ABSTRACT
Bernardo de Balbuena's Grandeza mexicana celebrates the greatness of contemporary Mexico City describing its site, buildings, trade and commodities, often giving the impression of being a reliable historical account. Balbuena's poem is an innovative take on literary tradition where the idealized sophistication of the capital of New Spain is matched by the elaborate style of Grandeza, announcing the baroque turn that will later define Spanish American colonial poetry. The idea of 'orden y compas' can also be found in the lines from 'Capitulo II' under scrutiny, where Balbuena stresses aspects such as 'orden' and 'proporcion'. Grandeza's style is nevertheless far from being such a clear-cut example of proportion and sobriety. Architectural lexicon often has an evocative rather than a referential function in Grandeza. The dialectic between architecture and poetry is only one aspect of the subtle interaction of various discourses in Grandeza, which at times might even seem contradictory.
