Call Number:

Ms. Coll. 969

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

0.4 linear feet (1 box)

Language Note:

Mostly Spanish, some English

Preferred Citation:

Roberto Morgadanes collection of Mexican religious dramas, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1684-1942 (inclusive)

Creator:

Morgadanes, Roberto

Form:

Plays (performing arts compositions), Religious drama, and Correspondence

Abstract:

Roberto Morgadanes, a native of Mexico, studied for his doctorate in Romance languages at the University of Pennsylvania from 1940 to 1942, specializing in the origin of colonial Mexican drama. This collection consists of documents relating to Roberto Morgadanes's studies as well as original Mexican religious dramas, mainly dating from the late 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century.

A native of Mexico, Roberto Morgadanes was educated in New Orleans, Louisiana, and studies for a doctorate in Romance languages at the University of Pennsylvania from 1940 to 1942, under the supervision of his advisors, Joseph E. Gillet and Otis H. Green. He studied Mexican drama in the 16th century and traveled to Mexico to locate unpublished examples of Mexican dramatic works. It is unclear if Morgadanes ever completed his disseration on this topic.

This collection consists of two different series. The first one documents the formation of the collection of dramas and is composed of correspondence related to Roberto Morgadanes and his studies. The second one comprises religious dramas themselves and includes mostly handwritten Mexican plays of the late 19th century or beginning of the 20th century, often illustrated with religious pictures. However, two of them are older – 17th and 18th centuries – and stem from the Inquisition records, and one of them was written in Manila.