Guatemala - Colonial Culture
The cultural changes which occurred in colonial Guatemala were mainly the replacement of Indian with Spanish arts. The Mayan ball game disappeared, and the bullfight became popular. Indian plays and dances were largely forgotten, and Hispanic themes, such as the conquest of the Moors, were enacted. In Guatemala the struggle between the Quiche and Alvarado became a favorite theme for dramatic performance, but it was acted in the traditional Spanish style. Indian architecture was neglected, but the Spanish churches and palaces in Guatemala w the most elegant and ornate in the Central American area.
Nevertheless, indigenous culture did not disappear. The Indians retained their language, much of their religion, many of their dances, and a great deal of their oral traditions. They accepted parts of the Spanish culture, but their own was not forgotten. In places, the Hispanic innovations were simply a façade for the indigenous customs. The colonial Spanish culture did not consciously incorporate any of the classic Mayan patterns and was only peripherally influenced by the 16th century Indian culture. Spaniards retained Europe as their model in art and intellectual thought.
Spanish paintings and sculptures were, for the most part, confined to religious subjects. Both Indian and European artisans were employed to decorate the religious and governmental buildings, but the style was European with few New World innovations. Since most of Guatemala's major buildings were found in Antigua, some of the best colonial art was destroyed in the earthquake.
Historical chronicles written by the conquerors and by Franciscan and Dominican priests constituted the earliest literature of the era. The best known of these was the story of the conquest of Mexico and Honduras by Bernal Díaz. The most distinctive literary achievements, however, were written in the 16th century by Guatemalan Indians who were taught to write by the priests. The Popol Vuh is a Quiche document giving a vivid picture of the preconquest world. The Annals of the Cakchiquels records the events of the conquest and its immediate aftermath. The education of the Indians, however, gradually ceased and literary works were found only in the elite class.
The intellectual life of Guatemala during the colonial period was substantial and was not centered exclusively in either the church or the university. Important work was done especially in linguistics and in the writing of history and poetry. It was on his hacienda in Guatemala that the old soldier Bernal Díaz del Castillo wrote his great history of the conquest in which he had taken part alongside Cortés. The work, Verdadera historia de la conquista de Nueva España, was completed in 1568 although not published until 1632. Other important histories were written by Antonio de Remesal, Francisco Vázquez, Francisco Ximénez, Francisco Antonio de Fuentes y Guzmán, and Domingo Juarros.
During the colonial period the University of San Carlos, founded in 1676, was Guatemala's only institution of higher learning. The intellectual life of the colony was not, however, completely dominated by the Church and, in the 18th century, intellectual currents opposed to Church doctrine were especially strong. The French Revolution and its resulting philosophies and ideals had a powerful impact, especially in the capital, and laid part of the groundwork for the independence movement.
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