Lizeth Elizondo
— M.A. Latin American Studies, California State University, San Diego
Contact
- E-mail: liz.elizondo@utexas.edu
Biography
In my dissertation project tentatively titled, “Till Death Do Us Part?: Illicit Relationships in the Northern Spanish Colonial Borderlands 1680-1770,” I analyze civil and ecclesiastical court cases dealing with cohabitation and amistades ilícitas for Northern New Spain, present-day Chihuahua, Coahuila, Texas and Louisiana. In Spanish America, cohabitation was a criminal offense under both the civil and ecclesiastical jurisdictions. Dossiers of these criminal cases of illicit relationships illustrate examples of scandalous, forbidden unions that served as a compelling option for those who sought to re-conquer their freedom of choice, sexuality, and intimacy. I use these remnants of history as an avenue for understanding the real or perceived efficacy and power of civil and ecclesiastical authorities, as well as the ways in which people navigated the judicial system in this frontier/borderland outskirt of the Spanish empire.
The words I live by: "There is a finite amount of time for each of us to do what we are meant to do. And no where is it written we should not be happy." - Robin Roberts
