A 1551 Peninsular Corpus Christi play shows the earliest recorded use of the word loa, as we know, in reference to a dramatic prologue in Latin America. Until 1581, the loa was used in religious drama. Loas gained popularity in the "New World" by the 17th century because playwrights attached to the viceregal courts from Spain were aiming to flatter these patrons as well as the monarchs of Spain. Later 18th century "New World" loas contained some of the first references to problems in the Americas navigating class structures with the emergence of a hierarchy based on race that included Criollo, Indios, Mestizos, and more. Monologues appeared in laudatory prologues or introductions as loas in the plays of Hispanic America and are called "elogios dramaticos" in Brazil.