Inquisition 1349.
Inquisition 1349, 1796. Archivo General De La Nación.
Document Text |
Summary |
| Inquisition
Year of 1796 Number 220 |
Inquisition
1796 Number 220 |
| The inquisitor fiscal of this Holy Office against Gregoria Piedras, alias La Macho | The case of this Holy Office against Gregoria Piedras, also called La Macho |
| Secretary Ibarra
In his hand |
Notes taken by Secretary Ibarra |
| María Vicenta Vargas
Don José Acosta, sergeant |
María Vicenta Vargas
Don José Acosta, sergeant |
| Received on the 30th of March of 1796
Lord Inquisitors Mier and Bergosa |
This was received on March 30, 1796.
The Lord Inquisitors were Mier and Bergosa. |
| On Holy Monday, the 21st of the current month of March, there appeared before me a woman named María Vicenta Vargas, who is married to José Antonio Reyes and who lives in the straw workshop, opposite the Alameda, next to Corpus Christi. She came to make a denunciation before me: | On Holy Monday, March 21, María Vicenta Vargas appeared before me. She is married to José Antonio Reyes. They live in the straw workshop, opposite the Alameda, next to Corpus Christi. María came to denounce someone. |
| Having come to receive Communion that same day at this parish of the Sagrario, she observed that near her there also received Communion, a woman named Gregoria, dressed in male clothing. Immediately after she received the Sacred Host, she put her hand over her face and with furtive concealment, took it out of her mouth between her fingers. Having noticed the informer, she made an expression of astonishment and surprise. At this moment, the said Gregoria stood up and left the church, without the informant being able to see what she did with the Most Holy Sacrament that she had taken between her sacrilegious fingers. | On March 21 María took communion. While she was there, she saw a woman named Gregoria. Gregoria was dressed in men’s clothing. María watched Gregoria receive communion and then secretly spit it out. When Gregoria noticed María watching her, she stood up and left the church. María did not see what Gregoria did with the host she had spit out. |
| Shocked, as was to be expected, at such an irreligious and sacrilegious insult, I [Doctor José Nicolás de Larragoiti] took it upon myself, and through other people who know the said Gregoria, that wherever they might see her they should secure her and notify me, so that I might make a report and have punished such a horrific and uncommon crime.
As a result of this duty, a sergeant of the Regimento del Commerce, named, apprehended her on Holy Friday, the 25th of the current month, dressed in male clothing, at the time when she was watching the procession that passed by that day, even making mockery of it, according to what the sergeant himself explained to me. He placed her in the Cárcel de Corte because he apprehended her nearby, and he notified me. I informed the governor of the Real Sala del Crimen, Don Juan Francisco de Anda, requesting that he order her to be held in prison, and stating that I would give notice to the Holy Office of the Inquisition, to which I consider belongs the jurisdiction of this crime, since the said woman is suspect in the faith, especially in light of the other circumstances in question. |
I was shocked to hear this story. I told people I knew that if they saw Gregoria, they should capture her so I could make a report and have her punished. A sergeant named José de Acosta captured her on Holy Friday, March 25. She was dressed in men’s clothing and making fun of a religious procession when he caught her. He put her in prison, and I let the governor know to hold her while I alerted the Holy Office of the Inquisition. |
| She is, according to what they have reported to me, of such depraved and perverse customs that she has been many times in all the prisons of this city for the many evildoings she has committed under the cover of a variety of disguises, for she has always used both male and female dress as suited her criminal designs. They even told me she went so far as to enlist as a soldier and wear a uniform.
Recently, in the previous year of 1794, I received a denunciation in this parish that, during the time for Easter Communion, she would come frequently to receive Communion, sometimes dressed as a man and other times as a woman so as not to be recognized, with the intention of obtaining Communion certificates in order to sell them — a fact she confessed to my colleague, Doctor and Maestro Don José María Alcalá, and to me; and we gave notice to the Provisor of this archbishopric, who had her imprisoned and opened proceedings against her. |
I have since learned that Gregoria has been arrested many times for her immoral behavior. She wears men’s and women’s clothing as disguises to commit crimes. I even heard she dressed as a soldier and enlisted in the army. In 1794 there was a report that she was taking communion many times, sometimes dressed as a man and sometimes dressed as a woman. She then sold the certificates. She confessed this to me and some colleagues, and the archbishop had her arrested. |
| This is what has occurred, and I report it to Your Lordship so that, if you deem it appropriate, you may give notice to the Office, so that it may take the appropriate measures, with the understanding that the said Gregoria remains imprisoned in the Real Cárcel de Corte | This is what has happened. I report it to you so that you can take action. Gregoria is still in prison. |
| May our Lord preserve the life of Your Lordship for many years.
Parish of the Sagrario, Mexico City, March 30 of 1796. Doctor José Nicolás de Larragoiti |
May God grant you a long life.
Parish of Sagrario, Mexico City March 30, 1796 Doctor José Nicolás de Larragoiti |
Translation by Aaron Taylor, Ph.D.
Background
Gender neutral pronouns they/them will be used to refer to Gregoria, as there is no documentation of their preferred gender identity.
The royal family of Spain required every person living under their rule to live by the teachings of the Catholic Church. This meant that in the Spanish colonies, the rules of the Church were enforced by the Inquisition.
The Inquisition was a religious court that had absolute authority to try any citizen of Spain for crimes against the Catholic Church. It was famous for using torture to force suspected criminals to confess and name accomplices. People who were found guilty of crimes against the Church could be fined, physically punished, or even executed depending on the severity of their alleged crimes.
About the Documents
This document is a report made to the Inquisition. It contains the testimony of a woman from Mexico City named María Vicenta Vargas. María claims to have seen a person she calls Gregoria attend a Catholic Church service dressed in men’s clothing. She also claims that Gregoria disrespected a Catholic ritual. The man who heard María’s testimony then did his own investigation and learned that Gregoria had a long history of wearing men’s clothing.
The Inquisition did not pursue the case against Gregoria, so evidence of their life ends here. But historians believe María Vicenta’s report is an important record of the existence of gender non-conforming people who lived in the Spanish colonies and the dangers they faced.
Vocabulary
- Catholic: A Christian who follows the pope in Rome.
- Inquisition: A Spanish religious court that had absolute authority to try any citizen of Spain for crimes against the Catholic Church.
Discussion Questions
- Why did María Vicenta Vargas denounce Gregoria to the Inquisition?
- What do María Vicenta Vargas’s accusations against Gregoria tell us about social norms in the Spanish colonies?
- What role did colonists play in reinforcing social norms? Does this still hold true today?
Suggested Activities
- Pair this resource with Life Story: Thomas(ine) Hall, Life Story: The Public Universal Friend, and A Singular Case for a more in-depth exploration of the experiences of gender non-conforming people in the 1600s, 1700s, and early 1800s.
- To continue the discussion into the late 1800s, 1900s, and 2000s, pair this resource with Life Story: Dr. Mary Walker, Life Story: Christine Jorgensen, Life Story: Marsha P. Johnson, and/or Life Story: Miss Major Griffin-Gracy.
- To consider the role that rumors played in social norms and daily life of the colonies, pair this resource with any or all of these resources about the accusations of witchcraft: Witchcraft in Bermuda, Connecticut Witch Trials, Life Story: Tituba, Life Story: Doña Teresa de Aguilera y Roche, and/or Life Story: Isabel Hernández.
Themes
AMERICAN CULTURE
