistent manner in which the

African slave is portrayed as lacking agency. The African

slave is consistently a subordinate, whether to a European

gure or a Christian deity.

Such depictions of African slaves seem to be

consistent in the musical literature of the time. While it

is dicult to determine true intent in the depictions of

African slaves in this literature, it is important to note that

such characterizations were some of the more popular

ones amongst composers. Indigenous peoples are not

characterized either as often, or in the same manner.

The literature on indigenous languages shows a better

understanding of the native language by the European

author than in the case of African slaves. The characteristic

treatment of languages such as Nahuatl or Quichua by

composers diers greatly. In this case, composers would set

entire texts in the original language to European-sounding

music. Such treatment of text and language diverges greatly

from what we see in the negrillas. European composers veer

away from onomatopoeic devices and rather set entire,

meaningful, and comprehensible texts to music. Music and

text are then used as evangelization tool rather than as a

source of entertainment.

Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla succeeded Fernandes

after his death in 1629 as Chapel Master in Puebla. He was

a Mexican composer of Spanish birth. Prior to his arrival

in the New World, he held the position of Chapel Master

in various cathedrals in Spain. After arriving in Mexico he

became assistant Chapel Master in Puebla under Gaspar

Fernandes in 1622. His work has been carefully preserved,

he wrote various sacred and secular compositions including

villancicos. His villancicos are preserved in his Cuadernos de

Navidad (Christmas Songbooks) his negrilla Tambalagumbá

a 6 appears in his Christmas booklet in 1657. This work is

written for six voices but the sopranos, altos, and divisi in

the tenors and bass parts. The rst section of this work is

written in cut time, while the rest of it is written in 3/2. As

it is characteristic the metric changes in this work show

the dance-like character that is typical of the negrillas. The

structure of the work is typical of a Spanish villancico, in

which stanzas are framed by a refrain.

Just as in our previous example, the text revolves

around the interactions of African slaves with the infant

Jesus. One can clearly see the distortions of the Castilian

Spanish entry text by Gutiérrez de Padilla.

their culture, but rather, fantasize about European

dances? The European vision slips into the psyche of the

ctional African slave in this text. European dances are

seen as an object of renement and superiority within the

social context, perhaps something that the slaves would

not attain to experience due to the color of their skin, their

role, and their standing within society. Given this, European

dances and other aspects of life are portrayed as something

of a fantasy for African slaves. This is reinforced as well in

Fig. 1 where the text of the refrain quotes the exclamation:

Tonight we will be white! sung by the African subjects.

This is again an example of the Euro-centred vision of the

African slave, making it a source of joy to change the color

of their skin to white only if for one night.

On the second topic, we see the African subject as

a passive element of the story, yet, it is the African subject

who is telling the story. We want the baby to see / A clean

and elegant black man, this phrase shows submission by

the African slave. While it may be argued that in the context

of devotion, a similar phrase could have been attributed

to a white European subject, what is particular about this

villancico and its text consistent manner in which the

African slave is portrayed as lacking agency. The African

slave is consistently a subordinate, whether to a European

gure or a Christian deity.

Such depictions of African slaves seem to be

consistent in the musical literature of the time. While it

is dicult to determine true intent in the depictions of

African slaves in this literature, it is important to note that

such characterizations were some of the more popular

ones amongst composers. Indigenous peoples are not

characterized either as often, or in the same manner.

The literature on indigenous languages shows a better

understanding of the native language by the European

author than in the case of African slaves. The characteristic

treatment of languages such as Nahuatl or Quichua by

composers diers greatly. In this case, composers would set

entire texts in the original language to European-sounding

music. Such treatment of text and language diverges greatly

from what we see in the negrillas. European composers veer

away from onomatopoeic devices and rather set entire,

meaningful, and comprehensible texts to music. Music and

text are then used as evangelization tool rather than as a

source of entertainment.

Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla succeeded Fernandes

after his death in 1629 as Chapel Master in Puebla. He was

a Mexican composer of Spanish birth. Prior to his arrival

in the New World, he held the position of Chapel Master

in various cathedrals in Spain. After arriving in Mexico he

became assistant Chapel Master in Puebla under Gaspar

Fernandes in 1622. His work has been carefully preserved,

he wrote various sacred and secular compositions including

villancicos. His villancicos are preserved in his Cuadernos de

Navidad (Christmas Songbooks) his negrilla Tambalagumbá

a 6 appears in his Christmas booklet in 1657. This work is

written for six voices but the sopranos, altos, and divisi in

the tenors and bass parts. The rst section of this work is

written in cut time, while the rest of it is written in 3/2. As

it is characteristic the metric changes in this work show

the dance-like character that is typical of the negrillas. The

structure of the work is typical of a Spanish villancico, in

which stanzas are framed by a refrain.

