The Medallion that Illuminated the World: Discover the inner strength of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz in "Juana Inés", the upcoming Miami opera premiere

In the portraits of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, an imposing figure with a stern face looks at us from the past. But beyond her penetrating eyes, one object captures our attention: the medallion hanging from her chest. The image that Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz wears on her chest—visible in her most famous portraits—is a shield or medallion of the Order of Saint Jerome, as she was a Hieronymite nun. This medallion is neither decorative nor personal: it was part of the female Hieronymite habit and usually featured a painting or image of the Annunciation, the moment when the Archangel Gabriel announces to the Virgin Mary that she will be the mother of Jesus.

What secrets does this standard piece of conventual habit hold? Although all Hieronymite nuns wore this emblem, in Sor Juana's case it takes on a transcendent meaning. Like Mary, she was also the recipient of divine revelation, but hers was intellectual. Her Hieronymite medallion thus becomes a silent declaration of her true identity: a woman chosen to announce to the world that knowledge has no gender, a nun who, in the tradition of Saint Jerome—the great translator and scholar—would continue the mission of making wisdom accessible.

La Anunciación (The Annunciation) - Miguel Cabrera

This medallion, which in the paintings depicts the sacred scene in exquisite detail, has its counterpart in an enigmatic tortoiseshell cameo found in 1978, a real object that connects us directly to the woman who defied her time. This woman, who called herself with almost painful humility "I, the worst in the world", was acclaimed in her time as "The Tenth Muse," a recognition of a talent that transcended the limitations imposed by her gender.

Medallón real, ubicado en el Museo Legislativo en Ciudad de Mexico

In the middle of the 17th century, when the intellectual world was designed exclusively by and for men, Sor Juana dared to be a thinker. She devoured treatises on Aristotelian and Thomistic philosophy, mastered Euclidean mathematics, studied Ptolemaic and Copernican astronomy, and developed a theory of knowledge that would anticipate centuries of epistemology. She broke the molds of the femininity of her time, not with the sword, but with the pen, defending in her "Reply to Sister Filotea" the inalienable right of women to think, to know, to create.

Her genius was not limited to poetry and philosophical essays. Sor Juana was also an accomplished musician, with a profound knowledge of music theory and composition. Her Christmas carols, such as " Oíd el concierto " (*) or " Vamo turú a Belé " (*), were not simple religious chants; they were complex poetic-musical architectures that revealed a masterful command of sonic rhetoric. Music, for her, was another language for exploring the mysteries of the cosmos and the human soul, a divine mathematics made audible.

In September, that free-thinking soul, that brilliant mind, comes alive on an emblematic Miami stage (Miracle Theatre) thanks to an act of historic justice brought to life by two talented musicians of our time. The Opera Atelier is thrilled to present the world premiere of "Juana Inés," a tribute by Cuban librettist and pianist Daniel Daroca and Venezuelan composer Federico Ruiz, in celebration of the trailblazing Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz.

"Juana Inés" will come to life in a full production staging that brings together prominent Miami opera artists under the artistic direction of Daniel Daroca himself. The premiere also features Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida, with a choreography by maestro Vladimir Issaev, and the participation of Voices of Miami.

This gesture takes on a special dimension now. Daroca and Ruiz pay fitting tribute to the fundamental role of women in the and arts and sciences , recognizing that history has been unfair to figures such as Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. Their collaboration on this opera is, in itself, a declaration: that female talent deserves not only recognition, but celebration. Ruiz's music, forged in the Venezuelan operatic and symphonic tradition, and the libretto by D. Daroca, who also serves as musical and stage director for the opera's world premiere in Miami, promise to create an experience that honors both the intellectual complexity and emotional depth of the Tenth Muse.

Under the production direction of Xiomara Ponce and the stage design of Jacqueline Solórzano, the audience will be led into a universe of mathematical resonances, where the visual space stands as a tribute to the visionary and innovative spirit of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz.

The opera " Juana Inés " is a unique event in Miami's artistic and cultural life. The premiere, scheduled for September 27 and 28 at the Miracle Theatre in Coral Gables , is truly a miracle that increases the value of Miami as a metropolis where The Opera Atelier, once again, brings audiences new opera repertoire, positioning it on the international cultural map as a city that not only consumes art, but creates and premieres it, despite the unspeakable setbacks that arts organizations have been suffering in recent times.

Don't miss the opportunity to be part of Miami's cultural history and be part of the audience that drives a change toward truly valuing the arts in Miami. Be sure to visit the Miracle Theatre and discover the passion, struggle, and genius of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz in this meaningful production by The Opera Atelier, which brings together Silvia Ludueña, Greisel Domínguez, Patricia Arcadí, Jorge Arcila, Yohan Rodríguez, Karel Morell, and Ana Miriam Santana, among other artists committed to bringing art to the city. Your seat awaits to witness how art, once again, shows us that the most powerful ideas cannot be cloistered, and how The Opera Atelier honors the legacy of a woman who, from the silence of her cell, forever changed our understanding of human potential.

See you at the opera!

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(*) Christmas carol by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1648-1773)

Set to music by Manuel de Mesa (ca. 1725-1773)

Listen to the concert

Hear the concert that the heavens are attentive to,

Shocked at hearing this, they suspend their action.

And it is that a Divine and Human Teacher

of voices and music gives a lesson.

If you hear the harmony of a Verb that sounds

such a sweet soprano who admires her voice,

is that a teacher of voices and music

the echoes suspend, the echoes suspend,

the echoes hang from its tuning fork.

And this sweet Word, in the sublime Chair,

the purest matter of the whitest are,

He has for a staff the compass of a scepter,

and his well-tempered disposition

He teaches the world the beautiful theory,

and to man he dictates the sweet lesson.

Torpid of spirit, the man lay,

that between the yes of man and the no of his God,

and the Natural of Heaven, next to the Flat of the Earth,

next to the Flat of the Earth,

next to the Flat of the Earth,

formed a harsh, atrocious semitone.

And from Fa to Mi, entirely guilty,

various heights caused them to make the mistake,

and thus united guilt and punishment,

that to an atom Fa of our season,

of our seasoning,

of our seasoning,

followed by a grave Mi of eternal affliction.

They divide the same human voices,

that while they say different accents,

They are united by the meter of a friendly charm,

because no one discords in the Choir,

because no one discords in the Choir,

because no one discords in the Choir,

and all praise one Word and one God.

Alas! What if once the joyful Adam

it deserved our tears,

and with resounding drums,

the sound of the Sacrament,

moving to the sound of the Sacrament,

moving to the sound of the Sacrament,

He gave us life, he gave us health.

And for the rain that the weather offered,

raising your voice is the right thing to do, it is the right thing to do,

so that in the high promusicae,

which is his eternal name,

and his eternal name,

and his eternal name,

and contemplate, and contemplate,

and contemplate the glory of God.