El llanto del Águila Mexicana: los jeroglíficos de las reales exequias por la reina Bárbara de Braganza en la Catedral de México, 1759

Abstract

This study analyzes the iconographic content of the hieroglyphs used to decorate the funeral pyre of Queen Bárbara de Braganza created in Mexico City Cathedral in 1759 based on the Tristes ayes de el Águila Mexicana (Sad Cries of the Mexican Eagle), conserved at the National Library of Mexico. These hieroglyphs reveal an iconographic program that revolves around an emblematic animal, the eagle, which was used as a metaphor for the tears of the Mexican people and monarch and the Queen's virtues. To enable us to better understand the significance of this animal in symbolic Hispanic culture, this study analyzes its presence in publications dealing with emblems and ephemeral art.