Bernardo de Balbuena

In 1606 he returned to Spain and earned the degree of Doctor of Theology, and rose within the Church to become Abbot in Jamaica (1610) and one of the early Bishops of Puerto Rico (1620).

[1] Despite his priestly duties, he found time to write long and elegant verses which are excellent examples of the Baroque tendency to heavily load (and sometimes overload) poetry with highly detailed descriptions.

Balbuena takes advantage of this opportunity to present a detailed inventory of the complicated, luxurious and beautiful city as he knew it almost 100 years after the arrival of Hernán Cortés.

It also stands as a monument to the pride in the New World that many transplanted Spaniards (sometimes referred to as "radicados") shared with the "criollos" (the Americans descended from Spanish or Portuguese families).

It is ordered that I write you some indication that I have arrived in this famous city, center of perfection, hinge of the world; its seat, its populous greatness, its rare things, its riches and its treatment, its illustrious people, its pompous labor.