Abstract
Even though during the xviiith Century there was not a full awareness or a complete expression of the essay as a literary genre in New Spain, some characters, such as Spaniard Benedictine friar Benito Jerónimo Feijoo, author of the Teatro crítico universal, or the Italian Luis Antonio Muratori, founder of standards of an “illustrated aesthetic” and author of Reflexiones sobre el buen gusto en las ciencias y en las artes, were already rehearsing a critical and reflective argumentation in short writings, following the illustrated good taste. In short, pieces such as the aforementioned served to mark paths in texts with essays characteristics’ of that time, in which persuasion trough beauty and truth, briefness and reason were sought.
