Diego de Hojeda (1571? -1615) was a poet and religious of Spanish origin, known for being the author La Cristiada, a heroic poem where the Passion of Christ was narrated. Thanks to that single work, he was considered the most relevant poet of the epic style in the colonial period of Peru.
La Cristiada is considered the most important work written about Jesus in Peru. In addition, among his contributions he was recognized as one of the founders of the Recoleta Dominicana de la Bendita Convent, located in Lima. Diego de Hojeda came to occupy the most important positions among the religious of the time.
La Cristiada was the author's most important work. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
Biography
Early years
Few data exist on the first years of the life of Diego de Hojeda y Carvajal. Only the historian and friar Juan Meléndez has been able to clarify some details of the life of the poet and religious. He established, for example, that 1571 was the year of Diego's birth, whose place of origin was Seville.
Diego Pérez Núñez and Leonor de Carvajal were the parents of the poet. The Hojeda surname does not belong to any of his parents and the explanation that Meléndez found about this was that it was a tradition of that time to baptize the second male child of a family with the surname of the maternal grandfather.
The details about his academic training are not known, although some historians claim that he received humanistic education. However, there are no documents to support this.
At the age of 17 he had the opportunity to travel to Peru, stopping first in Panama. His parents were not aware of their son's decision, motivated according to historians by the refusal of his family to become a friar. Since then he has not returned to Spain at any time.
Religious life
He came to Peru in the late 1980s of the 16th century to be part of the Order of Preachers. His first step was to enter the convent of the Rosary. From his time as a novice he managed to alternate between his passion for literature and theology. In the convent he lived with more than 130 friars.
The University of San Marcos was founded in 1551 in the place where the Rosario convent was located. It is for this reason that it is believed that Hojeda carried out his studies as theologian and on literature at that institution, the first of which there is evidence in the New World.
His qualities as a writer and poet were widely recognized beyond the convent. His knowledge of theology was used to teach classes in the early seventeenth century. In this way he was gaining power and fame in Peru.
He alternated his functions as teacher and religious. In 1609 he was transferred to Cuzco to occupy the position of superior and a year later he played the same role in the capital of the country.
He lost all his positions and power in 1611 when a visitor from the Spanish crown, Friar Alonso de Armería, arrived in Peru. They ordered him to go to the Cuzco convent as punishment, where he remains for a short time before being sent to Huánuco.
Death
Diego de Hojeda died when he was only 44 years old. His death occurred on October 24, 1615 in the simple convent in Huánuco de los Caballeros, Peru.
After his death, the Almería visitor was removed from office due to multiple complaints about his decisions. Friar Nicolás González then decided to order that Hojeda's remains be unearthed and performed a religious ceremony.
Hojeda's remains were transferred to the crypt of the Rosario convent, currently better known as Santo Domingo de Lima, which was founded in 1535. In the crypt of the convent the religious who were part of the Order at that time were buried. The remains of Santa Rosa de Lima are also buried there.
Plays
Historians who have studied the life and work of Diego Hojeada assured that he wrote several poems over the years, but the truth is that La Cristiada is the most important work of his career as a writer.
La Cristiada had different editions over time. The original manuscript was obtained from the National Library in Paris. Later editions featured the poet's work, but also featured critical analyzes of the work.
The book was written with real octaves, which are stanzas made up of eight verses of 11 syllables each. There are almost two thousand stanzas that made up the entire text.
The first edition appeared for the first time in 1611, after being printed in Spain. Its publication was approved two years earlier thanks to a decision of the friars Agustín de Vega and Lorenzana.
Two other texts were known to Diego Hojeda as a writer. In 1590 he wrote some lines for the presentation of the work of the Chilean poet Pedro de Oña, titled Arauco Domado. Hojeda's text, present in the introduction along with that of other authors, was based on praising the Chilean's work, a common practice in those times.
The analysis he made in 1602 on the First part of the miscellany was also known, in several colloquia. A work published by Diego Dávalos Figueroa.
Characteristics of his works
He used simple language in his works and sometimes the literary resource he used was that of prose. Characteristics of different styles were observed, especially from the Baroque and Renaissance period. This was common among writers who were part of the Golden Age of Spanish literature.
He did not care much about the aesthetics of his work, since his goal was to appeal to the feelings of the readers. He sought to generate change and awaken interest in the ideas of the gospel.
Jesus was a character who was always present in his poetry. He also made reference to heaven, angels, Judas or Mary, among others.
He had a great diversity of storytelling models. In the case of La Cristiada, there was talk of a work with a narrator who is flexible and whose objective varies throughout the text. Sometimes in a tone that became sobering.
References
- Becco, H. (1990). Spanish-American colonial poetry. Caracas: Ayacucho Library Foundation.
- Berriozabal, J., & Aguado, E. (1841). The new cristiada de Hojeda. Madrid: Eusebio Aguado's press.
- Delclaux, F. (1991). Anthology of poems to the Virgin. Madrid: Rialp.
- Gonzalez Mas, E. (1989). History of Spanish literature. San Juan: Ed. De la Torre.
- Iturgáiz, D. (1987). Altarpiece of artists. Caleruega, Burgos: Ope.