The saddest of the many sad stories explored in this collection is the case of José Mariano—a young indigenous boy spotted “fornicating with [a mare]” near the town of Puebla, central Mexico, in 1803 (201). Witnesses reported that he had tied the mare’s hind legs to a tree and on discovery, quickly covered his genitals with his long cotton shirt. Convicted of the nefarious crime of bestiality, Mariano remained in prison for thirty years.
Sexuality and the Unnatural in Colonial Latin America explores many poignant cases of sexual practice deemed unacceptable by contemporaries, as well as many cases that today’s readers might expect to have been considered deviant. Besides bestiality, incest, sodomy, same-sex relationships of various sorts, and masturbation make an appearance, as do solicitation in the confessional and other clerical abuses of power. The volume has a foreword by Asunción Lavrin and an epilogue by Pete Sigal, two pioneering...