Tec publishes Sor Juana masterpiece so that young people can read it

At Bellas Artes, Tecnológico de Monterrey presented a facsimile edition of Sister Juana Inés de la Cruz’s Respuesta a Sor Filotea (Reply to Sister Filotea), a work that addresses women’s right to access education. 

The facsimile reproduces a 1701 edition held at the Miguel de Cervantes de Saavedra Special Collections Library at Tec de Monterrey. 

“This facsimile is groundbreaking because the Tec has published a text that isn’t usually accessible,” said Marcela Beltrán, Director of the Cervantine Library. 

For her part, Lizzet Saldívar, National Director of Cultural Heritage, explained that the edition took care to preserve both the content and the physical form of the original text. 

“The format, the paper’s texture, and the design evoke the experience of the original book, making it a published work that combines historical, aesthetic, and sensory value.” 

This edition also preserves the words of a woman who was ahead of her time, in which she explains why women should have access to education and knowledge. 

“The Reply to Sister Filotea is considered a seminal text in which Sister Juana Inés de la Cruz drew on her own experience to challenge a social order that confined women to silence… 

“…while also defending her right to learn, write, and participate in intellectual life,” said Mildred Paulina Mendoza, Director of the National Office for Gender and Safe Communities at the Tec’s Center for the Recognition of Human Dignity. 

The project is the result of a collaboration between the Alfonso Reyes Chair, Cultural Heritage, and the Publishing Division of Tecnológico de Monterrey, in partnership with the Nuevo León Publishing Fund. 

This edition by the Tec, which aims to bring Sor Juana’s legacy to the student body and contemporary audiences, was produced with a commitment to remaining faithful to the original. 

Marcela Beltrán, Director of the Special Collections Library, explained that the text was left in its original Spanish. This is complemented by a modern Spanish version. 

In addition, Sara Poot Herrera, a scholar and specialist in the works of Sor Juana, wrote the foreword and provided the translation into modern Spanish. 

It also includes an introductory essay written by Marcela Beltrán and Judith Ruiz Godoy, the National Dean of the School of Humanities and Education. 

Its format replicates the original book, and the paper used in the facsimile mimics its characteristics, thereby preserving both the symbolic and historical value of the work, added Lizzet Saldívar. 

The Reply to Sister Filotea is part of the book Fama y obras póstumas (Fame and Posthumous Works), which compiled Sor Juana’s writings after her death in 1695. 

Tecnológico de Monterrey’s original copy belonged to the collection of Joaquín García Icazbalceta, a 19th-century Mexican historian, bibliographer, philologist, and publisher. 

“This facsimile is groundbreaking because it has published a text that isn’t usually accessible, such as the original housed at the Cervantine Library,” Beltrán said. 

The original work can only be viewed in person at the Cervantine Library located on the institution’s Monterrey campus. 

The facsimile was unveiled at Palacio de Bellas Artes as part of the educational and cultural activities marking the 50th anniversary of Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico City. 

The Reply to Sister Filotea is in fact a letter sent by Sister Juana Inés de la Cruz to Manuel Fernández de Santa Cruz, who wrote under the pseudonym of Sister Filotea de la Cruz to argue that women should not study certain subjects. 

In response to these claims, Sor Juana wrote a text in 1691 to assert women’s right to dissent, pursue an education, and generate knowledge. 

Throughout the letter, she traces the lineage of the women who had come before her and who had access to education, which enabled them to express their ideas and contribute to knowledge, Saldívar explained. 

More than three centuries later, the text continues to address issues that remain relevant to today’s generations of women. 

“Today, women already have a variety of opportunities that allow us to participate not only in public life but also in academic and intellectual spheres. 

“Sor Juana started a conversation to reflect on the role of women in very contemporary issues: gender, knowledge, and intellectual freedom,” said the National Director of Cultural Heritage. 

This, she added, resonates especially with younger generations, particularly female students, who are reinterpreting this text to speak out and carve out new spaces in a context where challenges still persist.

The reproduction or facsimile of Respuesta a Sor Filotea was presented by the National Office of Cultural Development at the Tec's School of Humanities and Education. 

In addition to the work, a music and dance performance titled Hábitos y Letras (Habits and Letters) was staged by the dance and music companies of the Mexico City, Santa Fe, and State of Mexico campuses. 

One thousand copies were printed for this first edition of the facsimile, which is available to the public through Amazon, Fondo Editorial de Nuevo León, and the distributor Los Muchos Libros.