«Singulares invenciones»: fuegos artificiales y fiestas religiosas en Lima colonial, siglos XVII y XVIII

This essay discusses the production and use of fireworks in Lima's religious festivities during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. They were present in numerous celebrations on the liturgical calendar and other special occasions. Pyrotechnic displays attracted considerable public attention; and further interest was created by combining them with music and dance, as they added a dramatic element to performances. They were partly an expression of patrons'wealth, but above all reflected how much colonial society delighted in extraordinary and ingenious forms of entertainment that produced admiration and awe. Firework displays were among the most interesting expressions of Baroque culture in the Spanish empire.