Thoughts on the Casta Paintings and the memoir of Catalina De Erauso

The memoir of Catalina de Erauso and the Casta paintings both speak to social norms/values of the colonial period in Spain and in Latin America. The Casta paintings depict the status quo of the colonial time when mixed ethnic families were emerging in Latin America. although one may not agree today that the Casta paintings portray an image of Latin America to be inferior ( I personally find them beautiful and celebratory of diversity), I think Miranda was correct in his fear that Spain would see Latin America as inferior. I think that this was probably the thinking of Europeans or at least of Spain at the colonial time. - Perhaps if Miranda's fear is not evidence of think thinking it is at least evidence that the Spanish of Latin America felt a that they were inferior to Spain as they struggle to maintain a "Europeanness" throughout the colonies of Latin America. I quite liked the memoir of Catalina de Erauso because it tells a story of success for women's and/or human rights with regards to sexuality and gender. It is even more great because the positive outcome (the acceptance for Catalina to maintain her identity as a man and also to be rewarded for her efforts overseas) is surprising, given the era in which it happened. During the time of conquest in the "new world", or at least in the time of Columbus, religion was such a powerful institution. In Catalina's memoir, I think one would typically assume that the pope would punish her for her sexuality, but instead she was rewarded and accepted. To me, demonstrates the social values of that time. Was conquest in Latin America such a priority that it gave relief to certain social injustices like discrimination? however, this seems the case in regards to the memoir of Catalina de Erauso, but not in terms of race or ethnicity when it comes to the Casta paintings in Latin America.