Self-Translation as a Model for Multilingual Writing in Sor Juana's Villancicos de la Asunción (1676)

Abstract

This chapter analyzes a set of sacred villancicos written in 1676 by renownedMexican nun and writer Sister Juana Inés de la Cruz. The set, composed to besung at the Cathedral of Mexico during the celebration of the feast of theAssumption, consists of a series of poems in different languages and registers,including Latin, Nahuatl, and several literary registers of Spanish. The poems,which offer alternative versions of the Virgin's Assumption, are read in thisanalysis as figurative translations. In particular, it is argued that Sor Juana usesself-translation as a model for this multilingual composition. In doing so, shegenerates a critical dialog with earlier multilingual-translation practicesthat had been used in the context of the Spanish American conquest andcolonization--and that could constitute a meaningful historical context for someof the practices discussed in the initial section of this volume.