by Mike Telin

In Greek mythology the nine Muses were the source of knowledge and inspiration for poets, musicians, and philosophers. “They inspired everybody,” bassoonist Catalina Guevara Víquez Klein, said during a telephone interview. “That’s the reason Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz is called the 10th Muse, because she too inspired everybody.”

In the next episode of Les Délices’ SalonEra, Catalina Klein will be joined by violinist Karin Cuellar Rendon, and mezzo-soprano Raquel Winnica Young, who delve into their personal connections to Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz and explore her legacy as a poet, composer, and protofeminist. “The Phoenix of Mexico,” premieres on Monday, October 18 at 7:30 pm, and will be available on-demand afterwards. Click here to register.

Born Doña Inés de Asuaje y Ramírez de Santillana in 1648 in San Miguel Nepantla, Mexico, she was an enthusiastic reader as a child. She composed her first poem at eight years old and by age thirteen had studied Greek logic, and taught Latin to young children. She also spoke and wrote in the Aztec language of Nahuatl. As a young woman who was not interested in marriage, only in furthering her studies, she entered the Convent of the Discalced Carmelites of St. Joseph, but soon moved to the more liberal Convent of the Order of St. Jérôme, where she would remain until her death. [Read more…]