The Letters and Memorials Written by Alonso de Medina: Is It Possible to Speak of a «Sense of the Creole» During the XVIth Century?

Abstract

The article suggests that an early «creole identity» can be observed in some of the early colonizers of the Viceroyalty of Peru. Following the argument elaborated by José Antonio Mazzotti regarding the presence of a proto-creole identity that preceded the creoles in the Andean region, and seeing indigenismo , (understanding indigenismo as a «current of opinion favorable to the Indians» as Henri Favre defines the movement) as one of the characteristics of this proto-creole identity , this article tries to find in the letters and memorials written by Alonso de Medina hints of this identity, which can be perceived in the constant preoccupation for the well-being of the indigenous population depicted in his letters and memorials.