Historias de milagros y temblores: fe y eficacia simbólica en Hispanoamérica, siglos XVI-XVIII

espanolEl universo simbolico de la sociedad colonial hispanoamericana represento un amalgamamiento permanente en torno a las logicas cristianas, indigenas y africanas que nunca fue uniforme. A pesar de que los rituales repetian sus formas, basicamente, los simbolos utilizados no siempre fueron los mismos. No hubo un patron simbolico, sino una heterogeneidad caracteristica que conformo al cristianismo en esas sociedades. Fue una religion omnipresente y heterodoxa, ajustada a cada circunstancia, logrando una plasticidad que no se propuso, pero que acabo siendo su mejor recurso adaptativo y su gran estrategia de propagacion. A traves de los santos patronos y virgenes protectoras invocados ante terremotos, exploraremos aqui la fe y la eficacia simbolica de aquella sociedad. EnglishThe symbolic universe of Spanish American colonial society represented a permanent amalgamation around Christianism, indigenous and African logics that was never uniform. Although the rituals repeated their forms, basically, the symbols used were not always the same. There was no symbolic pattern, but a characteristic heterogeneity that formed Christianism in those societies. It was an omnipresent and heterodox religion, adjusted to every circumstance, achieving a plasticity that was not proposed, but that ended up being its best adaptive resource and its great strategy of propagation. Through the patron saints and virgins invoked protection against earthquakes, we will explore here faith and symbolic efficacy of that society.