HOJEDA, Diego de. — Spanish Dominican and poet, born in Seville in 1570, died in Huánuco (Peru) on 24 Oct. 1615. Having moved to America, he devoted himself to studies and the priestly ministry in Lima.
In 1611 he published in Seville his famous poem *La Cristiada*, in ottava rima, which treats the various moments of the Passion, from the Last Supper to the Deposition.
Though remaining faithful to the Gospel narrative, the author, with powerful imagination, personifies certain symbols, such as the sins of men, prayers, infernal spirits, etc. “He was not an epic temperament like Ercilla, nor a brilliant stylist like Balbuena; yet he knew how to construct a sober and heartfelt poem” (A. Valbuena Prat).
Bibl.: Ed. of *La Cristiada*, with preface by F. Miguel y Badía, Barcelona 1866, and in vol. XXXV of *Biblioteca de autores españoles*. Studies: Fr. J. Cuervo, D. de H. y *La Cristiada*, Madrid 1898; J. Rada y Gamio, *La Cristiada*, ibid. 1917; A. Valbuena Prat, *Historia de la literatura española*, I, Barcelona 1946, pp. 1093-96.