The Gender and Sexuality of Cotita de Encarnación The Importance of Continued Analysis of Spanish Colonial Documents for Proto-Queer Themes

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Published: Jan 28, 2025

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Devin Manley
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Abstract

In the year 1657, in San Lázaro, Mexico City, a mestiza laundress named Juana was washing clothes in a nearby river. A tedious yet necessary job, it was reserved for women in Novohispanic households. Suddenly, she was disturbed by a boy who ran to her for help. He was horrified and exclaimed that “there [were] two men riding each other like if they were on horseback!” She then ran to the site and witnessed the sexual act, deciding that local authorities were needed to assess the crime. The perceived sodomite in question was someone who referred to themself as “Cotita de la Encarnación.” They were originally born a mulato named Juan Galindo de la Vega. In the case of Cotita’s trial, they were charged with cross-dressing and engaging in anal intercourse with young boys, adults, and older gentlemen of all castes and social backgrounds engaging in anal intercourse with them. This offense was the crime of pecado nefando, or sodomy, the worst of the offenses possible under the sin of lust in Catholic religious doctrine.

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Vol. 3 No. 2 (2024): Undergraduate History Journal at Illinois
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Articles
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