The Jarabe Gatuno and the Politics of Pleasure

The bans on popular songs in the late 18th and early 19th centuries offer a perspective of the censorship exercised by the Holy Inquisition towards popular and cultural activities in New Spain. Such is the case of Jarabe Gatuno or pan de jarabe in 1802.

Jarabe gatuno was a song that reached the ears of the viceroy of New Spain, Feliz Berenguer de Marquina, through a complaint that asked for his intervention to ban it, arguing that it went against the principles of the church. On May 19, 1772, Agustín Rotea, a priest, decided to write a letter to the New Spain authority describing that he had attended a play at the Teatro de la Ciudad on the night of the 16th of the same month, in which the tragedy entitled Reynar después de morir was performed. After the second act concluded, two actresses came on stage at the request of the public to sing and dance a song called La cosecha. This dance was considered by the priest to be in bad taste and highly indecent.

The aforementioned spectacle, according to the witness, featured movements and bodily contortions that defied decency, being a clear incitement to the corruption of customs. The priest questioned the authorities by asking “how an event of this nature could leave young people innocent, especially when the public, with their approval and comments, seemed to support such actions.”

The priest mentioned in the letter that the corregidor had previously prohibited the performance of this dance, but the judge of the Coliseum objected and took the matter to the viceroy, who finally allowed the presentation of the dance under the condition that it be carried out with decency. However, this condition was not met, since the very essence of the dance was considered inappropriate.

He also told the king that in addition to the Cosecha, there were other sones called the Pan de Jarabe and the Pan de Manteca, which are described as equally vulgar and dishonest, especially the first one. The witness also pointed out that in the same theater, a comedy was regularly performed, which contained graphic representations and passages of an obscene nature, including the insinuation of a sexual act between a woman and a French man, which was considered highly offensive to the spectators.

On June 7, 1779, another complaint about the Jarabe Gatuno was presented: the father president of the mission of the College of Pachuca received a letter from the parish of San Agustín Tlaxco, in the bishopric of Puebla. The letter detailed the concern about the spread of the dishonest dance known as Jarabe Gatuno, denounced the dance, and the inclusion of a couplet with questionable content, which said the following:

This is a couple that is sung in fandangos and is given to be graded.

1st

Tonight I will walk
with my beloved child,
and we will have to have fun
until Jesus laughs.

2nd

Oh, Tonchi of my soul,
what has happened to you,
because you got married,
You have hated me.

3rd

Go running,
they are running, husband.
I will go to a hermitage,
in my skull,
with my Saint Onofre,
with my Saint Benedict.

4th

On the river bank,
put your little room,
so that he can be with me,
that Chinito.

In a document attached to the letter received by the parish of San Agustín Tlaxco, a notification was added about the scandalous forms of dancing that the natives carried out. One of them was called by some as "the bakers", where men and women publicly swayed in parties, performing actions that were said to be extremely indecent. The father president reported that he had requested in four parishes the application of the edict issued by the Holy Tribunal of the Inquisition in 1766 against dishonest songs, although unfortunately he had not found sufficient support.

Faced with this situation, the father president left the decision on the measures to be taken in the hands of the relevant authorities, urging them to carry out the action they considered appropriate to address such a serious matter. The king's response to such requests came in 1802 through a circular and an order in which the "dishonest dance entitled Jarave Gatuno" was prohibited.

In the month of October last, I learned, with much sadness in my heart, that in this Capital and other places of the Kingdom a dance hall named Jarabe Gatuno was being introduced, which, due to its dishonest movements, actions and singing, caused shame and displeasure even to people with less delicate conscience. Without delay I ordered the respective file to be prepared, in order to provide what was opportune with the success that I desire in all things; and with this aim I passed it by consultative vote to the Royal Criminal Court, which has just returned it to me.

In accordance with the opinion of that Court, I have resolved to absolutely prohibit, as of now, the indicated dance hall of Jarabe Gatuno, declaring that the offenders will incur and suffer the penalty of public shame and two years of imprisonment; the women the same time of being captured and the spectators two months of jail, leaving it to the discretion of the Judges to aggravate these penalties according to the quality of the subjects and more or less serious circumstances that concur in the act. Consequently, and so that it reaches everyone's notice and no one can claim ignorance, I order that a proclamation be published in this Capital in the usual manner, and that the corresponding copies be sent to the Courts, Magistrates and Judges who are responsible for ensuring its observance.

After the circular was issued by Feliz, five copies of the proclamation were sent, which were ordered to be published in the Capital, prohibiting "the pernicious and dishonest Bayle named Jarave Gatuno", so that each authority would promulgate it in the district under their charge and giving notice of its execution. However, despite the fact that the prohibition was stipulated by an edict of the viceroy, the jarabe continued to be sung and danced in secret from the authorities.

The prohibition of the jarabe gatuno in New Spain represents an episode in the struggle between cultural expression and the moral norms imposed by the authority. Although this dance was condemned for its alleged indecency, it continued to be performed as a form of resistance by the people to censorship. Today, reflections on the acceptance of artistic expressions such as reggaeton reveal the persistence of similar moral debates.

In Mexico, there are still dances that are not accepted by the entire population; one possible reason is that moral perspectives influence the approval of various artistic expressions, as is the specific case of reggaeton, which is judged by characteristics similar to those that Jarabe Gatuno was judged by. It is important to note that body shapes, positions, and movements are not currently prohibited at a legal level, but they do tend to be rejected due to moral questions, which could reflect the influence of the European heritage and its institutions on many of the values that we maintain today.