The Dance of the Conquest in Mexico; structural analysis and comparison with Peru

Abstract

The present investigation examines the Mexican interpretation of the so-called Dance of the Conquest, contrasting its avatars with the analogous Andean drama (The death of Atahualpa), both popular theatrical performances that are presented on festive occasions and that in their traditional transmission can be found in three regions of Spanish America very distant from each other, and therefore with different denominations: in Mexico and Central America the story follows the events of the end of the Aztec empire, while in the central Andes the focus is the aforementioned fall of the Inca. Being thematically centered on the events of the initial contact, they represent the crystallized attitudes behind that fundamental process and show a historical reinvention of each society. Comparatively, its northern and South American texts are analyzed, the different versions of the story of the death of Atahualpa, the cultural equivalent of Peru, to reveal the inexistence of a connection between the versions of both countries.