In a letter to King Philip II dated June 23, 1558, the Franciscan friar Pedro de Gante described how he brought the Indians of Mexico to the Christian faith. Their worship of their gods, he wrote, “era cantar y bailar delante dellos” (was to sing and dance before them). So he “compuse metros muy solemnes sobre la Ley de Dios y de la fe” (composed very solemn verses on the Law of God and the faith).
He also gave them liveries to paint on their cloaks for the dances. At Christmas, he reported, so many came “que no cabían en el atrio” (that they did not fit in the churchyard).