Juana Inés de la Cruz
Juana Inés de la Cruz (hwäˈnä ēnāsˈ dā lä krōs) [key], 1651–95, Mexican poet. She is
Juana Inés de la Cruz
Juana Inés de la Cruz (hwäˈnä ēnāsˈ dā lä krōs) [key], 1651–95, Mexican poet. She is considered the greatest lyric poet of the colonial period. A beautiful and intellectually precocious girl, Juana was a favorite at the viceregal court before entering a Mexican convent at the age of 16. Forced to study outside the university, she devoted herself to amassing a fine library, and made her convent into a center of religious and social life in Mexico. Her classical erudition and her scientific curiosity led to re