Afrodescendientes que hablan quechua: Risa, agencia y resistencia en dos entremeses del convento de Santa Teresa (Villa Imperial de Potosí)

Abstract:

The Entremés de los compadres en celebridad del nacimiento del niño Dios and the Entremés gracioso—short comic pieces from the eighteenth century preserved in manuscripts from the Convent of Santa Teresa, Villa Imperial de Potosí (present-day Bolivia)—invite scrutiny of the comic characterization of the Black- and Africandescendant populations in the Andes region during the later colonial period. To begin, this study considers how the author or authors of the entremeses maintain an imperial gaze by characterizing Afro-descendants through a grotesque performativity. Yet on closer inspection, we find these texts place Blacks in a central position, conferring a visibility in a manner that draws attention to a history of discrimination. Notably, Black and Afro-descendant characters do not appear alone, but rather interact and share protagonism with characters representing Amerindians from this region of colonial Bolivia. Also notable is how the comic pieces blend the Quechua language with habla de negros and bear witness to the violence suffered by both ethnic groups.