Avellaneda became known for writing smaller pieces, such as short
farces, dances,
loas,
entremés, and the farcical puppet shows known as
mojigangas. He also wrote several pieces in collaboration with a number of partners.
Juan de Matos Fragoso was a frequent collaborator; they worked together on
El divino calabrés as well as
San Francisco de Paula. In 1661, he published
Cuantas veo tantas quiero with
Sebastián de Villaviciosa. Working with Fragoso and Villaviciosa, he published
La Corte en el valle, which was performed for
King Philip IV in Valladolid in 1660, and
Solo el piadoso es mi hijo, released in Madrid in 1661. Many of his shorter theatrical pieces have been at times incorrectly attributed to other authors.
Las casas de placer, for example, is often attributed to
Pedro Calderón de la Barca, while
La boda de Juan Rana has been ascribed to
Jerónimo de Cáncer. Other, better-remembered solo works include
Lo que es Madrid,
Los gansos, and
El niño de la Rollona.
El plenipapelier was presented in 1667 at the court of
Vienna, accompanied by a Calderón play entitled
Amado y aborrecido.
El hidalgo de la Membrilla was first presented in 1661, also accompanied by a work of Calderón,
El hijo del Sol. He also wrote the
loa Loa por papeles para palacio. Dances he is known to have composed include
Las casas y El tabaco, the
jácara La Flores y el Zurdillo and
La Rabilla, and the
mojiganga El titeretier, for the 1678 festival of
Carnival. He also composed
El capuchino escocés,
Volverse el rayo en laurel, and the mythologically inspired
zarzuela El templo de Palas, with music by
Juan Hidalgo de Polanco.
El templo de palas was presented on July 26, 1675, at the court of
Mariana of Austria. The play deals with a war between the children of
Oedipus,
Eteocles and
Polinices. On the same occasion, he also presented a
loa,
La flor del sol, an
entremés,
El triunfo del vellocino, and a
mojiganga,
El mundi novi. This set was later published in
Naples in 1675. == Bibliography ==