Abstract
Much has been written about the New World as a utopian locus (Baudot, Phelan), where the inhabitants of the Old World projected their ideas on the ideal society, its organization and functions, promoted by Erasmus of Rotterdam or Tomás Moro. In the 16th century New Spain, these ideas led to real utopian efforts (Juan de Zumárraga or Vasco de Quiroga), which, in the same way, have attracted significant attention from academics (Buelna Serrano, Verastique).
Therefore, this paper decides to take another direction and examine the border between real and ideal life, a great paradox, which the missionaries - coming from the mendicant orders - had to face daily when oscillating between the evangelizing task and the ideal utopian of the hermit life. Specifically, the artistic manifestations of these ideas embodied in the Augustinian missions built in Central Mexico are studied.
In terms of methodology, the presentation is interdisciplinary, combining the traditional procedures of history (study of written sources), art history (iconography and iconology) and anthropology (liminality, rituals of passage).