Claustro de Sor Juana

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz wrote poetry and plays (some were only quasi-religious, very daring!) in the late 17th century. She is recognized as far and away the greatest poet of the Colonial era and one of the best Mexican authors of all time. She was officially restrained by the church hierarchy for being too nonconformist - she dedicated too much time to writing, becoming a semi-public figure, and had a deep friendship with the viceroy's wife. The bishop, writing under the pseudonym of "Sor Filotea", wrote her an open letter entreating her to be more religious and less-engaged in the world, and she wrote back a famous reply in her own defense, "Respuesta a [Response to] Sor Filotea". Eventually she had to give up her writing completely, and wrote a retraction, signing it "I, Juana, la peor de todas" (I, Juana, the worst of all). In the movie "Las trampas de la fe" (The Traps of Faith) the relationship is shown as practically sexual.

This is the very cloister where she lived and wrote, and was buried. I was going to the Zapatista bookstore when I saw this old ruined building with a huge banner saying "SOR JUANA" on it, and had to stop by on my way back.