Inés de Hinojosa (1540-1571) was a Venezuelan

hacendada A ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or ''finca''), similar to a Roman ''latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards), ...

. Born in

Barquisimeto Barquisimeto (; ) is a city in Venezuela. Barquisimeto is located in the Central-Western Region, Venezuela. It is the capital of the state of Lara (state), Lara and head of Iribarren Municipality. It is an important urban, industrial, commercial a ...

, in the

Province of Venezuela The Venezuela Province (or Province of Caracas) was a province of the Spanish Empire (from 1527), of Gran Colombia (1824–1830) and later of Venezuela (from 1830), apart from an interlude (1528–1546) when it was contracted as a concession by t ...

of the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

, she was raised and first married in

Carora The City of Carora, commonly called Carora City (in Spanish, Ciudad de Carora), is a city in Lara State, Venezuela, on the Morere River, a branch of the Tocuyo River. It is about 54 miles southwest of Barquisimeto. History Carora City was found ...

. She was executed for a crime of passion in Tunja in 1571. Her case constituted one of the greatest scandals of the Kingdom of New Granada and Venezuela. Its history was written for the first time by Juan Rodríguez Freyle in chapter X of ''El Carnero'' where he recounted the events between 1560 and 1571. In 1864, it was rewritten by Temístocles Avella Mendoza in ''Los tres Pedros en la red de Inés de Hinojosa''. The story was also revived in 1986 by the Colombian writer Próspero Morales Pradilla in ''Los pecados de Inés de Hinojosa'' (The Sins of Inés de Hinojosa). Best seller of the year, the novel was made into a television series (The Sins of Inés de Hinojosa) in 1988.

Chronicle

Of mestizo origin, Doña Inés married in Carora with the Spaniard Pedro de Ávila, who was a drunkard, partygoer and gambler. They lived with Juanita, half sister of Inés. She established an extramarital relationship with Jorge Voto, who sold himself as a master of the customs of the Spanish court, and both planned the murder of her husband. The couple, accompanied by Juanita, fled Carora and settled temporarily in

Pamplona Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...

, where they married. Later they resided in

Tunja Tunja () is a municipality and city on the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes, in the region known as the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, 130 km northeast of Bogotá. In 2018 the municipality had a population of 172,548. It is the capital of B ...

, which was a first-rate colonial enclave that emulated Santafé in terms of the number and nobility of the Spaniards who lived there. The most important was Pedro Bravo de Rivera, the encomendero of

Chivatá Chivatá is a town and municipality in the Central Boyacá Province, part of the Colombian department of Boyacá. The urban centre is situated at an altitude of on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense at from the department capital Tunja. It borders ...

, who immediately noticed Inés, and they established a romance. Jorge Voto, who was a dancer, set up a dance academy and established a branch in the capital of the kingdom. When he was absent from Tunja, he offered the opportunity for the couple's reunion. Pedro Bravo de Rivera and Doña Inés decided to plan the murder of the dancer, who was found dead one morning at the bottom of a ravine. This time the murderers were discovered and justice was served: the encomendero was condemned to be beheaded and Inés received the punishment of the gallows along with Hernán Bravo de Rivera, mestizo brother of don Pedro and accomplice in the murder of Jorge Voto. The then president of the royal audience of Santafé, Andrés Díaz Venero de Leyva, decided to travel personally to Tunja to take charge of the criminal case.

References

{{Reflist 1540 births 1571 deaths Colombian bisexual people Colombian lesbians Venezuelan bisexual people Venezuelan lesbians People executed by decapitation People from Barquisimeto LGBTQ history in Venezuela LGBTQ history in Colombia Viceroyalty of Peru people