Just as in our previous example, the text revolves

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around the interactions of African slaves with the infant

Jesus. One can clearly see the distortions of the Castilian

Spanish entry text by Gutiérrez de Padilla.

Original Text

Castilian

Spanish

English

translation

Estribillo:

Tambalagumbá

que ya noso rioso

naciro sá

Tambalagumbé

turu en

plocisione

vamo a Belé.

Ayahu, uchiha

quien tene

candela nos

lumblalá

y ya, y ya, y ya

tili tilitando lo

niño sá

Estribillo:

Tambalagumbá

que ya nuestro

rey

nacido esta

Tambalagumbé

Todos en

posición

vamos a Belén.

Ayahu, uchiha

quien tiene

candela nos

alumbrará

y ya, y ya, y ya

tiri titirando el

niño está

Refrain:

Tambalagumbá

That our king

Is already born

Tambalagumbé

All in position

Let’s go to

Bethlehem

Ayahu, uchiha

Who has re

(light) will light

the way

y ya, y ya, y ya

the newborn is

shivering

Figure 3

Refrain of Tambalagumbá a 6 by Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla.

In the refrain (Fig. 3), we notice already the use of

onomatopoeic resources, the word Tambalagumbá, which

is, in turn, the name of this negrilla. Several deformations

are used in the orthography of the language. The Castilian

word rey (king) is changed by rioso. In addition, the Castilian

words nacido está (is born) are signicantly morphed into

naciro sá. These changes to language cement the notion of

the African slave And their general command of the Spanish

language. In the refrain, we see several instances of the use

of onomatopoeic devices Ayahu, Uchiha, and y ya, y ya, y

ya, all used with the intention of adding rhythmic character

to the piece.

Original Text

Castilian

Spanish

English

translation

A lo portal de

Belene

venimo negro

cuntenta,

a hace una

plocisione

delante la

nacimenta.

Al portal de

Belen

Venimos

los negros

contentos,

a hacer una

procesión

delante del

nacimiento.

To the Bethlem

portal

We come as

happy blacks

To have a

procession

In front of the

nativity.

Figure 4

Stanza of Tambalagumbá a 6 by Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla.

9 Modern spelling provided by the author.

10 English translation provided by the author.

Figure 4 shows one of the stanzas where one can

appreciate the story weaved in this particular negrilla.

In this stanza for distortion of the language is

represented by not only changing the letters but also

changing the gender of some words. For instance, the

Castilian word nacimiento (nativity) which is a masculine

noun is shown as a feminine noun when spoken by the

African slave: nacimenta.

Within this stanza, and throughout this villancico,

the African slave is shown slightly dierently than previously

shown. Throughout the piece, the slaves are represented as

devout Christians. They have the role of organizers of the

procession to Bethlehem, and throughout the villancico,

the African slaves ask various characters to provide goods

and services for the procession and for the newborn.

This shows a slightly dierent view of the African

slave subject. It portrays them as having somewhat more

agency over their actions. If one is to assume that in the

European imagery African slaves have fully converted to

Christianity, and that they are indeed devout Christians, the

actions narrated in this villancico puts them almost at par

with their European counterparts. Just like Europeans, they

assume the role of organizers and administrators.

While this is a slight change in the discourse and

view of the African subject, stereotypical characterizations

are not left aside in this villancico. The use of onomatopoeic

devices, dance-like gures, and distortions of the Castilian

Spanish language is present throughout this negrilla.

Conclusion

These two examples of negrilla in the New

World Cathedral of Puebla show the characterization of

the Afro-Mexican subject in music and literature. Accounts

of the time explain the views of European settlers on

various ethnic groups and these accounts give us insights

as to how composers made musical decisions to satirize

characters present in their daily lives. In a highly ethnically

mixed society, it is logical that the music of the time would

represent the ethnic groups present in society. We see

evidence of this in the compositions of Gaspar Fernandes

and Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla.

Issues of social agency are present in the

discourse of the time, and they are represented in the way

that the Afro-Mexican subject and society are characterized

in music. Such issues provide an insight into what the

perception of the European settlers was of the African

subject and the role that they occupied in society.

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