Martín Garatuza (born c. 1601,

Puebla Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

) was a famous trickster whose frauds and escapes became legendary in colonial

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

and whose name has passed into Spanish language, folklore and literature. Garatuza, whose real name was Martín de Villavicencio Salazar, came to the attention of the authorities in Puebla in 1640 for posing as a priest without having been ordained. He played this role with great pomp, offering his hand to be kissed, hearing confessions, and saying mass. In this way he travelled through much of New Spain, gaining his living fraudulently. In 1642 he was arrested in Nejapa,

Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...

by the

Inquisition The Inquisition was a Catholic Inquisitorial system#History, judicial procedure where the Ecclesiastical court, ecclesiastical judges could initiate, investigate and try cases in their jurisdiction. Popularly it became the name for various med ...

, accused of saying mass without being ordained. He managed to escape, but a few months later he turned himself in to the Inquisition in Mexico City. He soon talked his way out of detention, being granted a leave of 40 days to return to Puebla for health reasons. Naturally, he used this opportunity to escape again and continue his escapades. He was apprehended a third time and condemned to appear in an auto de fe "as a penitent, with a green candle in his hands, a rope about his neck, a white hood on his head". He was to receive 200 lashes and was sentenced to the galleys of Terrenate for five years without pay. The auto de fe was held March 30, 1648 in Mexico City. Thereafter he left New Spain to complete his sentence and was never heard from again. The expression "¿En qué pararán estas misas, Garatuza?" (What will end these masses, Garatuza?) has passed into the language. It refers to a difficult position a person finds himself in through the consequences of his own actions. The word ''gartusa'' (note the variant spelling) has several meanings as a noun. There is a card game of that name. The word can also mean the use of cajolery and flattery to gain one's ends, and it is the name of a feint in fencing. Vicente Riva Palacio (1832–96) wrote the novel ''Martín Gartuza''. There is also a Mexican movie based on this novel (1935). In 1986 a Mexican telenovela of the same name was broadcast. He is remembered in Mexico as a humorous character, one who lived by his wits but did not use violence.

References

* "Garatuza, Martín," ''Enciclopedia de México'', v. 6. Mexico City, 1988. * Alvarez, Luis Rodrigo, ''Historia General del Estado de Oaxaca''. Oaxaca: Carteles, 1995. {{DEFAULTSORT:Garatuza, Martin 1600s births People from Puebla People from New Spain Impostors Year of death missing